Investigating students’ perspectives of learning and participating in seminars using a Bourdieuian perspective

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Vygotsky's and Bourdieu's theoretical perspectives contributed to the insights I gained about student teachers’ perceptions of seminars and my role as a seminar tutor. The paper is based on the findings from a doctoral study into students’ perspectives of learning and participating in seminars. Using a constructive grounded theory approach, I interviewed five 2nd year teacher education students and consulted relevant institutional documents. From a Vygotskian perspective, the data highlighted the complexity and dynamic nature of seminars where relationships, pedagogical tools and artefacts played an important meditational role. By highlighting the significance of the wider context, however, Bourdieu’s theory of practice and in particular his concept of symbolic violence gave a richer perspective of participants’ perspectives of seminars. In particular, by drawing attention to the impact of dominant discourses on individuals' practices, it provided a more nuanced view about the meanings they attached to their seminar experiences, and enabled a deeper reflection about my own practice and values as a tutor/lecturer in higher education.