The question of how cultural capital affects education is not a new one. It has been studied since the 1960s, when educational reforms shifted the focus away from test scores to cultural assets. The goal was to understand why different groups of students had different outcomes. Interestingly, focusing on cultural capital allowed researchers to better understand social differences. At the same time, government investment in education led to social mobility for all. This article will provide some insight into this topic.
The Sutton Trust has conducted a study to examine how the social class of a student influences their educational performance. According to the study, children of elite families perform better in exams and are more likely to join top universities. However, despite these differences, the study found no significant differences in study effort or student leadership. While individual study effort has a major influence on student grades, cultural capital is less important than family economic capital. The results suggest that students from middle-class and upper-class families are less likely to skip class, while their wealthy peers performed better in both tests.
Despite its importance, cultural capital has little bearing on test scores. Teachers typically base test scores on cognitive ability and study effort. Therefore, cultural capital is often irrelevant in determining student performance. However, the results are still interesting. It is worth remembering that grades are not the only determining factors in education. There is a link between cultural capital and educational standards, but it is not a perfect science. But it is a worthy research topic.
