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Exploring the Concept of ‘Habitus’ with Preservice Teachers Through the Use of Popular School Films

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Abstract

The thesis of this paper is that it is a productive venture to introduce preservice students to social theories that are typically not a part of teacher preparation programs. Examples of these theories are those associated with terms such as “habitus,” the “carnivalesque,” “power / knowledge,” “seduction,” “detournement,” “the spectacle,”“la perruque,” (the wig), and “the art of making do,”as well as others. In this paper, I describe a project that involved exploring the theory of “habitus” to problematize the tendency of preservice students to not think in terms of relations between what goes on in the classroom and what goes on in society. I introduced “habitus” by having preservice students read selected print materials and by having them view, analyze, and respond in writing to popular school films. Students also analyzed their experiences in classrooms in terms of habitus, making a connection between theory and practice.

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Trier, J. Exploring the Concept of ‘Habitus’ with Preservice Teachers Through the Use of Popular School Films. Interchange 33, 237–260 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020941318001

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