Social Distinction and Reproduction in the Educational Field: A Phenomenological Understanding of Social Distinction Among Students at Kurdistan University

The present study seeks the phenomenology of understanding the social differentiation of Kurdistan University students from social reproduction in the field of education. Considering the theories of social reproduction of people such as Bourdieu, Apple, Bowles and Genies, the status of social differentiation has been interpreted and how it is reproduced in the field of education. These theorists believe that formal education is a tool in the hands of certain strata and classes of society to consolidate their desired values and norms and the permanence and consistency of their power within the society that reproduces the field of education. To achieve this goal, we interpret students' perceptions of this and use the phenomenological method, which seeks to discover the unchanging common experience of all participants. Therefore, in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 students of Kurdistan University faculties in different fields, and the data were formed through four steps of reading and understanding the totality of the data, horizontalization and summarization of the data, and the formation of semantic units.

Results: The topics were described and collected and analyzed. The results show that the distinction in choosing the field is the first manifestation of the distinction that upper class students make to achieve and master the educational field. Although this started in high school with a tendency towards private education, due to access to resources, facilities and opportunities in higher education, the distinction is also highlighted and ultimately leads to the continuation of their class position.