Abstract

This paper examines the roles of parental social class and cultural capital in inequalities in English school qualifications. The analytical focus is the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Integral to Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction is the conception that inequalities in cultural capital explain the unequal scholastic achievements of pupils from different social class backgrounds. This paper is a novel investigation using data from Understanding Society and linked administrative education records from the National Pupil Database. The central empirical findings do not support the Bourdiuesian position, and there is no evidence that the substantial parental social class inequalities that are observed in school GCSE outcomes can be explained by inequalities in cultural capital. Engagement in reading related activities are mildly influential, but engagement in highbrow cultural activities are not influential. This is an important finding as the concept of cultural capital has become more prominent in Government education policy.

摘要

本文考察了父母社会阶层和文化资本在英语学校资格不平等中的作用。分析重点是普通中等教育证书（GCSE）。布迪厄文化再生产理论的核心是文化资本的不平等解释了来自不同社会阶层背景的学生在学业成绩上的不平等。本文是一项使用来自了解社会的数据的新颖调查并从国家学生数据库链接行政教育记录。中心实证结果不支持布迪厄斯的立场，并且没有证据表明在学校 GCSE 成绩中观察到的重大父母社会阶层不平等可以用文化资本的不平等来解释。参与阅读相关活动影响较小，但参与高雅文化活动影响不大。这是一个重要的发现，因为文化资本的概念在政府教育政策中变得更加突出。