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Madison Brown

About Madison Brown

http://www.colby.edu/directory_cs/mmbrow23/

Posts by Madison Brown:

Elite Schooling as the Global Dominant

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This research process has shaped the way I view elite schooling not only in the United States, but as a global force. Our research findings have guided my understanding of elite schools as a global phenomenon, via the use of their social groups, expectations, and curriculum. As I have analyzed these findings through interviews and theoretical work by Bourdieu, it has become transparent that elite schools aid in the reproduction of elites and provide a platform for elite students to flourish in a globally unequal educational system. 

Social bubbles are a dominant theme in our research findings. The Croft school creates social bubbles by keeping the elites and the working-class separate through closing off admissions to the school by not offering financial aid, resulting in only admitting kids who live in wealthy neighborhoods, coming from wealthy families. Through this practice, it creates a social divide within the education system in Chile and more broadly, within the community by limiting interaction between elite students and non-elite students who might attend publicly-funded schools. In addition to the Croft school, we have been exposed to numerous elite schools who have similar elite networks of students like the Croft, for example at Colby. Bourdieu discusses this phenomenon through his explanation of elite networks and the field of the game. What he argues is that elite networks play in the field of the game by controlling the rules, creating a landscape that allows them to win. Within this field, social networks play a large role in connecting elites together to remain in positions of power extending globally. To be a member of the elite ‘in-group’, Bourdieu explains how an individual must possess the social and cultural capital as well as economic capital to remain a member of the elite circle. This concept undermines the social bubble at the Croft as well as the social bubble globally for all elite schools whose criteria is strictly based on forms of social, cultural, and economic capitals.  

Secondly, we discovered social and academic expectations as a main theme for students at the Croft, which seems to be consistent with elites across the world. There is an expectation that as an elite student, one must follow a certain path and follow in the steps of their parents to remain in the elite income brackets. At the Croft specifically, the students express a level of academic expectations in what they study and how high their grades are to be socially approved by their families and peers. Similarly, elite schools across the world set the same expectations for their students. For example, if you go to an elite American Prep school, the expectation is that you will land admission at an Ivy League school or another highly-selective college. And if you attend an elite college, you will likely land in a high-paying prestigious entry level career. Bourdieu touches on this with his idea of elite schools as ‘training grounds for executives’ (Bourdieu, 2010) and how elite students are curated to be in positions of power and serve the greater good for the public. His idea supports these prestigious positions that elites are expected to enter, who control and also ‘serve’ the public due to their elite credentials and power. In addition, his concept of cultural capital explains how elites expect a certain level of performance and if one does not meet the standards, they “fail”. Not only does this encourage students to take a specific success path but it also legitimizes the widely known placed expectations and reproduction of elites, regardless of the country.

Lastly, and maybe the most obvious is that Croft is a British school located in Chile. They also express their efforts to provide a cosmopolitan education, meaning they are encouraging students to become familiar with cultures and education centered around global topics. By increasing the students’ exposure to a globalized curriculum, the school is positioned to appear that they are inclusive and helping students prepare to participate as well-educated citizens. Since this is a British run school, this means that the Croft is incorporating exposure to the British curriculum and the English language in Chile while also preparing students in other ‘elite ways’ that students might not experience if they were not in this elite institution. A cosmopolitan curriculum is very prevalent in elite schools including various diversity and language requirements to balance a well-rounded education, which is meant to create a globalized experience for students, preparing them to participate in ‘elite’ circles across the globe. 

By using Bourdieu as a framework to analyze elite schools and by reflecting on our findings, it helps contextualize how similar elite schools are whether they are in the United States, Chile, or China. These discoveries ground how and why elites are successful in the education system and in society. More generally, outside sources have framed my thinking of elite schooling as a global force by gaining exposure to schools in Japan, China, Sweden, etc. that each experience various forms of elite systemic practices and ultimately embody the work of Bourdieu, the Croft school, and elite schools in the States. Elite education exists worldwide and will continue to dominate our societies from the Global North to the Global South. 

Sources: 

Bourdieu, Pierre, et al. The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power. Stanford University Press, 2010. 




Non-Elites in an Elite Space

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I question how non-elites in elite spaces endure their everyday lives in an elite space. Recently, I have researched elite spaces and the types of things that contribute to and help define ‘elite status’. Studies have focused on non-elites in elite spaces, including the work of Anthony Jack and Shamus Khan who each performed ethnographic studies on elite spaces within another elite college and an elite American prep school, respectively. Furthermore, the work of Lauren Rivera speaks extensively on how elites are advantaged and non-elites are disadvantaged through the job hiring processes, even if they are coming from the same spaces (an Ivy League school). Underlying their work, Bourdieu’s theory of capital explains these socioeconomic and cultural differences that individuals face when thriving, or in this case, learning how to navigate such a space. In relation to my research, our focus is based solely on elite students and families where we have extensive data on the advantages they have in school and in society, similar to the works I mentioned. By using these works and our research we can come to the conclusion about what a disadvantaged student might look like at the Croft School. 

Advantaged individuals means those who are in economic and social positions that provide them with more advantageous opportunities than their peers without those opportunities. They use their social, economic, and cultural capital, allowing them to approach tasks with ‘ease’. Khan explains that elite students still have to work hard in school, but they still have underlying privileges and opportunities that benefit them. He uses the term “ease of privilege” which is how elite students embody their upper-class capitals and use them as guides to success. This is shown through our research where one student discussed her experience of being in an advantaged social position by having access to an elite education and economic advantage to secure other opportunities. Similarly, Rivera discusses the advantages that students face when landing entry-level jobs through relating to their interviewers by way of their elite experiences and cultural capital. Howard (2020) references advantage, “there is considerable ideological value to seeming diverse and therefore accessible and open. Ahmed (2012) has pointed out that the ideological function of diversity efforts creates the impression of more diversity than actually exists, and masks the realities that elite universities continue to mainly serve wealthy elites” (pg.84). These outside works are also representative of the students at Croft and parallel our findings through analysis of our interviews by replicating the advantages and unmatched opportunities that elite students face at the Croft schools versus those who are in public schools across Chilean society. These advantages take the forms of school admissions, job opportunities, economic positions, and other knowledge capitals within an elite circuit. 

On the other hand, disadvantaged students are individuals who are in elite spaces despite not possessing capital that helps them propel forward, land a top job, or navigate the hidden curriculum. Instead, these students must use other tactics and learned behaviors to find their success in an elite-dominated space. Furthermore, Jack calls this group the privileged poor. He describes them as “students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds but spend time at elite high schools before entering college” (Jack, 2020). He says they know what it’s like to be under the poverty line but at the same time know what it’s like to be in the top 1% (Jack, 2020). Although our research does not focus on disadvantaged students, I think it’s crucial to consider this group of students to fully understand the advantages that come from Croft. By analyzing data that exemplifies privilege, the ‘ease’, and the opportunity, we can contextualize what Croft students privilege really is. We can understand the broader societal impacts that Croft might have and the way that it reproduces elite students by restricting access by not offering financial aid, resulting in less disadvantaged student enrollment. Kids who are admitted into the Croft school and come from disadvantaged backgrounds may turn to these practices to blend in with their advantaged peers. Additionally, it shows how students who are not a member of the global elite, struggle to gain access and equality among their peers. 

Disadvantaged students must adopt other forms of behavior to fit in with their affluent peers. Some of these tasks might include things like insider coaching, mimicry, caricaturing difference, or by getting involved with organizations that promote diversity and inclusion (Rivera, 2016). Within these spaces, as Jack describes, disadvantaged students are forced to adapt to the dominant culture of wealth which entails learning a new set of behaviors, dress codes, and manners in both formal and informal settings. At the Croft school, without the possession of the correct forms of capital, there is a slim chance of achieving the same success as those who do possess it. Non-elites in elite spaces face drastic inequalities and disadvantages that are covered by the greater successes of the academic institutions. 

Sources: 

Bourdieu, Pierre, et al. The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power. Stanford University Press, 2010. 

Jack, Anthony Abraham. The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students. Harvard University Press, 2020. 

Jane Kenway & Adam Howard (2022) Elite universities: Their monstrous promises and promising monsters, Curriculum Inquiry, 52:1, 75-96, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2021.1994837

Khan, Shamus. Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School. Princeton University Press, 2021.

Rivera, Lauren A. Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs. Princeton University Press, 2016. 



How Does Elite Schooling Influence Career Choice?

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Through this research, I have found myself emerged in the study of elite schooling. Elite educational institutions have limited accessibility and benefit students who possess large amounts of economic, social, and cultural forms of capital. Elite institutions provide arenas where students who come from elite backgrounds flourish with the opportunity to utilize their capitals and advantages, especially in the workforce. Elite schools influence career choice in three ways. The first is that schools want to maintain a prestigious image of their school based on job placement, so they encourage students to enter into prestigious fields such as banking, consulting, or law firms (Rivera, 2012). This exemplifies how elite schools push students in certain directions to a perceived ‘high status’. Secondly, elite schools and parents hold high expectations for their students and kids academically and socially, which encourage career choices such as engineering or medical schools. Third, culturally, kids are crafted to enter these elite spaces. Rivera posed an example of this where she said, “elite professional service firms are a fertile ground for analyzing cultural similarities in hiring”. (Rivera, 2012). Elite institutions not only create an environment that allows elite students to flourish but also an environment that encourages certain career paths over others through cultural connections and networks. 

In my research, one student talked extensively about expectations placed on her as well as how this translated into what she is expected to do for her career. She discussed the expectations that she and her parents have when it comes to her grades and furthermore, the types of career choices they wish upon her. For context, her parents graduated from top universities and currently hold prestigious jobs, causing them to be in the top 1% of income in Chile. The student said, “I want to still have really high standards and do my best without stressing myself out very badly”. She called herself a perfectionist and highly motivated. She also said that her parents are very supportive of her but at the same time they encourage her to go into medicine or an engineering career. Another student said that most students will “probably work for their father’s company”, which is oftentimes a prestigious position. These students express how their visions are molded by their parents and educational environments. 

Bourdieu’s State Nobility describes this phenomenon. He uses examples of what classifies as elite disciplines versus non-elite disciplines. He uses words like “intelligent” versus “narrow-minded” characteristics when comparing the different disciplines. He also said, “disciplines choose their students as much as students choose their disciplines” (Bourdieu, 2010). This can be used to describe how elite students enter specific areas of study that lead to elite professions post-school, like at the Croft school. Additionally, he called elite schools “training grounds for executives”, demonstrating why elites enter into prestigious positions. He also explained how students oftentimes will enter into positions their family is in, especially in business firms. Lastly, he bases his work on how elites use their power to gain advantages and headway into elite occupations through the use of their capital, as shown through this research and outside sources. 

The concepts that Bourdieu and Rivera discuss, as well as how they are experienced at the Croft strongly correlate with Colby. Colby is considered an “elite school” that possesses a certain level of prestige, like the Croft school. At Colby, regardless of what you study, you are encouraged to enter into what are considered prestigious occupations like investment banking, consulting, medical professions, or law firms. The school pushes these fields so they can get the credit for sending them to elite occupations. Not only does the school influence career choice but so do family backgrounds students are coming from. Commonly at Colby, a majority of students enter into professions that their parents are already in. This was also experienced at the Croft school where the students said kids will work for their father’s business. Overall, elite institutions such as education and familial structures strongly influence elite student’s career paths, ultimately reproducing elites in our society. 

Sources:

Bourdieu, Pierre, et al. The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power. Stanford University Press, 2010. 

Hiring as cultural matching (moodle) Rivera , Lauren. “Hiring as Cultural Matching: The Case of Elite Professional Service Firms .” Sage , 2012, doi:10.1177/0003122412463213. 





Bubbles Within the Bubble

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As I have been in the early stages of exploring the information included in this study, the light has shined on one theme. There is a social ‘bubble’ that has been created both within the Croft school and more broadly, within the community. The overarching bubble consists of socioeconomic divides within communities that these students experience in their daily lives. Although our research focuses primarily on divides within the school itself, I want to acknowledge the broader divides students experience that represents Chilean community more broadly. This community divide has caused them to have minimal social interaction with lower social classes outside of school. Students express that the extent of their interactions outside of their bubble are ‘three times a year building houses in the community’ and that these exchanges are framed as the ‘upper-class “helping” the lower class,’ creating an uncomfortable environment for students interacting with lower classes. It positions students to be in roles of power, despite the effort to integrate them into the community. These outcomes showcase how Chilean culture approaches socioeconomic divides and provides context for why students may not interact with ‘outside’ individuals. 

The ‘bubbles within the bubble’ are explained through the Croft itself. Not only do students describe their lives as being a large ‘bubble’ but they also describe other ‘bubbles’ within their lives such as how various friend groups are created, career paths taken and academic expectations, as well as athletic involvement. One student described how his friend group evolved, saying his friends come from similar backgrounds that are not super rich and how their parents influenced their friendships. This is intriguing because it underscores how middle-class students navigate an extremely upper-class environment. Another student expressed that their friend group is split socially between some partying all of the time and others staying in. She said that she likes to do both but has separate friends for each. Furthermore, she describes how students can act arrogant and disrespectful which she doesn’t like to surround herself with. As far as career paths and expectations, they explained it as the students will probably work for their fathers company and framed it as jobs getting handed to them. Expectations in academics are very high, and you are expected to enter into a prestigious career. If you do not abide by these norms, you are outed from the ‘bubble’. Career paths and academics exemplify how this elite bubble provides its students with hefty advantages and how you are expected to uphold a level of loyalty to the ‘bubble’. Lastly, athletics create an inner bubble by way of involvement. Some students are heavily involved in varsity athletics which provides them with friends and other elite status within school while others choose to dance or swim recreationally. Sports at the Croft school take precedence and can influence social groups and sense of belonging in the school. 

The Croft school similarly represents Colby. At Colby the same types of bubbles exist where Colby students do not interact with the community much and also form bubbles within the Colby community itself. Colby is a very rich and secluded circle within the Waterville community (our ‘bubble’ on the hill), rarely interacting with outside community members. Within Colby, the same bubbles exist based on fields of study, athletics, career paths, and friendships. There are major divides among athletic involvement on our small campus, almost creating an idea of an ‘in/out’ group. Our areas of study and chosen career paths tend to divide us due to shared interests and perceived prestige of these choices. Friendships are often built on these foundations and from observation, also form based on socioeconomic backgrounds. Croft and Colby create and reproduce elite exclusionary practices both within the broader community and in the school by way of these ‘bubbles’.