Race, Cultural Capital, and Educational Resources: Persistent Inequalities and Achievement Returns

Abstract

Theories of cultural capital and family educational resources explain how and why background matters for achievement, yet it is unclear whether the processes described are equally applicable to nonwhites. The study presented here examined (1) the extent to which black and white students differ in cultural capital and educational resources, (2) the mediating role these attributes may play between family background and racial disparities in achievement, and (3) whether educational returns vary by racial group. The findings suggest that significant racial variations in cultural capital and household educational items are largely a function of disparities in family socioeconomic status, but that these resources have only a small mediating effect on the gap in black-white achievement. Black and low-SES students tend to receive less educational return, probably because of micropolitical evaluative processes at the school and classroom levels