Responding to hysteresis: a Bourdieusian study of pedagogical change in the classrooms of music teachers

Abstract

This paper utilises Bourdieu’s concept of hysteresis to explore factors which prompted five Australian music teachers to instate pedagogical approaches deemed ‘atypical’. Critics labelling Bourdieu’s work as deterministic have previously implied that Bourdieusian concepts are unable to readily explain processes of pedagogical change, particularly when the habitus of individuals predisposes them to instate dominant practices. Leaning on the theoretical work of Yang and Courtney this paper utilizes empirical data to explore how the complex interrelationship between policy, field conditions and habitus prompted a state of hysteresis for music teachers in Victoria, Australia. It further explores how this state of hysteresis encouraged participants to introduce atypical music education pedagogies associated with popular musicianship into their practice.