Different studies are informed by the notion of cultural capital and conceptualize it in different ways. Although they are specific about distinguishing the different forms of cultural capital, De Graaf (1986) conceptualizes cultural capital as a general term that refers to knowledge of a particular skill (e.g. reading) and participation in the dominant culture, such as attending highly exclusive events (e.g. galleries, the theatre, opera, and visiting historical monuments). Most of these activities discussed are regarded to be high culture (De Graaf, 1986). For example, in the theatre, art galleries or musical opera, people acquire middle class culture. These activities are often related to the particular social class that a person has, and thus position them differently in society. De Graaf et al. (2000) suggest that the more the students participate in such activities, the more cultural capital they gain. The cultural capital that De Graaf et al. (2000) refer to could be the embodied as well as the objectified form. This is because participation in such activities allows the students to develop and broaden their knowledge and skills, which can result in educational success. In addition, it allows the student to possess artefacts such as books, computers or pictures that can be representations of such cultural capital. However, this alone does not totally account for a student’s
experiential learning, so we can have students with prestige, who, even though they have such cultural capital, do not succeed. The significance is that family background, which is often class structured, can enable children to succeed, but it has to work alongside other influences and other forms of capital. Children from social deprivation, a lower social class or an inferior culture who gain opportunities such as scholarships might also be highly successful academically.
Sullivan (2001) conceptualized cultural capital as having linguistic competence. In relation to understanding the influence of family on the development of students’ linguistic ability, Sullivan (2001) found that parents’ level of education is strongly associated with advanced development of their children’s linguistic abilities. Also, she found that this form of cultural capital is transmitted through cultural activities such as reading at home, the form of play and monitored TV viewing in which parents engage their children. Such cultural activities are found to have a significant impact on the students’ motivation for learning and academic attainment. Educated parents will balance this by providing creative and practical learning that reinforces linguistic competence, such as painting, playing a musical instrument, cooking, gardening and participating in poetry or debates. In KSA, parents would also credit learning and participation in religion, namely Islam, as being an important form of cultural capital.
Stevenson (2002) conceptualised cultural capital as a form of “competence, e.g. knowledge, skill, education and educational credentials; any advantages a person has which give them a higher status in society, including high expectations”. People use their cultural capital to gain advantages in certain contexts, as these contexts value their cultural capital, e.g. using a title like ‘Dr,’, ‘Lord’, ‘Lady’ or ‘Imam’ to get preferential treatment and respect (Lee and Bowen, 2006). Thus, the value of cultural capital is subjective and varies depending on how it is used from one context to another (Lareau and
Weininger, 2003; Sullivan, 2001). The cultural capital that Stevenson (2002) discusses could be seen as a form of institutionalised cultural capital. It privileges people in certain context. For example, in KSA the title ‘Sheikh’, which refers to a high status of knowledge about Islam, suggests a certain degree of cultural capital. Such a title, when it is used in the context of KSA, is associated with religious knowledge as well as with membership of the middle class or the elite. Sheikhs are always consulted by the government and also relied on in managing the people. Such an institutionalized title privileges individuals in society.
Lee and Bowen (2006) conceptualized cultural capital in terms of parents’ educational attainments and their involvement in their children’s education. In relation to the level of education among parents, Lee and Bowen (2006) argue that parents with higher educational qualifications are more likely to possess academic knowledge and skills as well as a better economic situation in comparison to those who do not have such qualifications. The knowledge, skills and economic situation that parents acquire from their education enable them to be involved more in their children’s education. Such involvement of the family is regarded by Lee and Bowen (2006) as a form of family’s transmission of their knowledge and skills to the children. This involves engaging the children with different educational artefacts (e.g., books, computers, academic credentials). This argument from Lee and Bowen (2006) suggests that parents with lower educational qualifications are less able to engage with their children’s education in the same way the parents with higher educational qualifications do. In support of this, Heymann and Earle (2000), Hill and Taylor (2004), McNeal (1999) and Lee and Bowen (2006) argue that children’s lower academic achievements are associated with less family involvement. Lee and Bowen, (2006, p. 193) argue that:
parents with different demographic characteristics exhibited different types of involvement [i.e. helping with homework, discussing the child’s schoolwork and experiences at school, structuring home activities, setting educational expectations and aspirations for the children], and the types of involvement exhibited by parents from dominant groups had the strongest association with [the students] achievement.
The notion of cultural capital emphasises that the academic success gained from educational intervention depends, among other factors, on the investment made by families in individuals’ cultural capital (Lee and Bowen, 2006; Sullivan, 2001). Thus cultural habits and dispositions inherited from the family are vital to school success, although at times a lack of such inheritance can motivate students to do better than their elders (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1979). The above discussion about cultural capital and the different forms it might take indicates the amount of knowledge, skills and attitudes that may advantage individuals in certain context. Cultural capital can also be seen as indicators of social class and how people are positioned in the wider social structure based on such capital (Lareau and Weininger, 2003; Schweisfurth, 2013a). It is also important to note that these different forms of cultural capital intersect in one way or another. Thus, their impacts are observed in different ways and therefore advantage or disadvantage people (Ahmed and Sayed, 2009; Samuel and Sayed, 2003).
Informed by the discussion above about cultural capital, this study views cultural capital as a general term that encompasses knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are acquired by individuals form their families and which can be used as an asset that can help and support the students to cope with the demands of studying in the EFL programme. As cultural capital is one of the perspectives this study uses to investigate student learning experiences, the influence of such capital is analysed in Chapter Six.
3.4 Conceptualizing the influence of teaching approaches on the student