Pupil Identities

Pupil Identities

1. Habitus

   • Learned, taking-for-granted ways of acting, thinking and being in a particular social class.
   • A class habitus is formed as a response to its position in the class structure.
   • The Middle Class define their habitus as superior and impose it on the education system.
   • This is linked to Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital.

2. Symbolic Capital and Symbolic Violence

   • Middle Class gain recognition from the school and are deemed to have value.
   • The school deprives the Working Class habitus and deem it to be worthless.
   • Withholding of symbolic capital is called symbolic violence.
   • Working Class students may experience the world of education is unnatural.
   • Archer found that working class pupils felt they had to change how they talked and presented themselves.

3. 'Nike' Identities

   • Symbolic violence cause pupils to seek alternative ways of creating self-wroth, status and value.
   • Peer groups.
   • Lead to conflict with the school dress code.
   • Plays a part in rejection of higher education.
     • Unrealistic - believe it is for rich, posh and clever people so they would not fit in.
     • Undesirable - believed it would not suit their habitus or their preferred lifestyle.

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