The Acquisition of Cultural Capital Among Women of Color in an Elite High School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: School Demographics and Social Opportunity

Abstract

Racial minorities have consistently experienced more limited educational opportunities. But, homes and communities also perpetuate inequalities, due in part, to varying types and amounts of cultural capital available. This study is based upon 21 in-depth interviews with women of color who graduated from an elite public high-school, accessed through one of three ways: as town residents in subsidized housing, as commuters in a state-wide voluntary racial integration program, or as boarders in a national voluntary racial integration program. Women across the groups explicitly identified acquiring embodied cultural capital in the forms of speech/language/ self-presentation, exposure to elite society, and education. Residents and commuters also identified gaining institutional cultural capital. These findings suggest the importance of school integration programs, beyond academics.

Author

• Catherine Simpson Bueker, Emmanuel College