Exploring the relationship between cultural capital and the use of school resources for parental involvement across countries: evidence from PISA 2018

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore the effect of cultural capital on the perception of parental involvement policies offered by schools in various countries. Using PISA (2018) data, a multilevel model is implemented for each participant country to adopt a comparative perspective. While the results suggest a complex effect, moderated by idiosyncratic country characteristics, the objectified component of cultural capital shows a positive trend pattern for most countries, with a higher effect size than institutionalised and embodied cultural capital, which show a somewhat more ambiguous pattern. Additionally, variables such as gender, immigrant status, and home language show a significant effect in some of the analysed countries, suggesting that they might act as moderators. The study discusses theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research.