Teachers’ views on the impact of teacher–student relationships on school dropout: a Bourdieusian analysis of misrecognition

Abstract

Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s relational theory this paper shows that many teachers misrecognize the impact of teacher–student relationships on school dropout. The study is based on a series of 60 semi-structured interviews with teachers from Austrian secondary schools. The analysis of the empirical data reveals that many teachers attribute school disengagement and dropout to personal and family factors, whereas the causes of school dropout which are linked to the school structure, attitudes and behaviour remain unspoken or marginalised. The findings illustrate that the interplay between a defensive traditional teaching habitus, a field of traditional teaching and the mainstream doxa legitimises a logic of teaching practice which ignores the importance of social capital to counteract the process of dropping out. It is concluded that traditional habitus–field relations inhibit the building of social capital and relationships in school, which both are crucial resources to tackle school dropout.