Cultural Production/Reproduction

The two concepts of cultural production and cultural reproduction refer to the ways in which cultural form and content have continuity and yet are changeable. They are in essence two sides of the same coin. With regard to education, one can think of two kinds of reproduction: economic and cultural. The first, economic, refers to the role of education in reproducing positions in the paid and unpaid labor market. The second, cultural, refers to the ways in which education reproduces the norms, values, dispositions, and knowledge of a society. Usually, these norms, values, dispositions, and knowledge will be those of dominant groups. However, at other times, they will include those of oppressed groups. Often, because of struggles over what is to be reproduced, what counts ...