Engaging with Bourdieu: A Review of the Utilization of Bourdieu Within Children and Young People’s Geographies

Abstract

While the work of Pierre Bourdieu has had a significant impact on the fields of anthropology, educational research and cultural studies, his ideas have much less commonly been used by geographers. In this chapter, the authors review Bourdieu's central concepts and ideas and then examine how Bourdieu has been utilised within research in children and young people's geographies to enhance understandings of children, space and social justice. This analysis reveals that singular concepts of Bourdieu's (social and cultural capital) have been applied with some frequency but that his integrated conceptual triad or complete theory of practice has much less commonly been used. The chapter concludes with some examples of how more in-depth approaches through Bourdieu could support richer understandings of children and young people's geographies.