Effects of College Selectivity and Major on Highbrow Cultural Participation

• In Event: Navigating Borders and Boundaries: Schooling Experiences of Immigrants and Others

Abstract

Despite the continued scholarship, a few studies have examined the dynamics of cultural capital acquisition. This study examines the extent to which social origin and higher education matter in cultural mobility by monitoring within-person changes over collegiate years. By using longitudinal data from the Korean Education and Employment Panel and Multilevel Growth Models, authors investigate whether college selectivity and field of study mediate or moderate the family effect on later cultural participation given highly standardized education in Korea. The findings show a significant gap in later cultural participation between elite college students and others despite the null growth trajectory during collegiate years. Korean higher education can be considered as a social sieve more than an equalizer of later cultural participation.

Authors

• SuYeong Shin, The University of Iowa

• Soo-yong Byun, The Pennsylvania State University