School Choice Research and Politics with Pierre Bourdieu: New Possibilities

Abstract

Various sociological perspectives have been applied to facilitate school choice research over the past two decades, as showcased in this 2020 Yearbook of Politics of Education Association. Among them, Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts and theories stand out as a catalyst for the field’s sociological development. My first objective in this article is, thus, to assess the contributions of Bourdieu’s sociological theory to school choice scholarship to date. I review the established and emerging research studies to highlight the significance of Bourdieu’s conceptual system in illuminating the social dynamics of school choice. My second objective in this article is to discuss how Bourdieu’s geographical concerns and concepts have been underutilized in the field. Ultimately, I argue that Bourdieu’s sociospatial concepts can unlock new areas of research and politics by elucidating why and how school choice functions as a mechanism that accentuates social inequality, which is reproduced geographically.

Sociological Contributions to School Choice Policy and Politics Around the Globe: Introduction to the 2020 PEA Yearbook

“…She first assesses established and emerging research studies to highlight the significance of Bourdieu’s conceptual system in illuminating the social dynamics and challenges of school choice. Then, she discusses how Bourdieu’s sociospatial concepts can unlock new areas of research and politics by elucidating why and how school choice functions as a mechanism that accentuates geographic dynamics of social inequality reproduction (Yoon, this issue).…”

Masking Attendance: How Education Policy Distracts from the Wicked Problem(s) of Chronic Absenteeism

“…While chronic absenteeism has only been recently defined (Chang & Romero, 2008), our search timeframe allowed for opportunities to find literature in other disciplines such as public health, social work, and sociology that could inform how we conceptualize the root causes of chronic absenteeism. We refined our search criteria using ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) and Google Scholar database, by focusing on the keywords of “chronic absenteeism,” “school attendance,” “truancy,” and “student attendance” (Yoon, 2020). Our initial search yielded over 3,000 entries; therefore, we decided to focus only on peer-reviewed journal articles that specifically discussed causes or influences on student attendance.…”

Head-first into Upper Secondary Education: Finnish Young People Making Classed and Gendered Educational Choices

“…(Bourdieu, 1986, p. 51) Through social networks, advantages can be generated, especially by the upper and middle class with their connections to expert knowledge (cf. Boone & Van Houtte, 2013;Yoon, 2020). For us, social capital means various resources, not only information, but even role models and emotional support young people receive from their family, relatives and friends (cf.…”