Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education, Teaching and Learning
Year: 2024
DOI:
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The Disposition to Drop Out: A Bourdieusian Analysis of School Dropout in El Salvador
Manuel Sanchez Masferrer
ABSTRACT:
This qualitative research paper analyzes the phenomenon of school dropout in El Salvador through Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, in particular the concepts of habitus, field, and capital. We focus on the complexity of dropout dispositions, situated at the intersection of individual experiences, family dynamics, and broader socio-economic contexts (Bourdieu 1977; Bourdieu & Passeron 1977). Based on in-depth interviews with dropouts from these urban centers of El Salvador, we argue that specific childhood experiences early in life—such as grief processes over a deceased relative (e.g., a father), loss through relocation (typically due to family migration or deportation), abandonment, violent experiences (both physical and emotional) caused by significant others—shape what Bourdieu would have called a “dropout habitus.” Habitus, or internalized dispositions of specific students, predisposes them to detach from educational institutions during times of struggle (Lehmann, 2007). In this paper we focus on how the field of poverty helps in fostering this dropout habitus. From a Bourdieusian perspective, poverty is defined as a field defined by a deficit in most of the forms of capital, such as economic, social, or cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1984). This deficiency not only hinders a child’s capacity to stay in school, but it also affects the emotional capital within the family, especially in mothers (Lareau, 2003). Based on the data collected, we argue that mothers living under the poverty line often lose basic emotional capital, which is needed in order to promote their children’s resilience and positive self-esteem. This deficiency in emotional capital, exacerbated by economic struggles, contributes significantly to the formation of a dropout habitus in their children (Maton, 2012). The decision to drop out, while influenced by this habitus, is often triggered by specific events within the educational field. These events, ranging from academic difficulties to social conflicts, interact with the student’s habitus and available capital to precipitate the act of dropping out (Gu & Huang, 2022). Importantly, our research reveals how Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence manifests in the educational system. Students with a dropout habitus often perceive themselves as inadequate or out of place in the school environment, internalizing structural inequalities as personal failings (Bourdieu, 1990). This study further enhances comprehension of school dropout phenomena by utilizing Bourdieu’s theoretical approach to explain how individual, family, and socio-structural factors are intertwined. It elaborates on how such capital is at times unevenly possessed in the field of poverty, thereby perpetuating a dropout habitus in some individuals (Krarup & Munk, 2016). Our findings have relevant implications for educational policy and practice in El Salvador, and other similar contexts. To address dropout rates, economic interventions alone are insufficient; we also need to consider how students’ socioemotional dispositions structure their action within the educational environment (Cipollone & Stich,2017). Future research may explore why and under what conditions the targeted development of emotional and cultural capital is necessary, in the case of students at risk of dropout and their families, in order to ameliorate the dropout habitus formation process, and thereby reduce dropout rates in these communities (Liu, 2021).
keywords: School dropout, Bourdieu’s theory, Habitus, Poverty, Emotional capital, Educational policy