Abstract
Using the concept of institutional habitus, the article analyses the distinctive everyday practices in two nursery schools (privately-funded Forest nursery and publicly-funded Estate nursery). Based on data from interviews and from direct observations it explores how the habitus of both nurseries is constituted; focusing on social context of each nursery, its organizational structure, shared values and interpersonal and community relationships. Those aspects are discussed with theories of parental attitudes and styles and its consequences for social reproduction as addressed in the works of Bourdieu, Lareau, and Reay. The analysis shows that parents are hoping for similar outcomes (e.g. self-reliance) however they believe in different paths leading to those goals. Additionally, through looking at the habitually framed difference in the perceptions of discipline and social control exercised through institutional rules we illustrated how the exclusivity of private institution is constructed. We concluded, it is not just the required fee, but also the adequate level of cultural capital needed to understand the sophisticated code of rules that are framed by freedom and as voluntary. The analysis of such subtle processes is important for understanding educational inequalities and reinforcing social cohesion through education.
Highlights
The analysis explores the institutional habitus of two nurseries and answers the question of how institutional habitus is formed through various practices
This text starts with the assumption that the parental choice of a school is influenced by family values, cultural orientation, and worldview (Kašparová & Klvaňová, 2016), which are connected to the family habitus
Using the method of interviews and direct observations we investigate if those family values are in accordance with the institutional habitus of the researched institutions and if this is even seen as important
Summary
If It Were Not Exceptional, We Wouldn’t Have Chosen It: Institutional Habitus of Two Nursery Schools the sphere of public ECEC facilities is undergoing diversification. Some facilities have used this situation to create specific profiles, and parental demand indicates that certain nursery schools attract more parental attention than others This change was the primary motivation for our research. Some institutions distinguished themselves from other nursery schools by offering new pedagogical approaches, distinctive curriculum, excellent facilities, low student-teacher ratios, and even a different philosophical framing. For this reason, we focused our Czech ECEC diversification research on an analysis of institutional habitus, enabling us to study the differences among institutions that are not discernible in research using objectively set quality criteria. It is not surprising that the concept of habitus is widely used in education research
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