Negative capital: a generalised definition and application to educational effectiveness and equity

ABSTRACT

The concept of capital has risen in prominence within educational policy and practice in the UK since Ofsted introduced cultural capital into its inspection processes in 2019. At the same time, fractured discourses exist across different types of capital – one of which concerns capitals that are negative in constitution and/or impact. This paper addresses both through:

• A systematic literature review of these negativities (in social, economic, and intellectual capital) and a thematic analysis of these papers, leading to the derivation of a definition of negative capital.

• An evaluation of the merit of negative capital via its compatibility with Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, social field homology, habitus, and hysteresis.

• The application of negative capital to a range of examples from educational practice and theory, including a challenge to Ofsted’s use of cultural capital.

KEYWORDS:

• negative capital
• systematic literature review
• social capital
• economic capital
• intellectual capital
• educational effectiveness
• social field
• habitus
• hysteresis

Acknowledgments

The corresponding author wishes to thank Professor Alis Oancea ([email protected]) for past discussions that led to this research being carried out.

Disclosure statement

The corresponding author is a core member of Ofsted’s Early Years Pedagogy and Practice Forum.

Notes

1. For example, see the various pieces published in the Times Educational Supplement (The Early Years Alliance, 2019), The UK Guardian newspaper (2019), and by professional education organisations including the British Association for Early Education (McTavish, 2019), the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY), 2019), and The Early Years Alliance (2019).

2. For example, the term ‘social capital’ can be seen in 19^th century papers (e.g., Marshall, 1890) despite claims that it is more recent such as Graham et al. (2015) who attribute ‘social capital’ to Loury (1977).

3. One each for Dutch, French, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Serbian. These were respectively: Das Neves Bodart, 2010; De Haan et al., 2015; Levesque White, 1999; Pavicevic, 2012; Zadkowska, 2012; Zara, 1997.

4. Thereby those who come to possess negative intellectual capital in various social fields in education including engagement in class and academic attainment

5. “ … derived from the following wording in the national curriculum: ‘It is the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.’ “ (Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), 2019a, p. 43).

6. ‘Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. It is about giving children the best possible start to their early education’ (Office for Standards in Education, 2019b, p. 31).

7. ‘Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to be educated citizens.’ (Office for Standards in Education, 2019b, p. 31).

8. Ofsted’s definitions also fails to recognise the three components of cultural capital that Bourdieu described (Bourdieu, 1986): embodied, objectified, and institutionalised. Ofsted’s common phraseology is closest to embodied cultural capital.

9. With equity an intrinsic component within the field of Educational Effectiveness and Improvement Research (EEIR; Chapman et al., 2016)

Additional information

Funding

This paper is the result of unfunded research.

Notes on contributors

James Hall

Dr James Hall is an Associate Professor within the Southampton Education School at the University of Southampton. A psychologist by training, James carries out quantitative and mixed methods research at the intersection of educational effectiveness and developmental psychology.  By bridging these fields his research provides new knowledge regarding educational equity issues, mechanisms of disadvantage, and child and adolescent mental health.

Alexandra Allan

Dr Alexandra Allan is an Associate Professor and the Director of Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter. Dr Allan's research interests reside in the Sociology of Education. Broad areas of interest include: gender, social class, ethnicity, academic achievement, and educational transitions (across the different stages in education, from education to employment, and across various career stages/professions). I have a wide range of methodological interests (including ethnography, visual methods, thematic and discourse analysis, interview and diary/blog methods).

Michael Tomlinson

Dr Michael Tomlinson is an Associate Professor within the Southampton Education School at the University of Southampton. His research interests are in policy, mainly in relation to higher education, labour market, employability and marketisation. He’s interested in the construction of identities and how policy and social changes impact on institutions and stakeholders. His work combines critical conceptual analysis with an interest in developing practical tools and resources that can aid future career progression.

Anthony Kelly

Anthony Kelly is Professor of Education at the University of Southampton. He specialises in the theory of Educational Effectiveness and Improvement; in particular, as it relates to educational leadership, governance and policy analysis, in adapting Capability and Game Theoretic concepts to schooling, and in developing innovative quantitative approaches and mathematical modelling techniques for use in educational research.

Ariel Lindorff

Dr Ariel Lindorff is a Departmental Lecturer in Research Methods in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. Methodologically, her interest are in mixed methods, advanced quantitative methods, and appropriately contextualised approaches to evaluation. Her substantive research interests relate to educational effectiveness and improvement, equity issues in education, and classroom practice.