Occupational returns to cultural participation in Australia

Abstract

This paper synthesises modernisation and reproduction theories in order to examine whether cultural practices affect occupational success. It develops a cultural practices model that enables empirical tests of a key proposition in cultural reproduction theory. Multivariate analyses, using the 1993 NSSS data, refute the hypothesis that cultural practices boost the chances of occupational success, measured as both occupational status and as entry to professional and elite occupations. In Australian society, status groups and the incumbents of elite posts do not restrict entry to only those individuals who reveal their social background through distinctive cultural styles and repertoires. Instead, Australia appears to be an advanced and open society in which employers judge individuals on the basis of their achieved status, indicated by education.