Re: Class, culture and education/Reproduction or Transformation

Angel Lin (ENANGEL who-is-at cityu.edu.hk)
Mon, 23 Nov 1998 12:06:46 +0800

Jay and xmca-colleagues,

I have a quick question. I've been drawing on Bourdieu's habitus idea in
my discussion of Hong Kong teachers' EFL teaching styles/routines in
working class schools.

My idea is that a certain disposition towards English of teachers leads
them to reproduce the kind of disposition in their classroom teaching
practices and in their students, namely, a mechanical relationship with
English: English not as part of their communicative competence but as a
learned package of items and structures mainly for exam purposes. So, a
reproduction of habitus and (lack of) certain dispositions and compentences.

However, I'd also like to talk about the possibility of transformation or
social change. Bourdieu has been accused of being "determinsitic" and more
a theorist of reproduction than transformation. In his model, it's not
clear how social change or change/transformation in habitus is possible (or
can be initiated) and how change in social practice is possible without
external imposition of change of circumstances; but agent/actor-initiated
changes seem impossible in his model. Is that a fair accusation? What
would be his defenses?

Who would be a good source to turn to for insights on how social change,
change in practice, and change in habitus is possible? The Critical
School/Critical Pedagogy? (correct me if I'm wrong but my impression is
that many of their discussions tend to be miles away from classroom
PRACTICES; maybe there're things which I've missed and would welcome your
suggstions.)

Hope to hear from you.
Thanks a lot.

Angel Lin