Ethnicity, youth cultural participation, and cultural reproduction in the Netherlands

Abstract

The purpose of this research is the explanation of differences in cultural participation of adolescents of different ethnic backgrounds. Six hundred ninety-eight Dutch and ethnic minority adolescents in a large city in the Netherlands filled in a questionnaire about their active cultural participation (e.g., playing musical instruments, dancing, acting, drawing) and receptive cultural participation (e.g., going to classical concerts, plays, museums). The expected lower cultural participation among minority youth (i.e., youth whose parents had both been born in Morocco, Turkey or former Dutch colonies such as Surinam and the Dutch Antilles) was limited to Moroccan and Turkish youths’ receptive cultural participation. Contrary to the acculturation hypothesis, we did not find any indication of a growing resemblance in youth cultural participation between the different ethnic groups. In keeping with Bourdieu's reproduction theory, it was examined whether well-educated parents with ample cultural capital raise children who are also successful in acquiring educational and cultural capital. The findings suggest that mothers play a key role. Mothers exert a far greater cultural influence on their daughters than on their sons. Moreover, the cultural influence of mothers on daughters is much stronger than that of fathers. We conclude that intergenerational cultural reproduction affects Dutch and ethnic minority children in the same way.