Academic and Cultural Capital of Students in Pakistani Schools: The Role of Field

Abstract

Within a field, capital and habitus of individuals has great impact in structuring their future practices. Therefore, it can be connoted that field, capital, and habitus all are relational terms and it is not possible to understand these terms by separating them from one another. This study was conducted to explore the role of field in social reproduction among students. This study was qualitative and phenomenological design was used as it examines human experiences through the descriptions provided by the people involved. Teachers teaching at secondary and higher secondary in the two streams of schools (ICT-based public and private) were the population for the study. A total of 24 teachers were randomly selected by using the sample selection rule of Gay and Diehl (1992) as a sample of the study. Data were collected in three rounds through self- constructed in-depth interview guide. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings indicate that effective instructional practices of teachers can enable students to improve the cultural capital of students coming from diverse cultures/backgrounds. Furthermore, it was found that by improving the critical thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning skills of students, both types of schools are trying their level best to improve the academic performance of students that leads to strengthening their academic capital. The paper suggests that to further strengthen the role of field in the academic and cultural capital of students in Pakistani schools teachers need to deal effectively with students of diverse cultures.