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This paper outlines the difficulties in conceptualising and presenting research, in particular doctoral work in education, in the current climate of intellectual theorising. It argues that many researches experience a phenomenon described in the paper as 'post-modernist tension' when trying to write in an atmosphere of theoretical and methodological uncertainty. The author elaborates the 'symptoms' of post-modernist tension, and makes a critique of some elements of contemporary social theorising. Nevertheless, the author acknowledges the usefulness of contemporary social theory in challenging traditional research, despite its density and inaccessibility to many researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to outline and evaluate Pierre Bourdieu's work as it has appeared most recently in feminist studies and the field of gender and education. In particular, it suggests ways in which Bourdieu's theoretical insights could be seen to more effectively contribute to cutting edge debates in both social theory and feminist thought regarding concepts such as agency, identity and domination. It also argues that a more creative and empirical engagement with the recent work of Bourdieu, alongside an interdisciplinary reading of more recent cultural and social theories of power, would be a fruitful way forward in advancing a feminist sociology of education. In the present historical moment and against the tide of postmodern and post-structuralist feminist accounts, Bourdieu is often read as a determinist who has little to offer contemporary feminist debates or who argues that masculine domination is too tightly woven to social practices of a given field. In short, this paper argues that such a view is not only a misreading of Bourdieu's work on fundamental theoretical grounds, but fails to acknowledge the ways in which his more recent work on masculinity addresses both the cultural and social conditions underlying contemporary forms of symbolic domination. In short, the paper argues that Bourdieu's theory offers an analytical breadth and range beyond the scope of anything that a normative, liberal account of masculine domination could provide. Yet, in drawing from such diversity, Bourdieu's oeuvre is able to resist incomprehensibility. It stands as a highly focused, realistic and generative attempt ( McNay, 1999 ; McLeod, 2004 ) to chart the problems of subordination, differentiation and hierarchy, and to expose the possibilities, as well as the limits, of gendered self-hood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a component of the physical education curriculum, Health-Related Exercise (HRE) has been subject to intensive critique in terms of its status, organisation and expression in schools. Concerns and questions have also been raised about physical education teachers' professional knowledge of health and the extent to which HRE features within their continuing professional development (CPD) profiles. Aims: This paper presents findings from a research project which investigated English secondary physical education teachers' experiences, views and understandings of HRE and related CPD (HRE-CPD). It also draws upon existing research, sociological theory and the concept of ‘philosophies’ in order to present an explanatory model (the HRE conundrum) which may help the physical education profession better understand the often problematic organisation and expression of HRE in schools. Methods: The research was undertaken via a two-phase, mixed-method study. Phase one consisted of a survey questionnaire, which was completed by 112 secondary physical education teachers. Phase two involved semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers from the phase one sample. Results and discussion: The survey revealed that approximately half of the physical education teachers who participated in the study reported to have had no prior professional experience of HRE before teaching it, and most had not taken part in any CPD related to health and lifelong physical activity in the previous 12 months (80%) or 3 years (70%). Further, the teachers' responses to both the survey and the interviews suggest that HRE within physical education continues to be characterised by incoherence and misunderstanding. The interdependent and emerging themes which provided an explanation for this include: i) the tendency for the teachers' philosophies to bear the hallmark of sport- and fitness-related ideologies; ii) the teachers' often narrow understandings of HRE and how best to teach it; iii) the teachers' largely misguided confidence in their ability to teach HRE; iv) a general lack of teacher engagement with any CPD related to health and lifelong physical activity. Conclusions: With regard to HRE, both the ‘I’ in ITE and the ‘C’ in CPD appear to have been overlooked, and this inevitably raises questions about the degree to which teachers are prepared to teach this area of the curriculum. It is argued that now is the time for action, and that relevant, effective and ongoing CPD has the capacity to address the problematic teaching of HRE and develop in teachers the knowledge, skills and understandings that are necessary to promote healthy, active lifestyles among young people. Many physical education teachers are not engaging in HRE-CPD but in order to disturb common and often narrow understandings of HRE it is arguably necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asserts that the religious assumptions of Christian academies need to be fully examined in relation to any analysis of their cultural practices, impact or policy implications. It proposes that Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, cultural capital and symbolic power can be broadened out from their traditional use in accounting for social positioning in order to explore the interaction of religious faith and institutional culture. The emergent analytical framework outlined relies on series of theoretical tools drawn from Bourdieu whose social theory and concepts are already employed extensively in sociology of education research and studies of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the re-establishment of independent Estonian statehood in 1991, Russian lost its privileges as the dominant and official language in Estonia, and Estonian continued as the only official language. This paper attempts to map the position of a Russian-speaking teacher within the sociological categories of power and language, based on the analysis of legislative acts and strategic documents within the domain of language policy and language legitimization practices in historical retrospective. The main focus of the study stresses an attempt to elaborate on to what extent the low self-efficacy of Russian-speaking teachers as the agents of legitimization of the Estonian language in Russian-speaking schools, and their low position in power relations within the Estonian education system, can be explained in the categories of power and language, as conceptualized on the basis of the social theory of Bourdieu. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is a response to articles by Shilling and Abraham, which were concerned with the relationship between Giddens' structuration meta-theory, differentiation-polarization theory, and positivism. Despite their conflicting conclusions, both authors criticize my reconstruction of differentiation-polarization theory, and I try to clarify the nature of that reconstruction and the theory it represents. It seems to me that these articles display misunderstandings of, and unwarranted prejudice against, positivism; though they are of course by no means alone in this. I suggest that while the sort of debate in which these authors engage is welcome, there needs to be a more open-minded approach towards the theoretical and methodological resources available to sociologists of education, including those frequently dismissed as positivist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the role of labeling in the process by which individuals come to perceive their personal indebtedness as indicative of a deviant status. Particular attention is paid to the respective roles one's informal social network and self-help groups play in promoting the transformation from a non-deviant to deviant status. In-depth interviews with a convenience and snowball sample of 46 members of Debtors Anonymous (DA), was supplemented with contextual data from a DA newsletter and other print materials. The theoretical implications for both labeling theory and identity change processes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bourdieu's social theory offers a way of understanding some of the most important features of the field of educational research, while also providing educational researchers with a rich conceptual apparatus for their practice. This article addresses both of these methodological themes and the connections between them. We begin by outlining some key trends in educational research, mainly in Britain, over recent decades in terms of Bourdieu's Field Theory. Special attention is given to the relative positioning of researchers and the formation of an 'avant-garde'. We refer to the impact of educational policy and attacks on educational research, with attendant effects on the field, and on the formation and legitimacy of knowledge about educational processes. This analysis is followed by an example taken from a contemporary research project in which principles derived from Bourdieu's approach have been adopted in framing methodology. We give particular attention to the terms of the programme in which the project forms a part, and key aspects of it such as 'user engagement'. Both methodological justifications and consequences are discussed, as well as tensions with dominant expectations of research processes and outcomes. Finally, we argue that, following Bourdieu's own public strategies of sociopolitical action, educational research methodology that is radically reflexive has the capacity to found a critically effective discourse with practical consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces articles in the April 2003 issue of the "Social Semiotics." Relation of semiotic theory to key sociological themes; Application of semiotics in education, cross-cultural communication and popular culture.