Code and Habitus

Comparing the accounts of Bernstein and Bourdieu

Bibliographic Data

ID5791242
AuthorsRichard Harker (Massey University), Stephen May (0000-0002-4490-5093, University of Bristol), Stephen A May (0000-0003-1813-7745)
Year1993
Volume14
Issue2
Pages169-178
Publication date1993-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0142569930140204
OpenAlexW1988819392
LanguageEN
Citations received37
References cited34

This paper compares Bourdieu's notion of habitus with Bernstein's concept of code in an attempt to show how the apparent similarities mask more deeply seated differences in the way the concepts are conceived and used. We argue that Bernstein is following an essentially structuralist agenda of the kind that Bourdieu has set himself against. To this end, Bourdieu seeks to overcome the rigidities of 'rules' (which lie at the heart of the idea of Bernstein's code), with the more flexible notion of 'strategy' which incorporates the idea that structure and agency are implicit in each other rather than being dichotomous entities

Code (set theory · Habitus · Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social and Cultural Dynamics