Garth Stahl - International Perspectives on Theorizing Aspirations: Applying Bourdieus Tools

International Perspectives on Theorizing Aspirations

Social Theory and Methodology in Education Research series

Edited by Mark Murphy

The Bloomsbury Social Theory and Methodology in Education Research series brings together books exploring various applications of social theory in educational research design. Each book provides a detailed account of how theory and method influence each other in specific educational research settings, such as schools, early childhood education, community education, further education colleges and universities. Books in the series represent the richness of topics explored in theory-driven education research, including leadership and governance, equity, teacher education, assessment, curriculum and policy studies. This innovative series provides a timely platform for highlighting the wealth of international work carried out in the field of social theory and education research, a field that has grown considerably in recent years and has made the likes of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault familiar names in educational discourse. Books in the Social Theory and Methodology in Education Research series offer an excellent resource for those who wish to use theoretical concepts in their research but are not sure how to do so, and who want to better understand how theory can be effectively applied in research contexts, in practically realisable ways.

Also available in the series

Education Governance and Social Theory , edited by Andrew Wilkins and Antonio Olmedo

Foucault and School Leadership Research , Denise Mifsud

Forthcoming in the series

Education Research with Bourdieu , Julie Rowlands and Shaun Rawolle

Norbert Elias and the Sociology of Education , Eric Lybeck

Poststructuralist Theory and Educational Research , Tim Jay

Social Theory for Teacher Education Research , edited by Kathleen Nolan and Jennifer Tupper

The Future of Qualitative Research , edited by Matthew Thomas and Robin Bellingham

International Perspectives on Theorizing Aspirations

Applying Bourdieus Tools

Edited by
Garth Stahl, Derron Wallace,
Ciaran Burke and Steven Threadgold

Contents

Figures

Tables

Barbara Adewumi is a lecturer in sociology and social research methods at the University of Canterbury. She currently teaches sociology and social research methods across sociology, criminology and social work disciplines for undergraduates. Prior to her academic career she was a research consultant for the Work Foundation. Her research and scholarly interests include the aspirations of the black middle class in Britain, critical race theory, Bourdieus forms of capital, lived experiences of Caribbean and African diaspora, and more recently how culturally contextualized ethnic minority groups shape their identity, engage and navigate through higher education and in the workplace.

Jim Albright is a professor in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle and Editor-in-Chief for Educational Science . Jims interests range from literacy education and curriculum theory and design to professional learning and school reform. Recently, his work has focused on developing teacher capacity across subject areas through the building of conditions needed in schools for innovative teaching and improved student performance.

Pere Ayling is a lecturer and a researcher at the University of Suffolk, Ipswich, United Kingdom. Her areas of specialization include consumption, (in)equality, race, elite education and class (re)production strategies. She is particularly interested in how social class, gender and race as well as (dis)ability intersect to (re)produce privilege and inequality in education and society in general. Her latest publications include The Three Rs: Parental Risk Management Strategies in the International Secondary Education Market ( Journal of Curriculum Inquiry , 2017); Diversity, Equality and Rights in (Dis)abled Childhood? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and Distinction, Exclusivity and Whiteness: Elite Nigerian Parents and the International Education Market (Springer, forthcoming).

Tamsin Bowers-Brown is learning, teaching and student experience lead in the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, University of Derby. As a sociologist of education, her research focuses on inequalities in education, pedagogy and student experience. She has a strong interest in creating inclusive learning experiences that encourage critical thinking and reflection. Her scholarship has shown how policies and practice can reduce or entrench disadvantage. Her recent research relates to the aspirations of girls in secondary education in England. Recent publications include Its Like If You Dont Go to Uni, You Fail in Life: Bourdieu, Decision Making and the Forms of Capital, in J. Thatcher, N. Ingram, C. Burke and J. Abrahams (eds), Bourdieu: The Next Generation , London: Routledge, 2016.

Ciaran Burke is an associate professor of higher education at the University of Derby, UK. His research focuses on issues of access to higher education and entry into the graduate labour market. His work has applied and extended Bourdieusian social theory and in particular developed the application of inverted symbolic violence and institutional habitus. He is a founding member of the British Sociological Association Bourdieu Study Group and an executive member of the Sociological Association of Ireland.

Kristin Cipollone is an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in elementary education at Ball State University, Indiana. Her two strands of research focus on the intersections of race and class in the transition from high school to college and their influence on the (re)production and maintenance of inequality, and the preparation of culturally responsive teachers. She is co-author of the recent book Class Warfare: Class, Race, and College Admission in Top-Tier Secondary Schools (University of Chicago, 2014) and has recently published in Sociology of Education , Urban Education , the British Journal of Sociology of Education , American Education Research Journal and has a forthcoming co-authored piece in the Journal of Teacher Education .

Russell Cross is an associate professor in language and literacy education within the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, where he leads their teaching and research initiatives in bilingual education and content and language integrated learning (CLIL). His research focuses on teachers work, with particular attention to the social, cultural and political dimensions of professional teacher knowledge and practice from a Vygotskian sociocultural perspective. His work has appeared widely in Modern Language Journal , Teachers & Teaching , Language & Education , Journal of Curriculum Studies , British Journal of Sociology of Education and the Journal of Teacher Education among others.

Marta Curran has a PhD in sociology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and is a member of the globalization, education and social policies and interdisciplinary group on education policies research groups. Her main research areas are education inequalities related to class and gender, and educational policies and programmes. Her doctoral thesis deals with how gender and class shape educational experiences, expectations and decisions.