Transfer/Bourdieux

Pedro R. Portes (PRPORT01 who-is-at ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU)
Wed, 30 Jul 97 17:16:08 EDT

______Professor
_____ Univ.of Louisville
Mike, Eva... I first brought up the question in seeking clarification,
but intentionally meant to raise the issue of semantics since at the present
time, the Bourdieux camp seems more privileged in the educational community
than say the old Learning Theory (LT) camp with its fascination with
process/product functionalism.
i agree these two issues have been traditionally seen as separate. Thorndike's
early work on transfer at the beh level, later extended with the cognitive
revolution, led to at least 3 types of transfer inherent in 3 types of
constructivism, the Info Processing System view of mind where some
skill/knowledge became mapped or copied in the head, the Piagetian view of
that skill/knowledge (object for activity theory perhaps?) was
constructed by the learner endogenously, and the C-H view where the
skill/knowledge is co-constructed, not simply transferred, but relying more on
external metacog. assistance, cultural tools. Bruner and others noted that
mastery of basics and experience/activity in diverse contexts facilitated trans
transfer. Sounds like you could say the same thing about social capital...
In any case, regardless of what type of constructivism or transfer we refer

to, these are a long way from the transmission of social capital idea, intra
or intergenerationally. I know your question is designed to flesh out the
arbitrariness/artificiality of having the question of transfer
become the "property" of one community of practice (cog/beh psych e.g.)
and the transmission or reproduction of capital in schooling the territory
of another community (cultural psych/anthro, soc). It is like the Division c
and Division g at AERA thing, tough to be in both places.
(Yet, I agree it need not be so, should not but the restraints are there to
stay for a while at the institutional level because those trained at the C
level (tranfer in the head) are unlikely to cross the border unto
G (social contexts, situated transfer) and vice versa
This XMCA forum is a rare haven for biculturalism (at the discipline
level in particular) and bordercrossers, ... )
One last observation, it seems that regardless of the
transmission/construction issue, the transfer of social capital notion,
however it may be operationalized, is fair game for BOTH camps.

(but do we need yet another packaged variable to research?)

I'm still hoping Naito can clarify my sanguine question... pedro

REGARDS, Pedro. R. Portes, Ph.D.
Educational Psychology & Counseling
EDUC-310 Univ. of Louisville, Lou. KY 40292
Tel 502-8520630 / Fax 502-8520726___"Life is a Gift, Remember"