Discourses on social class and meritocracy of vulnerable students in Chile

Abstract

This article presents and analyzes discourses of a group of children considered “vulnerable” about the influence of social class in school success or failure, in which meritocracy plays an important role. First, we analyzed the concept of meritocracy and its relationship to modernity and education. Then, we described the methodology used with the children, which provided information through a game of social identities. The analysis was accomplished through Critical Discourse Analysis, as we were also interested in observing and analyzing argumentative interactions. The results identify three discourses (“the small Bourdieu”, “the pessimist critics” and “the American dream”) and a predominant place of meritocracy as an explanatory factor of school success in the unprivileged social groups. Finally, we discuss the meritocratic discourses and their heavy burden in unequal societies such as the Chilean one.