COMMUNICATION, IMAGE, AND SYMBOLIC POWER WITHIN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: FROM THE DRAMATURGY OF INTERACTION TO HABITUS AND SIMULACRA. AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK WITH AN APPLIED CASE STUDY
COMMUNICATION, IMAGE, AND SYMBOLIC POWER WITHIN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: FROM THE DRAMATURGY OF INTERACTION TO HABITUS AND SIMULACRA. AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK WITH AN APPLIED CASE STUDY

Summary/Abstract: This article examines communication between families anda bilingual kindergarten-primary school (“Institution X”) in Hungary, as a producer of legitimacy and symbolic authority rather than a mere conduit for information. Integrating Goffman’s dramaturgical sociology, Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and symbolic capital, Baudrillard’s analysis of sign-value and hyperreality, and Dâncu’s account of symbolic communication, we develop an operational Institutional image capital (IIC) index combining front-stage practices, symbolic capital, and sign-governance. Using longitudinal institutional data(2012-2025) – parent satisfaction, mentoring evaluations, enrolments/transfers, media presence, and digital activity –we show a sustained increase in all sub-indices and in IIC(76.8 to 86.8, 2021-2025). Findings support five hypotheses: media/digital visibility and consistent communicative rituals are associated with higher parental trust, reduced conflict, and enrolment growth. The analysisdemonstrates that (1) predictable front-stage routinesstabilize interactional order; (2) public recognition ofpedagogical expertise converts cultural into symboliccapital; and (3) proactive sign-management anchorsmeaning before rumor produces simulacra. We conclude that communication is constitutive of educational quality: it sustains symbolic contracts with the community, shapes the interpretive environment of learning, and secures the institution’s right to define legitimate educational narratives.

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