Creating Cultural Consumers: The Dynamics of Cultural Capital Acquisition

• In Event: 49.088 - Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 49.088-24 - Outcomes Beyond Achievement and Attainment

Abstract

The theories of cultural reproduction and cultural mobility have largely shaped the study of the effects of cultural capital on children’s academic outcomes. Missing in this debate has been a rigorous examination of how children actually acquire cultural capital when it is not provided by their families. Drawing upon data from a large-scale experimental study of student visits to an art museum, we show that school visits to a cultural institution have the effect of creating “cultural consumers” motivated towards acquiring new cultural capital. Importantly, we find that the museum visit has the strongest impact on students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. As such, our analysis reveals important aspects about the nature of cultural capital acquisition and the development of habitus.

Authors

• Brian Kisida, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

• Jay Phillip Greene, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

• Daniel Henry Bowen, Texas A&M University