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C is for Cultural Capital

There is the new kid on the block causing some consternation. It's called cultural capital and was introduced to the early years sector by Ofsted as part of their new Education Inspection Framework. Ofsted describes cultural capital as the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for future success (Ofsted, 2019b). Some might say it is the government's attempt to reduce social inequality through education, but either way it has people scrabbling to acquaint themselves with this new idea.

Of course, it is not new. Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist, coined the term to describe a person's economic and social capital, which then determines their level of cultural capital. This is the combination of education, knowledge, language, and habits valued by society, and once you know these, you can use them to advance your journey to success.

I was probably one of the few to welcome cultural and social capital. It is a concept I have used for many years to describe the philosophy of the social enterprise childcare model, and how we develop an ambitious pedagogical approach that would reproduce the educational and occupational advantages of those children who were lucky enough to be born into families with a lot more of the cultural capital valued by our society. As a social leader, I wanted to be able identify what was necessary to set children on an educational pathway from their earliest years with as much cultural capital as we can, especially those who have already been burdened by poverty and family disadvantages. In my opinion, the more cultural capital the more likely the child will be able to better manage the world as it presents itself and do well at school.

Bourdieu recognised that the route to educational success started early on in the home both actively and passively. For example, children learn and repeat the way their parents speak at home and this can determine the way they speak and the range of vocabulary. This in turn can determine how they learn to engage with more complex levels of debate, discussion and conversation, which are so crucial to their success in school. At home, the level of information and experiences will also determine their broader cultural knowledge and the confidence that builds and which enables more of these.

Sometimes this gets locked into the beaux arts, and cultural capital is viewed only through the lens of music, art and drama and TV viewing habits, but Bourdieu also pushed the importance of a child reading, the richness of language and the ability of parents to coach their children on curriculum subjects as they got older as central to educational success. However, he recognised that some parents would not know this or be academically confident to support their children in either or both areas. Bourdieu also introduced the term ‘habitus’ to describe attitudes, beliefs and dispositions – in other words, how people think, behave, look and act, which children pick up from their parents almost unconsciously. This can be interpreted simplistically as in how you hold your knife and fork or the way you dress your children. These are habits of mind which help us try out ideas, expand our interest and learning opportunities, and make us brave enough to test our ideas.

Some people separate social from cultural capital but the two are intertwined. The theory of social capital can be summed up in two words: relationships matter. By making connections with one another, people build networks, share common values, build trust and create a sense of identity, which often prompts them to engage in wider civic duties and volunteering. Successful networks sustain themselves over time, strengthen people's connections, build their interests, and help others achieve things that they could not have done by themselves. For example, a childcare community of people is a place where staff, parents and the community share a mutual commitment for and to the development of children. Robert Putnam says that social capital is second only to poverty in the breadth and depth of its effect on children's lives. According to him:

Child development is powerfully shaped by social capital … trust, networks and norms of reciprocity within a child's family, school, peer groups and larger community have wide ranging effects on the child's opportunities and choices and hence behaviour and development. (2000: 296)

Not surprisingly the concept of cultural capital is contested. There are competing views which challenge the leverages used for social mobility and ask why some cultural norms and behaviours are valued so much more than others. For many, cultural capital with its strong focus on the participation in the beaux arts seems to be an endorsement of middle-class, westernised values and expectations rather than a recognition of wider community skills and knowledge. They note how the privileged and powerful use their connections to protect and reproduce those interests and value.

As a practical person, I recognise some of the structural inequalities, but I work with small children who cannot wait for the cultural revolution. There is little doubt in my mind that limited language, literacy and insecure social behaviour are more strongly linked to reduced cultural capital. Low-level and limited vocabulary and poor management of grammar limit children and reduce their expression of analytical and abstract ideas and arguments. Reading is key to helping transmit content, vocabulary and styles of expression to develop linguistic fluency, which is central to success in school. My experience has shown me that those children with less cultural capital will lack many of the resources and opportunities to build up this language and literacy fluency, and our job is to help. That means rich and influential language must be central to the pedagogy.

Howard Gardner said we provide a child with cultural entitlement by recognising the spark inside him and igniting that spark. This is my starting point and the child is therefore at the centre of the pedagogy. To make it happen though, we need inspired and inspiring staff who can connect with and fascinate children by using creativity, inventiveness and imagination to bring fun and delight to their daily lives. Staff need to be able to extend their children's interests and abilities particularly in language, oracy and literacy while building their social competence. Many staff will need our support to extend and stretch the children because they themselves are less confident and have limited cultural capital. It's a place for philosophical conversations as the concept of cultural capital may become a source of confusion and discomfort for some staff who may see this new conversation as a criticism of their own sometimes quite narrow experiences. As someone who has built a social enterprise designed to give all children a great start but especially those from more challenging backgrounds, we cannot allow our adult confusion, lack of ambition, indignation or political ideology to get in the way of a child's right to access the broadest educational opportunities. If you need more prosaic reasons, then remember that Ofsted requires all settings to ensure their teaching and learning intentions (use the characteristics of effective learning as a guide) make a difference for all children, in order to help them experience the awe and wonder of the world within which they live through the seven areas of learning.

We know that broadening a child's horizons and experiences, which extends their learning, will move them up their zone of proximal development, and therefore all our activities, provocations and lines of enquiry need to be created with that in mind. I believe that language is key to success, so all activities should be designed to enhance and secure vocabulary, build curiosity and delight and enthuse children. Children need an inspirational environment that includes quirky things that lie outside the ordinary. Learning is hard work for children, but it is much more achievable for all children when the play-based activities use both the new and stimulating as well as reaffirming the safe and routine. This means staff can use a whole host of media to filter the children's learning, including arts and crafts, music, singing, poetry, drama, film making, drag queen story times, dialogic reading, gardening, outings, galleries, museums, theatre, art exhibitions, local fairs, trips to charity shops, meeting members of the community, knitting, weaving, farm trips, science, shopping and eating, all of which can open up a new world to them. Best of all is the power of conversation and that beautiful serve and return that takes it into new and rich spaces and provides glorious words for children to wallow and delight in.

Understanding a child's home and community culture is essential if we are to weave it into their early years education. Recognising the family skills, knowledge and habits is essential. It's not just about festivals and celebrations but also knowing the jobs parents do, the places they go to, the language they speak and the values they hold dear, such as how the whole family works together, their musical habits or environmental concerns. The home learning environment and how we engage with the children's communities remain key to cultural capital.

Too many children must battle structural injustices such as poverty. They haven't got time to wait for the great cultural capital revolution, and therefore our task is to build a pedagogy rich in interesting, intelligent and relevant experiences that recognises their home and community. Everyone has cultural capital, and we are in the privileged position to work together with families and communities to make it explicit, and then extend and enrich it without judgement.

Call to Action

Understand and celebrate your role as cultural capital ambassadors by opening your eyes and arms to new experiences that will benefit you and your children.

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Further Reading

Ainsley, C. (2018) The New Working Class. Bristol: Policy.

Bourdieu, P. (1985) ‘The forms of capital', in J. Richardson (ed.), Handbook of Theory of Research for the Sociology of Education. Westport, CT: Greenwood. pp. 241–58.

Bruner, J. (1996) The Culture of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gonzales, N., Moll, L.C. and Amanti, C. (eds) (2005) Funds of Knowledge: Theorizing Practices in Households, Communities, and Classrooms. New York: Taylor and Francis.

Putnam, R.D. (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Rogoff, B. (2003) The Cultural Nature of Nursery Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.