Abstract

This paper questions the idea of the capacity to learn as an individualised and naturalised phenonemon. The qualitative research on academic and professional trajectories shows that what the dominant discourse in the education system calls capacity to learn is not only a matter of being able to study and, moreover, it is not an exclusively individual phenomenon. In our research, we have identified four main social institutions (individual, family, education system and employment) that are intermingled in the production of the idea of the capacity to learn. Therefore, we have come to the conclusion that the so-called capacity to learn is a social product. It is a combination of beliefs, strategies and skills. The idea of the capacity to learn is produced in the context of power relationships. The inner conflict in each of these social institutions is permanent. The negotiation process between these social institutions is also constant. The outcome of these power relationships conditions the dominant cultural model. Hence, the so-called capacity to learn is related to a dominant cultural reference, which is shown as natural and reasonable.