Social Inequality in Family Life and Parental Beliefs About Their Child's Home Learning Opportunities

• In Event: Inequality and Family Life: Effects on Learning and Life Chances

Abstract

Lareau’s assertion that social class differences in family life are essentially qualitative has not been properly tested. In addition, parents’ own perspective on their children’s home learning opportunities remains unknown. Drawing on Lareau’s work and the theoretical framework of Bourdieu, this paper addresses three research questions: The first question asks whether there are different types of family life with elementary school children. The second question is concerned with how different types of family life relate to social class. The third research question refers to parental beliefs about their child’s learning opportunities at home. To answer these questions, the study uses primary data from a German survey with N = 1069 parent-child cases.

Author

• Frederick de Moll, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main