SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CAPITAL

SOCIAL CLASS

• people having the same social, economic, or educational status• share a common interest because they share a

common experience

http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2011/07/20/what-is-a-middle-class-income-these-days

http://www.macleans.ca/economy/who-belongs-to-canadas-middle-class/

THE WORKING CLASS

little or no post secondary education, low or negative net worth (assets minus debts), rental housing, or one non-luxury home, substandard housing or

homelessness, occupations involving physical work and/or little control in the workplace,

low personal satisfaction, "working” because they are paid a set wage, salary or commission

(regardless of how much profit they make for their bosses.) tend to struggle to have enough income to cover all their basic needs, Virtually no accumulated wealth long-time use of public benefits, such as welfare, or charity, chronic unmet needs for health care, food, or other necessities, frequent involuntary moves, chaos and disruption of life. Lower Class – 20% of Canadian population (2006 16% poor) Supported by welfare payments, insufficient to cover the costs of living

THE MIDDLE CLASS

Post secondary education (university / credentials), professional qualifications, including academics, lawyers, chartered

accountants, engineers, politicians and doctors. Belief in common values, such as high rates of house ownership and secure

job / career,

Middle class ~ $40,000 and $125,000 40-50% of Canadian population

Professional Middle Class: private and/or boarding schools, secure homeownership, often with several moves up to bigger houses in a

lifetime; more control over the hours and methods of work than working-class people,

and/or control over others' work, more economic security than working class people but no way to pay bills

without working. has significant influence on patterns of culture

THE UPPER CLASS

• Owning Class ($125 000 +) 3-5% of Canadian population• Investors and their families who have enough

income from assets that they don't have to work to pay basic bills, • a position of power or vast wealth that put them

in the “ruling class”,• elite private schools and universities,• Inheritances,• luxuries and international travel,• owning multiple homes.

SOCIAL CAPITAL

Social capital can be seen summarized as

• networks-lateral associations between individuals and groups that

promote a sense of belonging and well-being,

• Social norms and values that predict behavior and interaction, facilitate

cooperation for mutual benefit,

• Willing engagement of individuals in community (Bourdieu, 1983;

Coleman, 1988a, b; Onyx and Bullen, 2000; Paxton, 2002)

• The expectation that in short or long term kindness and services will be

returned,

• Willingness to initiate or take a risk in a social setting based on the

belief that others will respond as expected,

SOCIAL CAPITAL

• social relations and resources that have productive benefits,

• Social capital is about the value of social networks, bonding

similar people with similar social norms (Dekker and Uslaner 2001;

Uslaner 2001).

• Sander (2002, p. 213) stated that 'the folk wisdom that more

people get their jobs from whom they know, rather than what they

know, turns out to be true'.

• Adler and Kwon (2002) define social capital as 'The goodwill

available to individuals or groups.’ because of their social

relations. Benefits include information, influence, and solidarity.

SOCIAL CAPITAL

• The supports and resources made available to individuals and groups because they have social connections to neighbors and communities.

(Measurement of Social Capital; C.A.Bryant and D.Norris)

• Trust and social cohesion• Social participation• Informal and formal networks• Civic engagements• Voluntary activities • Access to resources (power and wealth)

THE DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL DEFINED BY NARAYAN AND CASSIDY (2001). SOURCE: NARAYAN AND CASSIDY (2001).

FOR EXAMPLE

• A 5th grader with strong social capital will have friends with whom to pass notes about the weird new kid (who has no social capital).

• “the voluntary participation of the members over the lunch break to discuss various social/organizational aspects which benefits all the participants.” (Fukuyama, 1995; Fukuyama, 1999; Lin, 1999b; Putnam, 1993; White, 2002).

• In a farming community… where one farmer got his hay baled by another and where farm tools are extensively borrowed and lent, the social capital allows each farmer to get his work done with less physical capital in the form of tools and equipment.” (James Coleman)

ALFRED MARSHALL

• Networking – “studies of highly effective, highly flexible industrial districts emphasize networks of collaboration among workers and small entrepreneurs.”

CULTURAL CAPITAL

As defined by Bourdieu, includes forms of knowledge, skills, education, and advantages that a person has, which give them a higher status in society.

One’s habits, characteristics, use of language and ways of thinking, dress, mannerisms, owning and knowing the value of material items (objectified), value of and achievement in education (institutionalized)

PIERRE BOURDIEU

• Cultural reproduction theory• “individual and family cultural resources constitute a non-

material form of capital which should be regarded on equal terms as economic resources and gainful social networks.

• According to Bourdieu's theory of cultural reproduction, children from middle-class families are advantaged in gaining educational credentials due to their possession of cultural capital.

Used to describe how socioeconomic status, ethnic background, cultural knowledge, traits and behaviors affect education and success in an educational setting.

Knowledge of the norms and codes of the dominant culture Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction;

Parents possess cultural capital and they transmit this to their children (time and effort required)

Cultural capital provides children with resources (parents reading habits and choice of books)

Material resources in the home (computer, books, desk) Types of experiences, social interactions and communication passes

from parent to child. Use cultural capital within the system to promote success for

children.

SCHOOLS AND CULTURAL CAPITAL

Sennet and Cobb “to believe that ability alone decides who is rewarded is to be deceived”.

Talcott Parsons - identifying some students as educational failures, “was a necessary activity which one part of the social system, education, performed for the whole”.

Does school select against the working class/lower class? How?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8BC8NGHJI

Is there a disconnect between school, (achievement and the curriculum) and the working class?

How does the school systems’ current curriculum, teaching strategies and assessment practices contribute to… Social stratification?Social reproduction?Cultural reproduction?

BOURDIEU AND PASSERON 1990

“Two mechanisms explain why cultural capital promotes social reproduction. First, cultural capital, that is, familiarity with dominant high-status cultural signals or the “rules of the game” is intrinsically valorized in the field of education. This means, holding constant socioeconomic background and academic ability, that possessing much cultural capital increases the likelihood of receiving preferential treatment by teachers, getting higher grades and generally performing better in the educational system. Second, children from culturally advantaged backgrounds have more cultural capital than children from less advantaged backgrounds and they are thus better equipped to understand the “rules of the game”.

REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT # 5

What cultural norms are present in your school community?

What cultural and social norms are valued?

What cultural norms are not accepted or valued?

Of these social norms, which do you consider to be socially helpful? Which are socially harmful?