A Study On The Intergenerational Transmission Of Cultural Capital

With the acceleration of the process of industrialization and modernization.For one thing,the factors that determine the individual’s status class gradually change from ascribed elements to acquired elements.For another,China gradually forms a stable social stratification after the reform and opening up,mobility reduced between the stratum and intergenerational inheritance increased but direct transitivity reduced significantly.So,what kinds of way does the relatively dominant class maintain class status? Cultural capital is an important way to maintain class status because of the effect of secrecy and particularity,but previous study lacked of a detailed examination of the process of cultural capital.Based on this,this paper takes Shanghai middle class family as the research object,using the method of depth interview and participation observation.It attempts to answer the core question that how does the parent’s cultural capital pass to the offspring? Through the logical starting point,mechanism of action and cause results,it outlines the whole process of cultural capital and inspects the specific ways to maintain the stratum status in the middle class.It has important theoretical significance to understand educational inequality and social structure reproduction.And it also has important practical significance to establish education equity policy and moderate class contradiction.This study has the mainly findings as follows: First,as the biggest beneficiaries of cultural capital,middle class has rich cultural capital.Due to concern about children’s education and self-esteem,middle class has strong motivation for transmission and manifests in specific behaviors.Second,the mechanism of action of cultural capital reflect by family,school and educational institution.It maintains the class status by "triple reproduction" of education activities.Parents and children are all participants of the cultural capital reproduction.Third,the operation of cultural capital in the middle class families presents the characteristics of "excessive transmission" and shows contradictions.In this paper,the research findings suggest that cultural capital as the important mechanism links between the family background and education as well as social status acquired.It plays an important role in shaping education inequality and reproduction of class status.Class differentiation has become increasingly obvious in China,cultural capital may become a new way of ‘class distinction’.This will widen the gap between members of different socio-economic status and thus aggravate the solidarity of social stratum.Educational institutions have become a new way of reproduction of cultural capital.In order to alleviate the inequality of intergenerational transmission,we need to strengthen government regulation and improve the system design,and prevent cultural capital from widening the gap between social stratum in a new form.