Learning habitus and the dynamics of lifelong learning

Abstract

In this article, the thesis is posited that Bourdieu's concept of habitus, if used in the analysis of lifelong (biographical) learning and training processes, requires reformulation in terms of biographical theory. In the light of this suggestion, the author presents her own concept of a biographical learning habitus. In an intergenerational study of parents and children working in the shipbuilding industry in Rostock, two significantly different patterns of learning habitus are identified. Given this context, the considerable influence of social frame conditions on continuity and change in deep-rooted patterns of learning are given special attention. The concluding section presents proposals for an innovative concept of lifelong learning and for (adult-) educational practices and research.