Labels in Education - The Role of Parents and Parental Cultural Capital in Acquiring Diagnoses and Educational Accommodations

Oct 15, 2026

This study provides a qualitative examination of the original tenets of Labelling Theory within education, focusing on the relatively new medical label developmental coordination disorder. It empirically evaluates the theory’s core claims and explores how parents shape diagnostic processes and subsequent educational services. Using one case to address four research questions, the study finds parents actively draw on substantial resources and cultural capital to obtain formal labels and accommodations from diagnosis through afterwards. Findings inform implications for health care and educational policies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

Labelling Theory: Review and Core Arguments

Labels in Education: The Role of Parents and Parental Cultural Capital in Acquiring Diagnoses and Educational Accommodations Christina DeRoche Nipissing University Abstract This study provides a qualitative examination of the original tenets of Labelling Theory (LT) within the realm of education using a relatively new medical label, developmental coordination disorder. Labelling Theory, although initially proposed in the areas of crime and deviance, has been applied to mental illness and educational labels. However, recent social changes have prompted a renewal of its sustainability in these areas. This study empirically evaluates the original tenets of LT and explores the role of parents in the diagnostic process. Arguably, parents play an active role in their well-being and educational opportunities today; this study uses one case in exploring this role and in asking four research questions. It finds that parents, from beginning to end, played an active role in acquiring formal labels and services for their children throughout the diagnostic process and afterwards. Parents drew from the considerable resources and capital in this process. The findings ofthis article have profound implications for health care policies and educational policies, which are discussed in this article. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 38:4 (2015)©2015 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Keywords: labelling, stigma, parental role, cultural capital, special education Résumé Cette étude fournit une analyse qualitative des principes de base de la théorie de l’étiquetage (TÉ) dans le cadre de l’éducation; elle recourt à une étiquette médicale relativement nouvelle, le trouble de l’acquisition de la coordination. Bien qu’elle ait été initialement proposée dans les domaines du crime et de la déviance, la théorie de l’étiquetage est également appliquée à la maladie mentale et à l’éducation. Des changements sociaux récents ont par ailleurs favorisé un renouvellement de sa viabilité dans ces domaines. L’étude évalue de manière empirique les principes fondamentaux de la TÉ et explore lerôle des parents dans le processus du diagnostic. Sans doute, les parents jouent-ils unrôle actif dans le bien-être de l’enfant et les possibilités de s’instruire qui lui sont offertes aujourd’hui; cette étude a recours à un cas pour explorer ce rôle et poser quatre questions. Elle dévoile que les parents, du début à la fin, ont joué un rôle actif dans l’acquisition des étiquettes formelles et des services pour leurs enfants tout au long du processus de diagnostic et par la suite. Les parents ont puisé dans des ressources et un capital considérables au cours de ce processus. Les observations recueillies dans le cadre de cette étude ont des incidences profondes pour les politiques en matière de santé et d’éducation, comme le démontre cet article. Mots-clés : étiquetage, stigmatisation, rôle parental, capital culturel, éducation de l’enfance en difficulté The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions that Drs. Scott Davies, Cheryl Missiuna, John Cairney, and Neil McLaughlin have made to this article. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 38:4 (2015) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Introduction Labelling individuals is negatively viewed in sociology because of the individual consequences (Becker, 1973; Goffman, 1963; Link & Phelan, 1999; Scheff, 1984; Shifrer, 2013) and because labels are imposed on individuals by moral entrepreneurs, to categorize them while exerting power (Becker, 1973). Few individuals within sociology have explored the intended benefits of labels for individuals. Some studies have explored this idea (Higgins, Raskind, Goldberg, & Herman, 2002; Rist, 1970; Rist & Harrell, 1982) and have found that individuals receive a variety of treatments and accommodations (Ho, 2004) and even garn

FAQs

What is the focus of the study on labelling theory in education?

The study examines Labelling Theory’s original tenets in an educational context, using developmental coordination disorder as the medical label in focus.

How does the study describe parents’ role in the diagnostic process?

The study concludes that parents actively participate from beginning to end in acquiring formal labels and services for their children throughout the diagnostic process and afterward.

What concept helps explain how parents influence label acquisition and educational accommodation?

The study highlights that parents draw from considerable resources and cultural capital when deciding to acquire or refute a label for their child.

Oct 15, 2026

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