Cultural Capital

Question 1

What is cultural capital

Answer 1

• work of Pierre Bourdieu
• type of capitals:
  1. Economic
  2. Social
  3. Educational Capital
  4. Cultural Capital

Question 2

Who has cultural capital

Answer 2

• Sullivan - students who achieved higher
• read complex fiction
• watched documentaries
• attended so called high culture events
• had parents with higher level qualifications

Question 3

Parental Capitals

Answer 3

• passed down to children through socialisation
• M/C mothers had higher economic, educational and cultural capital according to Reay
• M/C parents also have high social capital helps with work experience and uni entrance

Question 4

How parents use capital in education

Answer 4

Ball, Gerwitz and Bowe

Economic - move homes, pay for tuition, choose independent schools
Social - more contacts in education
Cultural - more knowledge on education system, league tables, admission procedures

Question 5

Cultural capital and Uni’s

Answer 5

• Reay et al - students with lower cultural less likely to attend Russell Group Uni’s
• M/C students have similar habitus to these Uni’s due to their cultural capital
• W/C students rejected these uni’s as being not for the likes of them

Question 6

Contemporary application

Answer 6

• Curriculum changing to focusing on middle class tastes
• OFSTED - cultural capital and cultural literacy
• Widening participation programmes at universities - targeting social mobility

Question 7

Evaluations

Answer 7

• Sullivan cultural capital was not the biggest determinant of educational success
• Bourdieu believed cultural capital could be obtained through education, although not as naturally through home life
• students from lower social classes more likely to attend post 1992 Uni’s