ABSTRACT
Bourdieu’s sociology was introduced to mainland China in the late 1970s. Since then, it has exerted an extensive influence on Chinese social sciences research, educational research included. The use of Bourdieu in Chinese educational research generally underwent three developmental stages: initial introduction (1979–2001), broad exploration (2002–09), and in-depth discussion (2010–17). These stages are inseparable with the macro social background of mainland China, the Reform and Opening-Up in particular. Among Bourdieu’s sociological notions, field, habitus, cultural capital, and practice have the most far-reaching impact on Chinese educational research. These notions have been widely employed across a whole spectrum of Chinese education, from pre-school to higher education, from teacher education to curriculum research, from education reform to theory-practice connection. Over the past forty years, Bourdieu’s sociological thinking has become one of the most important Western schools of thought that have had significant impact on Chinese educational studies, especially the study on educational equity. Yet the use of Bourdieu in mainland China largely remains introductory and selective in nature. Systemic capture of Bourdieu is limited. Criticism based on the Chinese position is silent. Although the methodological significance of Bourdieu’s sociology has been recognised by a handful of Chinese educational researchers, it has not yet received due attention. Neither has it come to inform the habitus, structure, and evaluation practice in Chinese educational research.
