Basil Bernstein: Code Theory and Beyond

The work of Basil Bernstein has proved generative of some of the most insightful and nuanced sociological studies of education of the last 25 years, including volumes produced following various symposia on Bernstein’s work, some more recent work produced under the auspices of social realism and legitimation code theory (LCT) (both of which draw extensively although by no means exclusively on Bernstein), and contemporary studies of education policy, globalisation and teachers’ work (e.g., articles in Ivinson and Singh, 2018). Bernstein’s stature as an imaginative and perceptive sociologist is assured, even if his work has been occasionally misunderstood or disregarded by contributors to educational research. His work is not easy to read, but the analytical potential it offers is considerable and not yet fully explored.

There have been few attempts to provide both an introduction to Bernstein and a critical examination of his theoretical oeuvre. Atkinson’s (1985) book was well received (apparently even by Bernstein), and in more recent times, Rob Moore’s (2013) work stands out as providing a depth of introduction that spans both the early Bernstein work and the later focus on the aspects of the sociology of knowledge (e.g., Bernstein, 2000). This newly published book, authored by Brian Barrett (himself a former PhD student of Moore), builds on this tradition by seeking to unpack the essence of Bernsteinian work while simultaneously providing the newcomer with some helpful guidance around the patch.

Barrett starts his book by underlining the ‘open’ nature of Bernstein’s concepts, emphasising their capacity to theorise ‘the organizing principles of practices’, including those that are as yet unimagined and those that may contribute to injustice and disadvantage. The considerable potential for abstract reasoning is highlighted, with Barrett arguing that this suggests that Bernsteinian thought has the resources both to illuminate a specific empirical context and to think through future possibilities (‘the not yet thought’ (Bernstein, 2000)). The introduction not only outlines something of Bernstein’s biography, the foundations of his thought in Durkheimian sociology and the distinctiveness of his approach, but also his scepticism regarding some of the sociology of education underway contemporaneously to his project. This is followed by chapter 2, which focuses in detail on Bernstein’s early work on the sociology of language and the origins of the ‘code theory’ due to which he achieved international recognition. As Barrett demonstrates, it is in this early phase that Bernstein’s empirical rigour and theoretical capacity were forged. Next, in chapter 3, we turn to the ground-breaking work on the classification and framing of educational knowledge in the early 1970s. This enabled a deeper consideration of the nuances of different modalities of pedagogy and curriculum and ‘the forms taken by classroom practices as embodiments of power and control’ (in Barrett’s words). Echoing the earlier work on elaborated and restricted codes, classification and framing were designed to be the basis for in-depth empirical work on pedagogic practice (and curriculum organisation) and provided the foundation for Bernstein’s later articulations of a sociology of knowledge. As Barrett notes, these are nevertheless fundamentally sociological concepts that could be employed beyond educational contexts.

Chapters 4 and 5 focus on Bernstein’s later work, namely the ‘pedagogic device’ (chapter 4) and ‘discourses and knowledge structures’ (chapter 5). Barrett shows that with the pedagogic device, Bernstein entered a new phase that explored how ‘the message systems of education are put together’, transformed and reproduced through various interrelated ‘fields’. With this innovation it was possible to theorise the transformation of educational knowledge (and identity and consciousness) all the way ‘from macro relations … through to the meso level of policy and reform’ and further to ‘teaching and learning at the micro level’ (in Barrett’s words). This leap forward opened up new objects and processes of inquiry for Bernsteinian work, including studying the enactment of education policies and theorising the production of knowledge and identity. The ‘discourses and knowledge structures’ work in the final part of Bernstein’s career turned the focus to the distinguishing features of the knowledge that is produced in intellectual fields. As Barrett explains, this reinforced some of the Durkheimian ancestry of Bernstein’s project by elaborating on the differentiation made between specialised and non-specialised forms of knowledge, identifying how this can be further advanced to distinguish between the knowledge structures that characterise differing disciplines.

In chapters 6 and 7, Barrett outlines two intellectual offshoots that have drawn on Bernstein – social realism and LCT. Social realism is seen as ‘continuing Bernstein’, and arguably, this would be principally although not exclusively in terms of Bernstein’s later work on knowledge structures (and considering implications for curricula). It would probably be fair to say that the most prominent social realist thinkers (e.g., Young, Muller, Wheelahan, Rata) are best known as sociologists of curriculum, notwithstanding their other contributions, and perhaps only some would be described as Bernsteinian scholars (Moore and Muller, for example). LCT, on the other hand, is seen as ‘building on Bernstein’ and is portrayed as expanding on the notion of the code to generate new theoretical potentialities. Barrett notes the correspondence between LCT and the modus operandi of Bernstein’s project, in the focus on the ‘close, productive, and bilateral relationship between theory and data’. LCT has certainly led to a considerable volume of empirical research and to the ongoing generation and iteration of further ‘open’ concepts. Chapter 8 of the book is also exceptionally helpful in providing brief summaries of Bernstein’s work and some significant volumes of subsequent Bernsteinian, social realist and LCT research. In so doing, Barrett emphasises the range of scholarship – both orthodox and less orthodox – that has emerged.

This book is notable for its readability – Barrett manages to convey the complex nuances of Bernstein’s work with a lucidity and accuracy that is admirable. Rather than attempt to capture all of the Bernsteinian work produced (which might in any case prove impossible to achieve), this book provides a distillation of the ley lines of the field, demonstrating to the reader the pathways between the notable landmarks and achievements of the ongoing Bernsteinian project and profiling ancillary camps that have some shared theoretical ancestry. Both graduate students and more seasoned academics will therefore gain considerably from Barrett’s book – as a point of reference and a general frame from which Bernstein’s work can be further explored it will be much appreciated.