School–Muslim Parent Collaboration in Finland and Sweden: Exploring the Role of Parental Cultural Capital

Abstract

This study explores head teachers’ and cultural brokers’ views of school–Muslim parent collaboration in Finland and Sweden. The data includes semi-structured interviews with school heads (n = 20) and Muslim cultural brokers (n = 16). The theoretical background leans on the theorizing of cultural capital originating from Bourdieu and on more recent conceptualizations of minority cultural capital. The results show major differences between head teachers in their views and practices, recognition of parental cultural resources correlating with open and active collaboration practices, perceptions of lack of parental capital with authoritative and inactive collaboration. Cultural brokers promote active collaboration and enhance the ability of Muslim immigrants to transform their cultural resources into cultural capital in school, thus resisting the reproduction of educational inequalities.