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This paper discusses Pierre Bourdieu's multi-faceted understanding of the higher education process by considering the evolution of this domain since the end of the 1970s both in France and England. Following a brief review of Bourdieu's main interpretations of higher education, several theoretical shifts in his thought and practice over time are identified that have sought to accommodate the rapid changes that have occurred in the higher education sector in recent years. This theoretical repositioning is used to reflect on ideas of homological reasoning advanced by Bourdieu and others, and their limitations in the cross-national comparative exercise. Using the findings of her own comparative study of the evolution of the French and English higher education sectors, the author tests some of the conceptual tools developed by Bourdieu mainly during the 1960s and 1970s, and discusses claims for their universal validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses some of the findings pertaining to how teachers see their work which were produced by a comparative study of 360 French and 360 English primary school teachers. The sample was drawn from schools in four different types of matched catchment areas-rural, inner-city, average suburban and affluent suburban-in Avon, UK and Bouches du Rh&oˆne, France four major dimensions of difference between the two national contexts are identified in terms of the range of professional activities undertaken, the ambiguity of the teacher's task, the style of pedagogy and the relative importance to teachers of the process as against the products of learning. Against a background of contemporary policy changes which seem likely to render the teaching context increasingly similar in the two countries, the article argues that attempts to change teacher's practice without due regard to those conceptions of professional responsibility which are deeply rooted in particular national traditions as well as more general classroom realities, will result in a lowering of morale and decreased effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]