cultural capital (topic 1)

Question 1

who argues that there are three types of capital? what are they?

Answer 1

Bourdieu 1984
cultural, educational and economic

Question 2

what does Bourdieu argue?

Answer 2

• both cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement and are not separate but interrelated
• he uses the concept of ‘capital’ to explain why the middle class are more successful
• the term capital usually refers to wealth

Question 3

why does Bourdieu use the term cultural capital?

Answer 3

• to refer to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle class

Question 4

how does Bourdieu see middle class culture as?

Answer 4

• a type of capital
• because, like wealth, it gives an advantage to those who possess it

Question 5

what does Bernstein say about middle class and cultural capital?

Answer 5

• argues that through their socialisation, middle class children acquire the ability to grasp, analyse and express abstract ideas
• they are more likely to develop intellectual interests and an understanding of of what the education system requires for success
• gives them an advantage in school, where such bailies and interests are highly valued and rewarded with qualifications
• this is because the education system is not neutral, but favours and transmits dominant middle class culture

Question 6

working class and cultural capital

Answer 6

• find that school devalues their culture as ’rough’ and inferior
• lack of cultural capital leads to exam failure
• many wc pupils also ’get the message’ that education is not meant for them and responding by truanting, early leaving or just not trying

Question 7

educational + economic capital and middle class children

Answer 7

• mc children with cultural capital are better equipped to meet demands of the school curriculum and gain qualifications
• wealthier parents can convert economic capital into educational capital by sending their children to private schools and paying for extra tuition

Question 8

what do Leech and Campos say about educational and economic capital?

Answer 8

• conducted a study in 2003 in Coventry
• showed that middle class parents are also more likely to be able to afford a house in the catchment area of a school that is highly places in the exam league tables
• known as ’selection by mortgage’, as it drives up the cost of houses near to successful schools and excludes wc families

Question 9

how did Sullivan test Bourdieu’s ideas? (procedure)

Answer 9

• used questionnaires in 2001 to conduct survey of 465 pupils in four schools
• to assess cultural capital, she asked them about a range of activities, e.g. reading and tv viewing habits, and whether they visited art galleries, museums and theatres
• also tested their vocabulary and knowledge of cultural figures

Question 10

how did Sullivan test Bourdieu’s ideas? (results + conclusion)

Answer 10

• found that those who read complex fiction and watched serious tv documentaries developed wider vocabulary and greater cultural knowledge, indicating greater cultural capital
• pupils with greatest cultural capital were children of graduates
• there pupils were more likely to be successful at gcse
• however, although successful pupils with greater cultural capital were more likely to be middle class, Sullivan found that cultural capital only accounted for part of the class difference in achievement
• where pupils of different classes had the same level of cultural capital, middle class pupils still did better
• Sullivan concludes that greater resources and aspirations of middle class families explain remainder of class gap in achievement