Cultural Capital

In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.

Through my high school years, I have taken many challenging academic courses, extracurriculars, and community service. By taking AP classes through high school, I have become more prepared for challenging courses in high school and have become more responsible and independent for challenging work, from these Ap classes, I have become more prepared for Honors College. since sophomore year, I have taken the highest level course available. By being in a regular level course I did not feel as if I was being challenged enough and desired more. The high-level courses challenged me and pushed me further as the more challenging it gets the more prepared I would be for the future. As a highly motivated student, I like to be around other students who

Many people wish to finish as many classes as they can before college. Instead of taking an advanced class during college, many students want to get the classes out of the way and take it with a teacher that cares about if they pass or fail. For example, most of my schedule is full of more advanced classes. I take these classes so I will not have to

Being admitted into college is a difficult process, one that requires students to be diligent in their studies, engage in a number of extracurricular activities, and overcome the everyday pressures and challenges that high-schoolers face across the country. Admittedly, not everyone in the United States is born with the same opportunities as socioeconomic factors as well as historic injustices have contributed to a society in which some people are far more likely to achieve upward mobility – of which, obtaining a college degree is a necessary part – than others. While there is need to rectify this reality,

The students are encouraged to pick a career that will give them the greatest financial and personal rewards. It does not matter the courses that are taken, so long as that the courses taken are necessary for the chosen career. Differing from theory 1, the grades are not viewed as the most important factor in a college education; they are merely used as positive and negative reinforcement. As a result, the students only learn what they need to succeed and have no incentive to learn anything else, as it will not benefit them. To the believers of theory 2, and one of the things that make this theory unique, is the belief that education is simply about growth, not about who attends the best college or has the best

Throughout high school, I have challenged myself both in the classroom and out in my community. By taking the honors classes, while participating in as many extracurricular activities as I can, I have learned the importance of balance and commitment. My school offered many dual-enrollment courses with conjunction to the local community college as well as Seton Hall University. These classes prepared me for the rigorous workload of college classes, while giving me the opportunity to earn college credits as a high school student. In addition to the dual-enrollment program, I have taken several AP classes that too transfer to college credits. I always challenged myself to take the upper-level courses because I want to be as prepared as I possibly

“In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.2 million since fall 2000” (National Center for Education Statistics). That number seems to be rising each and ever year, and it almost seems as students feel like they have to go to college directly after high school. Maybe it is because they feel that they have to fit in, even if college is not for them. Although some students attend college for academics, sports, and other reasons, some students attend college for no apparent reason; with that in mind, students should take into consideration the time and money that is put into going to college.

Over the last few decades, our society has become much more advanced. College is important because our technology has improved rapidly and we need education to continue to grow with our developing economy. We can't expect that tomorrow’s cures will be discovered if the minds of today aren't receiving enough education to flourish. One way this generation of high school students can be successful is by attending college, as a college education allow them to be ready for our progressing community.

When i was in eighth grade,teachers and students from my current high school came to visit my middle school to talk to me about the Anteater Academy. What this academy does is,it helps students prepare themselves to go to a four year university. They do this by having students challenge themselves by taking difficult honor and AP courses starting freshman year. I guess you can say that ever since i was in middle school i knew i wanted to go to college. Being in the academy for about 4 years now has been a challenging journey but, has made my pathway to college easier. This academy taught me how to be responsible,dedicated and confident. There was times where i felt the pressure of having so many AP classes in my schedule but i was surrounded

I think a lot of our discussion this week surrounded the topic of whether cultural capital was fluid, and how obtaining cultural capital could help you communicate and identify with people from different walks of life. Growing up, I was told by my parents and extended family that the cultural capitals as prescribed on the quiz would help me get ahead in life. More so, going to a prestigious school such as UW-Madison or the high school I went to would help expand my social network, which would in turn help me improve my standard of living.

Let’s start off with a little bit about myself. Growing up, I had the need to be independent of my parents since about 5th or 6th grade. During this time, I’m sure my thoughts were “I am a mature young adult, who knows what is best for myself. I don’t need someone dictating my life for me!” So, in order to achieve and keep this independence, I had to take higher level courses and keep high grades. Over the years though, my reasoning for taking harder classes turned from “I need to do this for myself” to something more along the lines of “All my friends are taking these classes”. In the end, my stubbornness and social anxiety prompted me to take AP classes

Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital has been extremely influential, and has garnered a great deal of literature, both theoretical and empirical. Like Marx, Bourdieu posited that capital was the foundation of social life and dictated people’s position within the social hierarchy (Bourdieu 1986). According to Bourdieu, the more capital one possesses, the more prestigious a position one occupies in social life (Bourdieu 1986). In addition to that, Bourdieu extended Marx’s idea of capital beyond the economic and into cultural symbolism (Bourdieu 1986). Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital that refers to the collection of symbolic elements (e.g. skills, tastes, clothing) one acquires through being part of a particular social niche and his concept of habitus that refers to the physical manifestation of cultural capital owned by individuals due to life experiences are his major influential concepts that are very useful in deconstructing power in development and social change processes. However it must be recognized that these concepts also propagate social inequalities at the same time. This essay will closely examine his concepts of capital that comes in three forms - embodied, objectified, and institutionalised, and habitus in the fields of education and stratification have made of it. Bourdieu’s work will be analysed in the context both of the debate on class inequalities in educational attainment and of class reproduction in advanced capitalist societies.

Pierre Bourdieu developed the concept of cultural capital in order to attempt to explain the differences in educational outcomes in France during the 1960’s. Cultural capital is theorised as the forms of knowledge, skill, education; any advantages a person has which, give them a higher status in society, including high expectations (Nick Stevenson, 1995.pp.46-48). This differentiates economic and social status from the class agenda which, is rigidly sustained through an exclusive cycle. Cultural capital itself can be used in analysis of the class system, and how the dominant aesthetic and ideology is sustained from generation to generation.

Cultural capital is an idea that was used by Bordieu to contribute to his explanation of inequality in social settings (Zepke & Leach, 2007). It comprises the “norms, values and practices of a society” (Zepke & Leach, 2007, p.657). “Cultural capital includes cultural resources and activities that are expressed in the relationships between parents and children” (Tramonte & Willms, 2010, p.203). This results in cultural capital being different in different social settings. This can create inequality because of the difference in values, knowledge and skills that individuals can bring to a certain environment. One issue can be the conflict between teacher and student because of their cultural capital and can result in unequal educational outcomes because the cultural capital of others is valued higher than other students.

Pierre Bourdieu is a French Theorist. Bourdieu’s theory is to emphasize constructivist structuralism and he was influenced by Karl Marx by cultural capital. Bourdieu presents the question of class. Bourdieu claimed that capital forms the foundation of social life. Bourdieu thinks the more capital a person have, the more powerful they will be, and Marx had the same view as well. Bourdieu went on to claim that it had something to do with the symbolic realm of culture. When Bourdieu brings culture into it he means the peoples attribute to the world, structured by inequality and culture structures of inequality, also states that is a big part of social inequality. Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital is skills, tastes, posture, clothing, mannerisms, material belongings, credentials, etc. You usually receive them through a social class. Bourdieu divides capital into three forms embodied, objectified, and institutionalized. He gives an example of embodied cultural capital, while a luxury car is an example of cultural capital in its objectified state. In its institutionalized state cultural capital would be credentials and qualifications (degrees or titles that shows cultural authority and acceptance.