Papers by Marta Cristina Azaola
British Journal of Sociology of Education, May 11, 2023
Journal of Education for Teaching, Oct 3, 2019
International Studies in Sociology of Education, Jun 1, 2012
ABSTRACT The paper reflects upon the principles and practice of an alternative educational system... more ABSTRACT The paper reflects upon the principles and practice of an alternative educational system operating in rural Mexico in the light of Bourdieu’s theory of cultural and social reproduction. Bourdieu’s theory seeks to explain processes of reproduction of power relations within schools and society; whereas alternative educational systems seek to expand educational access in deprived areas in order to counteract processes of social inequality. The paper argues that, although Bourdieu’s theory does not fully explain the gradual inclusion of more people from disadvantaged backgrounds into education through alternative educational systems, processes of social reproduction in deprived communities still occur mainly because of lack of state support after primary school level, and a shortage of better infrastructure and opportunities for this sector of the population. Since the widespread upward educational and class mobility of the rural poor has not yet been achieved, the paper concludes that the processes of cultural and social reproduction continue despite the introduction of alternative educational systems.
British Educational Research Journal, Feb 21, 2013
This paper draws on qualitative data from a mixed-method study that analysed women's access to th... more This paper draws on qualitative data from a mixed-method study that analysed women's access to the principal role and their leadership experiences. The paper draws on a subset of interviews with 54 female head teachers in the Gauteng and North West provinces of South Africa. Since a mothering style of leadership was self-reported by over half of the participants in our study, this paper aims to explore the diverse ways in which motherhood was constructed and the outcomes of these constructions on women.
Journal of Further and Higher Education, Aug 27, 2019
Although the support provided by extended family (EF) members to university students has recently... more Although the support provided by extended family (EF) members to university students has recently been more investigated, EF support in Higher Education (HE) is rarely considered as an element worthy of analysis in its own right. Situated in an international context and looking across diverse HE systems, this narrative review has two main aims. First, to provide a map of research on the influence of EF members in HE. Second, to link research to HE practitioners and policy makers as a way to promote diversity within universities. The main argument is that by considering students' networks of support outside university, more effective diversity policies can be implemented at the institutional level. Employing the concepts of extended family, funds of knowledge and social support (SS) as a foundational background, the paper identifies SS that achieves positive outcomes and support which outcomes are less effective. Fifty-three studies employing different methodologies were considered. Selected articles (22) were then classified, synthesised and analysed by the author. The paper discusses the role of EF in HE in relation to four subgroups of students: traditional; non-traditional; international and dropout. Four main constants were identified in the literature: a) SS is a cultural-based practice; b) research emphasises positive effects of SS; c) research tends to focus on ethnic minorities, and d) there is an unclear separation between parental and the support provided by EF members. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for further research and practice.
Journal of Youth Studies, Nov 1, 2012
The Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM), supported by the ... more The Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM), supported by the Commonwealth Foundation, the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance, and the University of Southampton, have established a long-term plan to map women’s representation in CCEAM affiliate members’ countries, to record their experience and to use the data to make recommendations on how women can be further supported and empowered to lead schools. This paper reports on the pilot project to establish in two provinces of South Africa, in relation to women head teachers’ experience, the gender factors and other related factors (such as language, culture, religion or ethnicity) which impact on being appointed to a principal and on enacting the role. The paper draws on interviews with 54 female head teachers in the Gauteng and North West provinces of South Africa. Since a mothering style of leadership was self-reported by over half of the participants in our study (29 in total), this paper aims to explore the diverse ways in which motherhood was constructed and the outcomes of these constructions on women’s approach to leadership. Drawing on concepts such as gender (West & Zimmerman, 1987); (Corsun & Corsten, 2001) and mothering (Nakano, 1994), the paper focuses on how women position themselves as mothers at the workplace and how this shapes their relationship with students, parents and other members of staff. It concludes by suggesting that in the ongoing struggle to achieve greater equality for women school leaders, homogenising western interpretations of doing and undoing gender are inappropriate
Sinéctica, Revista Electrónica de Educación, 2018
The paper reflects upon Bourdieu's theory of cultural and social reproduction in light of an ... more The paper reflects upon Bourdieu's theory of cultural and social reproduction in light of an alternative educational system operating in rural Mexico. Bourdieu’s theory seeks to explain reproductive processes of power relations within schools and society whereas alternative educational systems seek to expand educational access across deprived areas in order to counteract processes of social inequality. By exploring how a specific alternative educational system operates, the paper demonstrates that Bourdieu's theory of cultural and social reproduction does not fully explain the gradual inclusion of more people from disadvantaged backgrounds into education through alternative educational systems operating specially within financially deprived areas. Instead the paper argues that processes of social reproduction in deprived communities occur mainly because of the lack of state support after the primary school level and shortage of better infrastructure and opportunities for this sector of the population such as employment and healthcare.
Sage eBooks, May 1, 2013
The sociology of education is a rich interdisciplinary field that studies schools as their own so... more The sociology of education is a rich interdisciplinary field that studies schools as their own social world as well as their place within the larger society. The field draws contributions from education, sociology, human development, family studies, economics, politics and public policy. Sociology of Education: An A-to-Z Guide introduces students to the social constructions of our educational systems and their many players, including students and their peers, teachers, parents, the broader community, politicians and policy makers. The roles of schools, the social processes governing schooling, and impacts on society are all critically explored. Despite an abundance of textbooks and specialized monographs, there are few up-to-date reference works in this area.
CISU eBooks, 2010
... Azaola, Marta Cristina (2010) Relazione famiglia -educazione in una zona rurale di Michoacán,... more ... Azaola, Marta Cristina (2010) Relazione famiglia -educazione in una zona rurale di Michoacán, Messico. In, Gobbo, Francesca and Tallè, Cristiano (eds.) Antropologia ed Educazione in America Latina. Rome, IT, CISU, 231-243. (Etnografia dell'educazione, 3). ...
This study analysed the ways in which financially disadvantaged families in rural Mexico got invo... more This study analysed the ways in which financially disadvantaged families in rural Mexico got involved in their children’s education. This included schooling experiences and informal learning outside school of girls and boys aged 3 to 16 years. In doing so, the study examined whether the community’s social and institutional organisations helped or hindered parents’ forms of participation in their own and their children’s formal and informal education. The purpose was to analyse the aspirations families had and the obstacles they faced in terms of education. Parents’ transmission of knowledge, values and practices to their children were also explored. Likewise, the study analysed the way in which parents’ backgrounds influenced their strategies of involvement and investigated whether a lack of adequate financial resources inhibited the children’s educational participation and choices. Testimonies of teachers and local authority officials were taken into account in order to analyse the relationship of families with the community school.
This paper analyses the particular realities of 4 mothers and their young children. The paper aim... more This paper analyses the particular realities of 4 mothers and their young children. The paper aims to discuss mothers’ dispositions, both individually and as family members. Whilst bearing in mind their individual life-trajectories, the paper analyses how the concepts of habitus (Bourdieu, 2000) and intersectionality (Gill, 2007) help to understand the interconnections and interdependence of mothers’ gender, ethnicity, class, age, marital status and educational background with their children’s transitions. Thus, the aim of the paper is to analyse the impact of these categories on the resources and strategies mothers had regarding their children’s educative experiences.
This research focuses on parental involvement in their children's education in a Mexican rural co... more This research focuses on parental involvement in their children's education in a Mexican rural community. Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of social and cultural reproduction, the key concepts under investigation were field, habitus, social, cultural and symbolic capital. From an ethnographic perspective, data were collected through a variety of research methods in the autumn of 2005. I managed to interact closely with participants in order to investigate their attitudes, knowledge and practices with respect to the formal and informal education in their own and their children's lives. The values they transmitted to their children were also important objects of study. Investigating parents' background and their interaction with the community school was crucial in order to understand their constraints in getting involved in their children's education. The paper analyses parents' satisfaction with the provision of formal education in their community and, families' limitations in getting involved. It also illustrates that parental involvement was regarded mainly as a mothers' task. The relevance of this study relies on the attempt to test Bourdieu's theory in an area that has been generally under-explored as is the case of parental involvement in rural settings.
This paper draws upon ongoing doctorate research that seek to understand how financially disadvan... more This paper draws upon ongoing doctorate research that seek to understand how financially disadvantaged families in a Mexican rural community become involved in education. Drawing on Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, the study analyses whether the community’s social and institutional organisation helped or restricted parents to participate in their own, their children’s and youngsters’ formal and informal education. The paper analyses the effects of the community’s rural location on participants’ social organisation and identity. It also explains why, as a consequence of their location, the schooling provision in the community was different from that of urban ‘mainstream’ schools. It finally reports on the role played by informal education especially with respect to teenagers’ occupational choices. The findings here discussed provide evidence of the gender inequalities operating both at community and school levels; the importance that literacy and numeracy had for participants; parents’ perception of the community school, and the effects of the location of the community on youngsters’ trajectories.
This paper focuses on what my doctoral research identified as the three spheres of parental invol... more This paper focuses on what my doctoral research identified as the three spheres of parental involvement in education: education policies, school and teachers and students and their families. Evidence from this research suggests that the way in which these spheres influence each other is not always equal and constant since the first two spheres have more active levels of interaction whereas students and their families usually have more contact only with schools and teachers. Although ideally the three spheres should have a balanced relation with respect to the home-school-community links, it can be argued that a bottom-up intervention is, in practice, more difficult to achieve considering that there is little role for parents in influencing policy. For this reason, the three spheres are not completely articulated although they have permeable boundaries. This paper will explore the components of each sphere and will provide empirical evidence on how they operate in the Mexican context.
This paper focuses on the issues raised by negotiating access to the fieldwork setting and the pr... more This paper focuses on the issues raised by negotiating access to the fieldwork setting and the process of gaining participants’ permission and trust. It also analyses the advantages and limitations of the different methods of data collection employed, which included observation, focus group interviews, and unstructured interviews, as well as household surveys and photographs taken by the researcher and the families involved in the study. Finally, the paper explores how participants’ receptivity changed over the course of the fieldwork.
This paper analyses home-school-community links from three different standpoints: education polic... more This paper analyses home-school-community links from three different standpoints: education policies, schools and families. The paper provides empirical evidence on how education policies, schools and families operate in the Mexican context. Evidence from this study suggests that the interrelationship between these three standpoints is not equal and constant. Although it could be argued that ideally these should have a balanced relation, evidence from this study reveals that a bottom-up intervention is, in practice, more difficult to achieve considering that it is difficult for families to influence education policies and change school practices. The paper claims that studies on home-schoolcommunity links should critically explore the interrelation between education policies, schools and families in order to unveil inequalities within home-school community links.
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Papers by Marta Cristina Azaola