The human development and capability approach: A counter theory to human capital discourse in promoting low SES students’ agency in education

Abstract

This discursive article discusses some of the inherent and durable problems associated with human capital discourses in education. While human capital is regarded as a core element in ensuring international competitiveness, this discourse greatly jeopardizes the ability of lower SES students to acquire agency through schooling. This is due to its two self-contradictory assumptions: a profit-based ideology and a neglect of the influence of social structure on educational inequality, which greatly contribute to educational inequity. We argue that educational inequity can be improved through two complementary perspectives, which address the influence of structural constraints on educational results, as argued by Bourdieusian academics, and which optimize the advantages of agency, as proposed by the human development and capability approach.