The Changing Nature of Cultural Capital

Abstract

Pierre Bourdieu's cultural capital theory is frequently cited throughout the educational literature. Previous scholarship has noted the limitations of this framework, such as the predominant focus on highbrow culture as a quantitative measure as well as the lack of consideration of cultural capital in nondominant cultures. Based on a review of research that uses this framework, the authors suggest that the predominant applications in educational literature conceive of cultural capital in static ways. The analytical shortcomings of these works propose structural determinism, limit students' agency, and promote a culture of poverty. After discussing these shortcomings, the authors consider ways educational analyses of cultural capital might foment what they call cultural integrity, praxis, and voice. The authors argue that employing the concept of cultural capital in a way that does not simply reproduce social inequality requires considering the dynamic nature of capital. While social structures are reproductive according to the theory, research applications of cultural capital theory that acknowledge capital as fluid may empower marginalized groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]