A qualitative study applying Bourdieu’s concept of field to uncover social mechanisms underlying major curriculum reform

Planning committees play a key role in blueprinting major curriculum reform. In this qualitative study, we apply Bourdieu’s sociological concept of field to the perceptions of committee members to identify the social mechanisms operating in major curriculum reform. A planning committee with 18 members developed a blueprint for major curriculum reform at the Charité Berlin in its transition from a discipline-based programme to a fully integrated undergraduate medical programme. Interviews with 13 members about their experiences were subjected to inductive–deductive content analysis. Viewed through a Bourdieuan lens, the curriculum committee represents a social field of intense competition and conflicts. Groups of committee members struggled for and with different forms of economic, cultural and social capital to maintain and increase their power and social position in the medical programme. In our case, the major reform was accompanied by loss of power within the teaching department group, while the student group gained power. Bourdieu’s concept of field reveals that a major curriculum reform is substantially shaped by power struggles over various forms of capital and social positions related to the future curriculum. The findings may serve as a complementary guide for those navigating the complexity of major curriculum reform.