Bourdieu's Sociological Theory

R. Morrow (1994) points out that a looser definition of critical theory would include the work of Bourdieu which complements traditional critical theory. I will now address some of Bourdieu's work to form a sociological model of literacy as cultural capital to help inform my research questions and analysis. Like Auerbach (1995b), Bourdieu focuses on the variability in culture and its importance in people's lives. Horsman (1990) states that by analyzing one's sociocultural context, an opportunity is afforded to interrogate the status quo of modern life and challenge oppressive educational formations offering differential access to power and privilege. In the field of family literacy, the inclusion of a broader context for understanding the child and the socializing effects of the child's culture has only recently emerged (Thomas, 1998).

In the next section, I look at how social reproduction theory and Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital and habitus can be helpful for laying out a framework for understanding my data.

Social Reproduction Theory

Social Reproduction Theory suggests that public schools, as institutions, serve a function in society for maintaining the status quo by reproducing social relationships and attitudes that characterize society. Wishard (2002) explains that this widespread ideology, particularly popular in the United States, conceives of schooling as a means of cultural and social reproduction in which the adult is at the centre of all interactions and exchange of ideas. Further, she explains, the focus is on the transmission and reception of culturally and socially valued knowledge and information, from adult to child, according to a schedule set by external experts.