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

<doi>10.24250/jpe/2/2025/MBI/</doi>

Abstract

This article examines communication between families and
a 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
Dancu’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 analysis
demonstrates that (1) predictable front-stage routines
stabilize interactional order; (2) public recognition of
pedagogical expertise converts cultural into symbolic
capital; and (3) proactive sign-management anchors
meaning 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.