Women, professional education and socialisation : a case study of architecture

Abstract

This is a study of the professional education experiences and socialisation of women architectural students at the Victoria University of Wellington School of Architecture. A questionnaire was sent to twenty-six women students in the second, third and fourth professional years to gain information on their personal, family and educational backgrounds and values to determine if the women students came from homes possessed of what Bourdieu has termed 'social and cultural capital'. Questions on employment intentions sought to test Delamont's theory that women are attracted to work which involves the manipulation of cultural and symbolic property rather than material property. The women students were also questioned on aspects of their architectural education to determine to what extent the women students comprise a muted, inarticulate group within the School of Architecture. Follow-up interviews were conducted with eight women students, to gain deeper insight into professional education experiences at the School - in particular to gain an understanding of what Bourdieu has termed as a profession's habitus, and the areas of the profession's indeterminacy. Based on the interview data, Schon's architectural education theories are critiqued. The results of this study show that the majority of the women students come from professional homes, although not necessarily from architectural families. The particular characteristics of the architectural profession allow it, it is argued, to be somewhat more accessible to women and to the lower- middle and working classes. The women students intended to work in architectural areas which involved manipulation of cultural and symbolic property, rather than material property. Women did form a muted, inarticulate group within the School which supports Delamont's theory, and the profession's habitus showed itself most strongly in the design studio environment. This study reveals that a major issue in architectural education is the unequal distribution of power within the classroom. Recommendations for change in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment are made.