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Our schools are not yours: class differences

This paper broaches the relationship between educational systems and social classes, taking the work of Pierre Bourdieu as its reference point and further validating the work, through studies of the schooling process in the different Brazilian social classes. From the empirical data, the findings and their analysis were elicited. These concerned the school and schooling process in the different social groups. Using these results, an attempt was made to uncover some general principles or at least some clues pointing towards further research. It is an attempt to systematize research references that explore educational systems, thus facilitating further investigations into the schooling process. Bourdieu's paradigm, which is confirmed by this research, states that when wealth is distributed in an unequal way, the way in which groups and classes relate to the educational system depends on on the amount of property they own and the importance of possessions in defining ones social position. By disregarding these factors, the education system can be turned into an instrument that contributes to the unequal distribution of wealth, where those that already possess better conditions, are favored, at the outset and those without possessions are excluded.

Schooling; Educational System; Social Classes


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