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The ability trap: reductionist theorising about academic ability and the ramifications for education policy and school-based practice

Mazzoli Smith, L.D.

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Abstract

The paper argues that there is a reductive logic inherent in conceptualisations of academic ability in some Western education research as currently configured. Effective interrogation of this concept necessitates consideration across relevant fields of research, as outlined in three areas of critique: that research on educational stratification can adopt a contradictory stance with respect to conceptualising academic ability and defer to innate cognitive ability in pupil test data while denouncing this elsewhere; that cultural reproduction theory is itself a powerful social construction with ramifications for the possibility of equal learning opportunities for all; and that a narrow focus on educational stratification reifies instrumental outcomes, devaluing some of the broader purposes of education. It is argued that these reductive tendencies have ramifications for education policy and school-based practices. A lack of focus on, and clarity about, the concept of academic ability warrants more holistic conceptualising, which draws on methodological pluralism.

Citation

Mazzoli Smith, L. (2021). The ability trap: reductionist theorising about academic ability and the ramifications for education policy and school-based practice. Cambridge Journal of Education, 51(1), 85-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764x.2020.1782351

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 10, 2020
Online Publication Date Aug 3, 2020
Publication Date 2021
Deposit Date Aug 11, 2020
Publicly Available Date Aug 12, 2020
Journal Cambridge Journal of Education
Print ISSN 0305-764X
Electronic ISSN 1469-3577
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 51
Issue 1
Pages 85-103
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764x.2020.1782351

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Published Journal Article (Advance online version) (1 Mb)
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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Advance online version © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.




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