Page 49 - Igor Ž. Žagar in Ana Mlekuž, ur. Raziskovanje v vzgoji in izobraževanju: mednarodni vidiki vzgoje in izobraževanja. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut, 2020. Digitalna knjižnica, Dissertationes 38
P. 49
inequality, poverty and education in the post-yugoslav space
the books, she has to repeat a year and no longer has a right to a
stipend. So we have enrolled her in a trade school instead.
Here are two quotes regarding the effects of peer pressure in terms of
fashion and make up:
I just can’t make it possible that he has the same as his friends at
school. Kids are always commenting on the kinds of clothes you
come to school in.
My daughter was 13 and she wanted to make herself up and she
did not have trousers like the others and so they made fun of her.
She came home in tears but I told her “hold your head high” and
then the next month I bought her trousers. She also wants a com-
puter but I really can’t afford it. (Stubbs et al, 2017).
Conclusions
It is important to note, albeit briefly, some of the policy implications that
could be derived from this paper. These are very much derived from a
combination of insights from Bourdieu and the Brazilian critical educa-
tor Paulo Freire. Bourdieu, of course, has a great deal to say about edu-
cational policy, even if rarely directly (cf. Lingard et al, 2005). Taking his
concept of ‘field’ seriously, together with ‘habitus’ and ‘capital’, points to
the importance of struggles for symbolic power »in and against the state«
(London-Edinburgh Weekend Return Group, 1979), and the importance of
breaking down those ‘logics of practice’ that reproduce inequalities in edu-
cation. Freire is, perhaps, more widely influential within educational policy
following his landmark book Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 1970) and
his subsequent work with UNESCO and others and, certainly, has a great
deal to say about the nature of praxis in the ‘black box’ of educational pol-
icies and processes, in terms of critique of ‘received’ or ‘banking-like’ un-
derstandings of education. Even more than Bourdieu, Freire’s life and work
was devoted to a »liberatory pedagogy … aimed at social transformation, at
humanization, at changing the class oppression created by capitalism, and
at challenging … many other forms of oppression« (Au and Apple, 2007;
462). Combining the two re-emphasizes the importance of working at the
structural and interpersonal or micro-level simultaneously to address the
multifaceted reproduction of educational inequality and immobility.
In broad brush stroke terms, I outline a number of key aspects of ed-
ucational policy to promote, at least, social mobility and equal opportu-
49
the books, she has to repeat a year and no longer has a right to a
stipend. So we have enrolled her in a trade school instead.
Here are two quotes regarding the effects of peer pressure in terms of
fashion and make up:
I just can’t make it possible that he has the same as his friends at
school. Kids are always commenting on the kinds of clothes you
come to school in.
My daughter was 13 and she wanted to make herself up and she
did not have trousers like the others and so they made fun of her.
She came home in tears but I told her “hold your head high” and
then the next month I bought her trousers. She also wants a com-
puter but I really can’t afford it. (Stubbs et al, 2017).
Conclusions
It is important to note, albeit briefly, some of the policy implications that
could be derived from this paper. These are very much derived from a
combination of insights from Bourdieu and the Brazilian critical educa-
tor Paulo Freire. Bourdieu, of course, has a great deal to say about edu-
cational policy, even if rarely directly (cf. Lingard et al, 2005). Taking his
concept of ‘field’ seriously, together with ‘habitus’ and ‘capital’, points to
the importance of struggles for symbolic power »in and against the state«
(London-Edinburgh Weekend Return Group, 1979), and the importance of
breaking down those ‘logics of practice’ that reproduce inequalities in edu-
cation. Freire is, perhaps, more widely influential within educational policy
following his landmark book Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 1970) and
his subsequent work with UNESCO and others and, certainly, has a great
deal to say about the nature of praxis in the ‘black box’ of educational pol-
icies and processes, in terms of critique of ‘received’ or ‘banking-like’ un-
derstandings of education. Even more than Bourdieu, Freire’s life and work
was devoted to a »liberatory pedagogy … aimed at social transformation, at
humanization, at changing the class oppression created by capitalism, and
at challenging … many other forms of oppression« (Au and Apple, 2007;
462). Combining the two re-emphasizes the importance of working at the
structural and interpersonal or micro-level simultaneously to address the
multifaceted reproduction of educational inequality and immobility.
In broad brush stroke terms, I outline a number of key aspects of ed-
ucational policy to promote, at least, social mobility and equal opportu-
49
