Educational Texts from the Perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Cultural Capital

Abstract

Educational texts constitute one of the fundamental pillars of the school field, as they form the core of the educational system and represent a decisive indicator of cultural capital that determines competence and academic success. However, this situation generates individual differences among learners in their ability to analyze and understand educational texts, thereby making the school an instrument for reproducing educational inequalities, or what Pierre Bourdieu refers to as symbolic violence. A child who encounters difficulties in understanding these texts becomes disadvantaged in comparison with peers who can easily comprehend educational materials. This helps explain lower levels of academic performance and may expose such learners to exclusion within the classroom environment. This article aims to highlight how the comprehension of educational texts contributes to enhancing competence and productivity, while difficulties in understanding them may lead to the reproduction of symbolic violence.