Participatory capital: Bourdieu and citizenship education in diverse school communities

Abstract

A priority toward creating ‘active’ citizens has been a feature of curricula reforms in many income-rich nations in recent years. However, the normative, one-size-fits-all conceptions of citizenship often presented within such curricula obscure the significant differences in how some young people experience and express citizenship. This paper reports on research that explored the citizenship perceptions and practices of New Zealand social studies teachers and students from four diverse geographic and socio-economic school communities. Attention was drawn to the scale of their citizenship orientations and participation (local/global). Drawing on Bourdieu’s conceptual triad and his species of capital in particular, the author posits that the differences observed between school communities can be usefully explained by a concept of participatory capital. The paper concludes with some reflections on the implications for young people who fail to access the ‘symbolic’ global participatory capital associated with much contemporary citizenship education.

Keywords:

• Bourdieu
• participatory capital
• active citizenship
• participation
• youth
• citizenship scales

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge the advice, support and guidance of Dr Joanna Kidman, Dr Mark Sheehan and Dr Louise Holt who contributed in various ways to shaping this paper. The author is very grateful for the students and teachers who took part in this project. The author would also like to acknowledge scholarship funding from the New Zealand Bright Futures Trust. The author is indebted to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable questions, suggestions and ideas.

Notes

1. The introduction of an ‘Identity and Diversity’ strand of citizenship education (DfES 2007) has been attempted to counter this critique, with a renewed emphasis on fostering social cohesion through duties and obligations to a common community (Osler 2011).

2. The decile rating for a school is calculated from a range of socio-economic variables including household income, parental occupation and qualifications, household crowding and level of income support (Ministry of Education. 2011).

3. Large numbers of migrants from Pacific nations (such as Samoa Tonga and the Cooks Islands) were provided entry to New Zealand in the 1960s to provide labour for the rapidly expanding manufacturing sector at this time.

4. Whanaungatanga (Māori) conveys a sense of whānau, or family relationships gained through shared experiences and working together, that provides people with a sense of belonging.

5. 1080 is a poison that used extensively in New Zealand to control pests such as possums and stoats.

6. Didymo, a fresh water alga, was first reported in New Zealand’s South Island in 2004 with the potential for devastating damage to rivers.