In this article, the authors report on their research on which aspects of parentalcultural resources affect educational attainment and distinguish between parentalbeaux arts participation and parental reading behavior. Using representative data for the Netherlands in 1992 (N = 1,653), they found that parental reading behavior, not parental beaux arts participation, affects children’s educational attainment. The authors also examine the validity of two alternative theories on theinteraction of parents’ educational background and their cultural capital (distinguishing between parental reading and beaux arts participation): Bourdieu’s cultural reproduction theory and DiMaggio’s cultural mobility theory. The data provide support for the cultural mobility hypothesis with respect to parental readingbehavior; that is, parental reading is effective in predicting success in school, especially for children whose parents have low levels of education.
Published Paper, 2000
Sociology of Education, 73(2)
Page(s): 92-111
Abstract