Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of capital is one approach used in education and it plays a significant role in pupil admissions in both school and university admissions. Cultural capital is the passing on of cultural values from one generation to the next and this ensures that a particular class in society is reproduced. This causes selected values and beliefs that higher class children receive becoming internalised, putting them in a better academic position to children from a lower classes and this results in inequalities being additionally reproduced (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977; Giddens, 2009). Gregg (2007) describes intergenerational mobility as the
connection between the socio-economic status of parents and their adult children in terms of
income and social class. Similar to culture capital and the passing on of values, as parents pass on their socio-economic
status onto their children, children who belong to low income families may have limited
opportunities in life as an adult and do not receive many chances to achieve their full
potential, putting them at an educational disadvantage to children who are linked to a higher socio-economic status.
Along with the passing on of norms and values, a parent's cultural capital can also be converted into economic capital and can be institutionalized for an educational advantage for their children, such as the cost of good schooling and private tuition and in an objectified state in the form of cultural objects such as books or instruments (Lauder et al., 2006). With this cultural and economic capital, children from a higher classed background would be able to gain an educational advantage over lower classes. By possessing these cultural attributes, they would be able to progress better in school and gain an educational advantage over their classmates, resulting in them receiving a better educational outcome and high status role later in their working life (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1997; Bartlett and Burton, 2007).
In addition to cultural and economic capital, social capital can be used as an additional advantage in a child’s education. If a parent has a varied network of contacts and good credentials within their social circle, this may enable them to certain entitlements that other parents may not have access to, in particular children who have the most effective use of the education system have a better chance to attend an elite university and this is all from a result of their family’s background, connections and social standing (Lauder et al, 2006; Reay et al, 2005). Therefore, it could be suggested, the more economic, cultural and social capital someone possesses, the higher their social standing within society.
These cultural values appear to remain throughout the entirety of a child’s career in schooling and is continuous in higher education. A study focussing on the misrepresentation of children from disadvantage backgrounds gaining a place in an elite university revealed that over 70 percent of students already enrolled in the university acknowledged a misrepresentation of lower classed children during the admission processes, but also stated they would want to keep the status quo and not hinder further admissions of students of their economic background (Warikoo and Fuhr, 2013). Therefore, it can be interpreted that if a child belongs to a lower class background but has the academic potential to attend an elite university, they may not be considered and accepted by a particular class if their background can be viewed as inferior as they have not been brought up with the same cultural and social values that would disrupt the status quo. Bowles and Gintis (1976) interpret the education system as being a main initiator for social reproduction and prepare children to know their place within the social pecking order, thus, higher classed children who predominantly attend private education already have a higher social rank to children who are from a poor area and attend a low attaining school. It could be suggested that children from a higher class would always be able to dominate and take advantage of the education system, stretching into higher education and denying opportunities for lower class children to progress as they would be disrupting the natural social class order.
Along with the passing on of norms and values, a parent's cultural capital can also be converted into economic capital and can be institutionalized for an educational advantage for their children, such as the cost of good schooling and private tuition and in an objectified state in the form of cultural objects such as books or instruments (Lauder et al., 2006). With this cultural and economic capital, children from a higher classed background would be able to gain an educational advantage over lower classes. By possessing these cultural attributes, they would be able to progress better in school and gain an educational advantage over their classmates, resulting in them receiving a better educational outcome and high status role later in their working life (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1997; Bartlett and Burton, 2007).
In addition to cultural and economic capital, social capital can be used as an additional advantage in a child’s education. If a parent has a varied network of contacts and good credentials within their social circle, this may enable them to certain entitlements that other parents may not have access to, in particular children who have the most effective use of the education system have a better chance to attend an elite university and this is all from a result of their family’s background, connections and social standing (Lauder et al, 2006; Reay et al, 2005). Therefore, it could be suggested, the more economic, cultural and social capital someone possesses, the higher their social standing within society.
These cultural values appear to remain throughout the entirety of a child’s career in schooling and is continuous in higher education. A study focussing on the misrepresentation of children from disadvantage backgrounds gaining a place in an elite university revealed that over 70 percent of students already enrolled in the university acknowledged a misrepresentation of lower classed children during the admission processes, but also stated they would want to keep the status quo and not hinder further admissions of students of their economic background (Warikoo and Fuhr, 2013). Therefore, it can be interpreted that if a child belongs to a lower class background but has the academic potential to attend an elite university, they may not be considered and accepted by a particular class if their background can be viewed as inferior as they have not been brought up with the same cultural and social values that would disrupt the status quo. Bowles and Gintis (1976) interpret the education system as being a main initiator for social reproduction and prepare children to know their place within the social pecking order, thus, higher classed children who predominantly attend private education already have a higher social rank to children who are from a poor area and attend a low attaining school. It could be suggested that children from a higher class would always be able to dominate and take advantage of the education system, stretching into higher education and denying opportunities for lower class children to progress as they would be disrupting the natural social class order.