Sociology of Possibility

An Invitation to Legitimation Code Theory
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-0-367-76533-0
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 312 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Legitimation Code Theory

Legitimation Code Theory or ‘LCT’ is having significant impact on research and practice, especially in education. Around the world, scholars and educators are using LCT to reveal the usually hidden ‘rules of the game’ that underlie achievement in social arenas as varied as education, law and media. These ‘legitimation codes’ are then taught and learned or mindfully changed to give access and success to more people. This book is the first ever introduction to LCT, written by its creator and based on thirty years of developing the framework in empirical research. It is the book for learning how to creatively enact this approach in your own work.

Sociology of Possibility explains the theoretical toolkit of LCT, how its concepts fit together, the ways of thinking they support, and how the framework opens up more possibilities for research. The book carefully defines LCT tools and draws on empirical studies of a wide range of real-world problems to illustrate how they can help you explain more in your research. It shows how these studies embrace the endless diversity of the social world through a shared conceptual language that supports knowledge-building. Chapters also walk you through using the concepts in ways that embrace both qualitative and quantitative methods, both rich empirical description and sharp theoretical analysis, and in interdisciplinary collaborations with other approaches. Sociology of Possibility will open your eyes to the extraordinary empowering and explanatory potential of this innovative approach. If you’re looking for a sophisticated framework that will help you offer solutions to real-world problems, whether as a postgraduate student, teacher trainer, academic developer or educator, this book is where you should begin.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Maton, Karl

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part I – Invitation and Introductions

1 Making the impossible possible: An invitation to Legitimation Code Theory

2 A sociology of possibility: Introducing the toolkit of LCT

3 A mindset of possibility: Introducing ways of thinking with LCT

Part II – Seeing Possibility

4 Legitimation, fields and dispositions: Seeing possibility in practices

5 Constellations: Seeing a universe of possibilities

Part III – Analysing Possibility

6 Specialization: Analysing knowledge and knowers

7 Semantics, part 1: Analysing context and complexity

8 Semantics, part 2: Codes and waves of context and complexity

9 Autonomy: Analysing contents and purposes

Part IV – Researching Possibility and Overcoming Divides

10 Activation devices: Overcoming the quantitative–qualitative divide

11 Translation devices: Bridging the theory–data divide

12 Doing research is shooting a movie: Transcending disciplinary divides

Part V – For Future Possibilities of Your Own

13 Relational glossary

14  Opening both eyes: A slight return

Über Autor(innen)

Karl Maton is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney and Honorary Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and Rhodes University. He is the creator of Legitimation Code Theory, a widely used framework that is having significant impact around the world, especially in education.