THE ROLE OF CULTURAL PROCESSES IN THE PRODUCTION OF SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES

Abstract

The field of sociology of education includes a wide literature on the role and functions of the school in the production of social inequalities in different forms. This article deals with the formation and transformation of social inequalities and the potential of reproduction in different forms through examining the cultural processes and providing case studies on education. The major concepts that play a central role in the article are identification and rationalization as cultural processes and symbolic boundaries. Other additional concepts with which these concepts are related are “stigmatization” and “racialization” under identification, and “standardization” and “evaluation” under rationalization. Cultural processes are positioned as the connection point between inequalities organized at the cognitive level and inequality structures at the macro level. In conclusion, this article frames the critical role of meso-level cultural processes in understanding the production and reproduction of social inequalities at cognitive and macro levels, and invites us to problematize the relationship between cultural processes and the forms of inequalities in education.

Keywords

• education
• cultural processes
• identification
• rationalization
• symbolic boundaries
• social stratification

KÜLTÜREL SÜREÇLERİN EĞİTİM VE TOPLUMSAL ALANDAKİ EŞİTSİZLİKLERİN ÜRETİMİNE ETKİSİ

Öz

Okul kurumunun toplumsal eşitsizliklerin üretiminde farklı formlarda rol ve işlevler üstlendiğine yönelik eğitim sosyolojisi alanı geniş bir literatür içermektedir. Bu makale toplumsal eşitsizliklerin oluşumu, dönüşümü ve farklı formlarda kendini yeniden üretme potansiyelini kültürel süreçler üzerinden ele almakta ve eğitim alanından araştırmalara başvurarak incelemektedir. Kültürel süreçlere yönelik metinde merkezi rol üstlenen temel kavramlar özdeşleşme (identification) ve rasyonalizasyon (rationalization) ile sembolik sınırlardır (symbolic boundaries). Bu kavramların ilişkili olduğu diğer ek kavramlar ise özdeşleşme altında “damgalama” ve “ırksallaştırma” ile rasyonalizasyon altında “standardizasyon” ve “değerlendirme” dir. Kültürel süreçler bilişsel düzeyde örgütlenen eşitsizlikler ile makro düzeydeki eşitsizlik yapıları arasındaki bağlantı noktası olarak konumlandırılmaktadır. Sonuç olarak bu makale, toplumsal eşitsizliklerin bilişsel (cognitive) ve makro düzlemlerde üretim ve yeniden üretiminin anlamlandırılmasında orta (meso-level) düzeyde kültürel süreçlerin belirleyici olduğunu çerçevelemekte ve eğitim alanında var olan eşitsizliklerin kültürel süreçler ile ilişkisini tartışmaya açmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• eğitim
• kültürel süreçler
• özdeşleşme
• rasyonalizasyon
• sembolik sınırlar
• toplumsal tabakalaşma

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