- Title
- Pierre Bordieu and the theory of medical education: thinking 'relationally' about medical students and the medical curricula
- Creator
- Brosnan, Caragh
- Relation
- Handbook of the Sociology of Medical Education p. 51-68
- Relation
- http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415460446/
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Resource Type
- book chapter
- Date
- 2009
- Description
- Sociologists have been studying medical education for more than 50 years. Rich empirical studies of life in medical schools and hospitals have been conducted by some of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, sociology has yet to put forth a coherent and comprehensive theory of medical education. Fred Rafferty has highlighted an analytical schism within the sociology of medical education between the majority of studies which focus on student socialization, and a less developed strand centering on organizational structure. In general, students' experiences have received ample scrutiny, while medical curricula, medical schools and the complex web of healthcare and higher-education institutions and policies impacting on medical education have received comparatively little attention. This divide is reflected in the use of theory within the sociology of medical education, which has tended to privilege agency over structure, and, less often, the reverse. As a consequence, sociology lacks a comprehensive theory accounting for both institutional arrangements and student practice in medical education, and the relationships between them. This chapter offers one way of bridging this divide by drawing upon Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical framework in medical education. Bourdieu (1930-2002) was one of the most influential sociologists of his generation. Although relatively recently applied within the sociology of health and illness, Bourdieu's work has been profoundly influential in many other areas, particularly in the sociology of education, where his theories and empirical work have elucidated how the social order is reproduced through the educational choices and practices of individuals and institutions. Bourdieu seeks to overcome the theoretical opposition between structure and agency, urging us instead to 'think relationally' about social practices. This framework can potentially enrich a part of sociology which has tended to overemphasize either individual experience or institutional politics, thereby neglecting their interrelation.
- Subject
- Pierre Bordieu; medical education; sociology of health and illness
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1058002
- Identifier
- uon:16307
- Identifier
- ISBN:9780415460446
- Language
- eng
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