Family's cultural and social capital as the factors of children's educational achievement: a case study of high school students from southeastern Serbia

[N. M. Stanojević]

235, 9-11 listova

Biografija autora: list 235. Bibliografija: list. 220-230.

Sociology of education

Contrary to the dominant narrative about meritocracy, i.e. the existence of equal chances for all citizens of a society, some theoretical viewpoints in the scientific discourse point to numerous factors that differently determine the possibilities of individuals and influence their educational achievement. Family and the capital it owns stand out as one of the most important factors. Therefore, this doctoral dissertation attempts to understand how family's cultural and social capital influence the educational achievements of high school students in Southeastern Serbia. To understand this relationship, the influence of cultural and social capital on the achieved results in high school education was comparatively analyzed. In the theoretical conceptualization of cultural capital, the central part represents understandings of Pierre Bourdieu (1986, 1991, 2013 [1979]), which were supplemented and expanded mainly by authors who follow his basic propositions: Paul DiMaggio (1982, 2007), Fiona Devine (2004), etc. The cultural capital of families was analyzed through four dimensions: embodied, objectified and institutionalized cultural capital, as well as cultural participation. On the other hand, the three most important theorists were used in the theoretical conceptualization of social capital: Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman and Robert Putnam. In accordance with Coleman's approach, which is the most suitable for the needs of this research, two dimensions of this concept are analyzed. The first dimension is social capital within the family; the second, social capital outside the family. The research itself was designed as a multi-case study. Two students were selected from ten schools in Southeastern Serbia, one from the best and one from the group of the weakest students of a particular school. Therefore, the sample comprised twenty students and their families (student and his/her family representing one case). The main data collecting technique was a semi-structured interview - with students, their parents/guardians and professional school staff or class teachers. Additionally, an analysis of the documentation was conducted, that is, the collection of data from grade books and other available documentation about students. The results show that the influence of family on students' educational achievement is very pronounced. Family's cultural and social capital largely determine student's educational outcomes. Regarding all dimensions of cultural and social capital and most of their indicators, differences can be observed between the two groups of students. In the case of cultural capital, in cases with students with exceptional educational achievement, a larger volume of institutionalized (higher level of parents' education), embodied (developed speech patterns and educational ethos) and objectified cultural capital (possession of a large number of books, etc.) is observed, as well as cultural participation (visiting the theater, participating in cultural production, etc.). With regard to social capital, in cases with students with exceptional educational achievement, a greater volume of social capital is observed within the family (closer relations between parents and children, the existence of discussions about schooling, standard families in structure, etc.) and social capital outside the family (better connection between parents and the school, closure of social networks, participation of students in extracurricular activities). Students with a large amount of family’s social and cultural capital had the best achievement, and those with a small amount of family’s social and cultural capital had the lowest achievement. However, it has been shown that in cases where the extent of these capitals differ, the dimension of social capital within the family can have a decisive effect on educational achievement.

obrazovanje, nejednakosti, kulturni kapital, socijalni kapital, studija slučaja, porodica, jugoistočna Srbija

education, inequalities, cultural capital, social capital, case study, family, southeast Serbia

316.356.2:371.26(497.11-12)(043.3)

S 210

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