Knowledge and Knowers: Towards a realist sociology of education PDF
Preview Knowledge and Knowers: Towards a realist sociology of education
Knowledge and Knowers We live in ‘knowledge societies' and work in ‘knowledge economies’, but accounts of social change treat knowledge as homogeneous and neutral. While knowledge should be central to educational research, it focuses on processes of knowing and condemns studies of knowledge as essentialist. This book unfolds a sophisticated theoretical framework for analysing knowledge practices: Legitimation Code Theory or ‘LCT’. By extending and integrating the influential approaches of Pierre Bourdieu and Basil Bernstein, LCT offers a practical means for overcoming knowledge-blindness without succumbing to essentialism or relativism. Through detailed studies of pressing issues in education, the book sets out the multidimensional conceptual toolkit of LCT and shows how it can be used in research. Chapters introduce concepts by exploring topics across the disciplinary and institutional maps of education: • how to enable cumulative learning at school and university • the unfounded popularity of ‘student-centred learning’ and constructivism • the rise and demise of British cultural studies in higher education • the positive role of canons • proclaimed ‘revolutions’ in social science • the ‘two cultures’ debate between science and humanities • how to build cumulative knowledge in research • the unpopularity of school Music • how current debates in economics and physics are creating major schisms in those fields. LCT is a rapidly growing approach to the study of education, knowledge and practice, and this landmark book is the first to systematically set out key aspects of this theory. It offers an explanatory framework for empirical research, applicable to a wide range of practices and social fields, and will be essential reading for all serious students and scholars of education and sociology. Karl Maton is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Sydney, Australia, and Honorary Professor at Rhodes University, South Africa. Praise for Knowledge and Knowers: ‘This tour-de-force will set the agenda for the future of the sociology of education. Maton's writing is always engaging and thought-provoking. The book offers nothing less than a new approach to the morphology of sociological knowledge itself – a ”must-read”.’ Michael Grenfell, Professor of Education at Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland, and internationally renowned expert on the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. ‘A truly majestic contribution that advances fundamentally the ideas of Basil Bernstein and Pierre Bourdieu. It is a formidable piece of work: imaginative, thought-provoking, intellectually out-reaching, and will surely constitute essential reading across the social sciences.’ John Evans, Professor of Sociology of Education and Physical Education at the University of Loughborough, UK, and author of numerous books in sociology of education. ‘For decades sociology has been the missing link in discourse analyses of social context. Maton's inspirational volume consolidates a sociology of immense theoretical insight and undaunted analytical precision to make this blind-spot obsolete. Theory is every scholar's best friend; social theory of this order is a very best friend indeed.’ J.R. Martin, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney, Australia, author of numerous books on language and education, and internationally recognized as a leading scholar of systemic functional linguistics. Knowledge and Knowers Towards a realist sociology of education Karl Maton First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 K. Maton The right of K. Maton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Maton, Karl. Knowledge and knowers: towards a realist sociology of education/Karl Maton. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Educational sociology. 2. Education—Curricula. 3. Constructivism (Education) I. Title. LC191.M17 2014 306.43'2—dc23 2013008156 ISBN: 978-0-415-47999-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-88573-4 (ebk) Typeset in Galliard by Book Now Ltd, London For my mother, Rosemarie Contents List of illustrations Acknowledgements 1 Seeing knowledge and knowers: Social realism and Legitimation Code Theory 2 Languages of legitimation: The curious case of British cultural studies 3 The epistemic-pedagogic device: Breaks and continuities in the social sciences and mathematics 4 Knowledge-knower structures: What's at stake in the ‘two cultures’ debate, why school Music is unpopular, and what unites such diverse issues 5 Gazes: Canons, knowers and progress in the arts and humanities 6 Semantic gravity: Cumulative learning in professional education and school English 7 Semantic density: How to build cumulative knowledge in social science 8 Cosmologies: How to win friends and influence people 9 Insights, gazes, lenses and the 4-K model: Fiercely fought struggles and
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