Society

Education is supposed to reward merit, yet German PISA outcomes remain strongly associated with socioeconomic background. Bourdieu’s theory of capital offers one account of how institutions can reproduce advantage; it is an interpretive framework, not the only causal explanation.

The German word ‘Barrierefreiheit’ promises freedom from barriers. That promise is structurally impossible. What we can achieve is Barrierearmut — a reduction of barriers. The difference is not semantic; it has consequences for policy, design, and institutional honesty.