The choice of a federal integrated high school in the Brazilian countryside: the relevance of Bourdieu’s contributions

Abstract

This article, in the field of sociological studies on school choice, discusses the relevance of Pierre Bourdieu’s theories to understand high school choice, in a small town in the Brazilian semi-arid region, in the state of Minas Gerais. More specifically, it argues the relevance and usefulness of the concept of cultural capital in this context. It is based on the results of a study about the choosing process, by young people and their families, of Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais (IFNMG), more specifically, the Technical Course on Internet Technology, integrated into high school, which is offered at the Janaúba Campus of IFNMG. The methodological procedures were: questionnaires to students and their guardians; focus groups with students, and interviews with some of them and their guardians. The results point to the need to consider, in the researched context, the concept of cultural capital in a broader sense, not necessarily linked to high culture, but keeping the idea of cultural resources that represent advantages in the academic field. In this regard, the research reaffirms the usefulness and relevance of the concept of cultural capital and, especially, of the notion of informational capital, when understanding school choice processes.