Cultural activities and the family’s ‘institutionalised’ cultural capital: the case of native and immigrant primary school pupils

Abstract

This paper explores and interprets the cultural activities of native and immigrant primary school students in relation to their parents’ ‘institutionalised’ cultural capital. The research used a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with sixth grade primary school students from a Greek city which had a high proportion of immigrants due to its geographical location and the activity of its port. The research results showed that the students’ cultural activities were correlated with the ‘institutionalised’ cultural capital of their parents. More specifically, native students whose parents possessed a high level of ‘institutionalised’ cultural capital were involved in cultural activities which defined the ‘cultivated’ person. This was in contrast to native students whose parents possessed low and middle levels of education. This specific group of students shared similar cultural practices to students who were of immigrant origin and whose parents possessed similar educational characteristics.