Teachers’ perception of students’ performance in the architectural design studio in the light of Bourdieu

Abstract

The socioeconomic class system defines every aspect of life in Pakistan, education being one of them. Varied socioeconomic backgrounds along with a strongly discriminated education system produce individuals with a varying level of cultural capital that is familiarity with the dominant culture of society. Success in education is largely dependent upon inherent personality attributes or habitus, as defined by Bourdieu, playing a vital role. To understand the relation of students’ cultural capital with architectural education from a neutral point of view, this study focuses on comprehending teachers’ perception of the impacts of social background on students’ personality and their performance in the design studio. Detailed semi-structured interviews are conducted with 14 design teachers from four architectural schools in Lahore. The results show that the majority of teachers believe that social background has vast impact on students’ personality and defines their cultural capital, which dictates their design ability.