Class: Outside Of School Factors, Cultural Capital (Marxist) (cultural)

Question 1

Bourdieu

Answer 1

• education system is systematically biased in favour of the culture of the dominant social classes, playing a key role in cultural reproduction rather than promoting social mobility
• middle class children inherit greater amount of cultural capital from their families as middle class parents tend to possess higher levels of education and engage in practices that align with the dominant culture
• education system values and rewards middle class cultural capital while simultaneously devaluing norms, values and knowledge of working classes

Question 2

Gerwitz

Answer 2

• competition between schools driven by marketisation benefits the middle class disproportionately because they possess more economic and cultural capital enabling them to access more desirable schools for their children
• demonstrates how shaping parents ability to navigate the education system and secure better educational opportunities for their children
• conducted research and identified different types of parents based on the engagement with school choice. These categories illustrate how cultural capital plays a crucial role
• privileged school choosers: parents are typically middle class and possess both high economic and cultural capital allows their children’s to access higher achieving schools directly impacting their educational achievement positively
• disconnected choosers: parents are typically working class and restricted by a lack of both economic and cultural capital, consequently, their children are more likely to attend less desirable schools which can negatively impact their educational achievement - findings directly support the idea that cultural capital gained outside of school play a crucial role in shaping educational outcomes
• reinforces Bourdieus argument that the education system, even in its supposedly meritocratic aspects like school choice, can reproduce social inequalities because those with pre-existing cultural capital are better positioned to benefit from the opportunities available