The Presence and Prevalence of Cultural Capital: The Female Experience in Mathematics Education

This thesis examines the presence and prevalence of cultural capital within female students and the impact cultural capital has on their education in mathematics. It asks: What are the most pervasive forms of cultural capital amongst female students, and how do those forms of cultural capital affect their academic performance in mathematics? This thesis used a qualitative research approach with an emphasis on case studies in order to explore the impact of the topic. Research for this study was conducted in a three-tiered approach. The primary tier was an objective look at the mathematics placement scores of the women who participated in the case studies. The secondary tier was a survey that explored the cultural capital of each of the women, and the final tier included interviews conducted with each of the participants. This thesis argues the legitimacy of the presence of cultural capital and the prolonged effects cultural capital has on women beginning in their k-12 classrooms and continuing throughout their collegiate education within the field of mathematics.