Bourdieu's Concepts for Research on Minority Graduates' Improvement Potential: The Case of Adult Learning for Employability

• In Event: The Politics and Policy of Achievement, Reform, and Choice

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, habitus, and social field can guide research in adult learning to address the issue of graduate unemployment. In the United States, racial issues are complex as socio-economic outcomes, such as employment outcomes, are determined by the social structure that serves this racial group while marginalizing other groups. Improvement efforts of minorities can disrupt the social structure and bring about more equitable socio-economic outcomes. The efforts, the social structure, and socio-outcomes highlight the importance of Bourdieu’s concepts in research on adult learning to improve employability and beyond.

Author

• Binh Chi Bui, University of Houston
  Presenting Author