Abstract

The paper discusses the work of the French Social Theorist Pierre Bourdieu who died in 2002. It gives a background to the work of Bourdieu and argues for its pressing relevance for philosophers of Education. Reference is made to both structuralism and phenomenology which shaped Bourdieu’s theories and his work in education. It sets out the main tenets of his epistemology and the concepts he used. It considers the critique he made of the philosophical field and ‘scholastic reason’. The paper addresses the principal aspects of Bourdieu’s philosophical approach and relates it to such issues as objectivity, reflexivity, warranty, truth and practical reason. The paper considers these in the light of a selection of issues for philosophers of education, such as authority, power, and educational knowledge. Some reference is made to the relationship between educational knowledge and action, and the implications this has for teachers, pupils and policy makers. It sets the discussion within a historical context of ongoing concerns over theory and practice. It reflects on the methodological implications for educational research and its relationship with policy. The paper is offered as a series of ‘meditations’, as a way of assessing the relevance of Bourdieu’s theoretical approach for educationalists and philosophers of education