On Reproduction, Habitus and Education

Abstract This paper sets out to demonstrate that Bourdieu's critics who claim that his theory is structurally frozen’, with no room for human agency misperceive the basis of the theory. The relationships between his theory and education are summarised and the concept of habitus explicated. Then drawing on Outline of a Theory of Practice, the determinants of practice are shown to incorporate change and human agency. This is then related to an examination of education as cultural practice, and some comments made in that light on a recent paper by Willis, and ‘Origins and Destinations’.