Introduction

Abstract

Idolized or spurned, the "elites" are a prominent talking point in political debates. Their advocates claim they have rare, exceptional qualities; meanwhile, their foes deem them guilty of everything wrong with the world. The social sciences, free of such extreme passions, have connected the study of elites with the study of power. Like all other social groups, the elites may be subject to multiple investigations, drawing on tried and tested methods (archival research, interviews, observations, statistical analysis, etc.). As Shamus Kahn puts it, "Being an elite is not a mere possession or something 'within' an actor (skills, talents, and human capital); it is an embodied performative act enabled by both possessions and the inscriptions that accompany experiences within elite institutions (schools, clubs, families, networks, etc.)" (Khan 2011, p. 136). However, the elites are not only characterized by their exclusive social circles: their power is related to institutions and pre-exists them. Access to dominant positions requires a set of dedicated properties and a constant effort to conform to expected standards, values and behaviors. Whether power is political, economic, familial, military or religious in nature, the social sciences analyze an unequal distribution of resources legitimated by institutions (the Firm, the Church, the State, the School, the Party, etc.) and highlight two key processes: differentiation and hierarchization. On the one hand, we have societies where an increasingly pronounced division of labor results in distinct

A Critical Approach to Interviewing Academic Elites: Access, Trust, and Power

“…The perception of the researcher as a professional within of shared domain (academia) contributed to the legitimacy of the interview request and prompted the participants to identify a form of reciprocity to ensure the exchange was beneficial to them. A possible explanation for the dominant role of professional experience is that academics’ elite status is defined in terms of their profession-related expertise and achievements (Bourdieu 2020; Denord et al 2020; McDowell 1998).…”

“…The term elite refers to influential individuals who possess considerable power (e.g., political, economic, symbolic), authority, and prestige in the social or professional positions they occupy (Denord et al 2020). Academics, such as those in this study, fall into the category of professional elites (McDowell 1998) , and possess symbolic power on account of their professional expertise, achievements, and rank (Bourdieu 2020; Denord et al 2020). Due to their status, the elite interviewee is more powerfully positioned vis-à-vis the researcher and is able to exercise greater control over the interview event than nonelite participants (Bourdieu 2020).…”

Islamic Religious Education Holistic-Integrative Learning in Elementary School

“…Adapted to the quasi-experimental design, namely the pertest and post-test non-equivalent control group design as described above. The collected data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively / mixed methods (Denord et al, 2020). The results of the descriptive qualitative analysis were in the form of theoretical studies and initial drafts of the holistic-integrative PAI learning model for further validation and testing in this study.…”

“…The general design of the PHIKAP learning model describes PAI learning patterns that are functionally interrelated between intelligence in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains in a holistic-integrative paradigm from the planning, implementation and evaluation stages to produce meaningful learning. In planning a lesson, all stages of planning are formulated inseparable from holistic integrative principles which include connectedness, wholeness, and being which are directed at achieving the results of the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains as a whole and meaningfully starting from (1) formulating learning objectives; (2) formulate an assessment grid; (3) preparing a learning implementation plan (RPP); (4) preparing teaching materials; (5) preparing learning media; (6) determine the learning strategy; (7) preparing an evaluation plan and follow up learning.…”

Financing elite education: Economic capital and the maintenance of class power in English private schools

“…It allows us to see how institutions that dominate the field of schooling are maintained through and in relation to economic capital; we can reveal the economic underpinnings which reproduce the dominance of elite schools and examine the economic hierarchy between them. Stripping back the power of these schools to its economic dimension is one way to highlight the sometimes elusive origins and causes of these schools’ dominance (Denord et al, 2020, p. 6).…”