Culture Capital

Culture Capital

1. According to Pierre Bourdieu – Both cultural and material factors are important in a child’s achievement.

   • Attitudes
   • External Knowledge through visits to museums, holidays, art galleries, theatre, concerts.
   • Values
   • Language
   • Taste
   • Abiltities

2. He uses the concept ‘Capital’ – something valuable, wealth – and link it to middle class He claims that Economic capital, educational capital and cultural capital are three important things that middle class have and working class do not which makes pupils from middle class more successful.

3. Alice Sullivan

   • Testing Bourdieu's Idea
     • According to Bourdieu's theory children from middle-class families are advantaged in gaining educational credentials due to their possession of cultural capital.
     • In order to assess this theory, I have developed a broad operationalisation of the concept of cultural capital, and have surveyed pupils on both their own and their parents' cultural capital.
     • I will conclude that cultural capital is transmitted within the home and does have a significant effect on performance in the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations.
     • However, a large, direct effect of social class on attainment remains when cultural capital has been controlled for. Therefore, ‘cultural reproduction’ can provide only a partial explanation of social class differences in educational attainment.

4. Gerwirtz- Marketization

   • Gewirtz conducted a study to check the impact of parental choice. Economic and cultural capital leads to a class difference and how parents from different class access education market/choice.
   • 3 Types of parents Previleged – skilled choosers Disconnected – local choosers Semi – skilled chooser