Disposed to Learn: Schooling, Ethnicity and the Scholarly Habitus

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Description

Disposed to Learn explores the relationship between ethnicity and dispositions towards learning, with a focus on primary school students of Chinese, Pasifika and Anglo Australian backgrounds. The authors challenge the tendency towards the essentializing of ethnicity within multiculturalism to argue for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between culture and academic performance. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, they examine how home and school practices produce particular attributes that are embodied as dispositions towards learning - the scholarly habitus. These home and school practices entail different modes of discipline which help or hinder student engagement. The book underlies the need for a better understanding of cultural diversity in schooling to address issues of educational inclusion.

Reviews

The relationship between ethnicity, class and educational achievement continues to confound scholars. In its lived form, it has the potential to divide communities. This book is a timely engagement with this 'hot' topic. It is accessible and provides insights based on research that are considered through a robust theoretical framework. This book is a 'must read', particularly for those directly engaged with the teaching profession. * Georgina Tsolidis, Professor of Education, University of Ballarat, Australia *
Watkins and Noble offer a richly theorised and empirically grounded account of the dynamics of learner differences. They show how different 'dispositions to learn' affect learner outcomes. Central to their account is the construct 'scholarly habitus'. They frame this as a multifaceted alternative to the over-simplifications of cognitivism and cultural pathologisation that frequently afflict educational research and practice. This book represents a significant advance in the field of cultural studies in education. * Mary Kalantzis, Dean of the College of Education, University of Illinois, USA *
Disposed to Learn disseminates valuable results from a complex and lengthy study in which the research design and the scope of work provide depth and breadth to the enduring problem in education, equitable educational opportunities across diverse groups of learners []Watkins and Noble provide a rigorous empirical and theoretical study worthy of consideration. -- Audrey A. Trainor * Teachers College Record *

Author Bio

Megan Watkins is Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and member of the Institute for Culture and Society at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. Greg Noble is Associate Professor at the Institute for Culture and Society, University of Western Sydney, Australia.