Research for Progressive Change: Bourdieu and Social Work

Abstract

Social work research about poverty is complex, ideally blending academic efforts with a social justice professional agenda. But the translation between research and practice is challenged by a poor fit between the increasingly dominant economic models used in much poverty research and the political contexts in which poverty is shaped and experienced. This article argues for the relevance of Pierre Bourdieu’s scholarship to a social work poverty research agenda. Accounting for class, conflict, and the dynamics of the political economy, Bourdieu’s conceptual framework provides a map for contextualizing poverty and integrating research and social change efforts.