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Hidden capital in school: What makes some children stand out academically?
Among many factors, the invisible assets that make children stand out academically are often overlooked. Among them, the concept of cultural capital is crucial to understanding this phenomenon. Cultural capital refers to the social assets that individuals possess in society, such as education, intelligence, manners, dress style, and social networks. These assets help improve social mobility and gain a higher social status in a stratified society. .
The value of cultural capital lies in its ability to predict, to some extent, a person's potential for academic achievement.
According to sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, cultural capital is divided into three types: embodied capital, reified capital and institutionalized capital. These three forms of cultural capital play an important role in the operation of the education system, and children's academic achievement is often influenced by these implicit capitals.
Embodied cultural capital
Embodied cultural capital is the knowledge and skills acquired by an individual during the socialization process. This kind of capital cannot be directly transmitted, but its formation process is closely related to family environment and social interaction. Through the influence of the family, children's lifestyles, habits and ways of thinking are reshaped.
Children's language ability and communication skills are part of their embodied cultural capital, which affects their performance in school.
Embodied cultural capital
Embodied cultural capital includes personal belongings, such as works of art, scientific instruments, etc. These objects not only have economic value, but also symbolize the cultural status of the holder. However, understanding the value and cultural significance of these objects requires individuals to have appropriate background knowledge.
If students who own works of art lack the ability to understand their cultural significance, then such embodied cultural capital will not play its due role.
Institutionalized cultural capital
Institutionalized cultural capital refers to the academic qualifications and professional certificates that people obtain in the formal education system. This form of cultural capital plays an important social role in the labor market. It transforms an individual's cultural capital into economic capital and evaluates it based on market demand.
The relationship between cultural capital and educational achievement
Many studies have shown that family background and upper-class cultural capital directly affect children's academic achievement. Children with rich cultural capital are more likely to succeed in school because they are able to adapt to the school culture and better establish beneficial relationships with teachers and classmates.
Cultural capital not only shapes children's learning environment, but also affects their future social status.
Therefore, when exploring the reasons why children perform differently in school, we cannot ignore the existence of invisible cultural capital. For children from different backgrounds, the acquisition and use of cultural capital can be a significant advantage or disadvantage on their path to achievement.
Criticism and Extension of Cultural Capital
Although the concept of cultural capital has been widely adopted in explaining educational and social inequalities, it has also faced a number of criticisms. Some scholars have pointed out that the concept of cultural capital proposed by Bourdieu lacks a clear definition. In addition, some researchers have even suggested that Bourdieu's theory is too deterministic and ignores individual agency.
However, other scholars have expanded on this concept and explored the specific application of cultural capital in different social fields, such as the impact of technological development on cultural capital and how it reproduces inequality among different social groups. .
In today's society, scientific and cultural capital has become a new competitive advantage. How to master and use these resources will directly affect children's future development.
In the education system, we often see some students with higher academic achievements, who often have good family support and cultural heritage. Children who have an advantage in cultural capital are more likely to succeed academically, but this advantage is often taken for granted. Under such circumstances, inequality naturally arises in society's expectations for children and the distribution of resources.
Finally, the impact of invisible capital in schools cannot be ignored. How can we promote educational equity in the future to ensure that every child can compete at an equal starting line?
