Cultural capital in education

Importance of Cultural Capital in Education Name Institution Date Importance of Cultural Capital in Education Introduction Cultural capital involves the social characteristics that give an individual an advantage in society. It can range from the skills to the values that one possesses, which makes them a more valuable individual compared to other people. Cultural capital enhances one’s social mobility, which is the ability of a person to improve in status. When related to education, cultural capital entails the social aspects of life that can make a student progress academically. An example is personality. A person with a likeable personality can easily relate well with a wide range of individuals in class. The person easily fits into working groups and creates networks that help them perform better. There are many more advantages of cultural capital in education. By showing these advantages, the paper proves that cultural capital is important in education. Importance of Cultural Capital in Education Cultural capital improves a student’s performance, which places them in a position of success in life (Gan, 2023, p. 2). When a person comes from a family that has resources and the family atmosphere is favourable, they are said to have family cultural capital. The individual does not have to deal with the stress of family scandals, which would easily affect them emotionally in class. Also, the availability of family resources ensures that such individuals do not lack the learning materials they need for studying. As a result, their studies do not face as many distractions as those of individuals who lack the family cultural capital. This boosts the performance of the individuals with the family cultural capital. With better performance in school, such individuals have the upper hand in securing better jobs than individuals who have poor performance because they lack cultural capital. Cultural capital improves the practicality of education among individuals, making students relate to the real professional world while still learning. To increase the overall cultural capital of students, schools have to engage them in activities that are beyond what the classroom can provide. For example, to give students better negotiation skills for their professional market, which is a form of cultural capital, the school has to ensure that it provides avenues where the students can interact with real professional situations so they can sharpen these skills. In doing so, the school enhances the practicality of what the students have learnt in class such that their lessons are not only theoretical but also practical. Hence, it enhances students’ ability to learn. Cultural capital improves the ability of students to join higher learning institutions of their choice. Stenhouse and Ingram (2024, p. 1) researched about private and state-owned schools in England. The researchers established that private schools produced students who performed better than ...