THE DISTRIBUTION OF CULTURAL CAPITAL AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This paper studies the role of cultural capital in the relationship between social background inequalities and educational performance. Using data from a sample of Singaporean primary schools, the argument that children from the upper classes (i.e. middle class and above) of the social hierarchy tends to possess more cultural capital relative to their lower division counterparts was tested. Further, the relationship between cultural capital ownership and school performance was also assessed. On the whole, the analysis confirmed that family class position determines a student's cultural capital. There was also strong evidence of the positive effect of cultural capital on educational performance. However, the results reveal substantial variations in cultural capital ownership and school performance within both the upper and lower classes.