What is Cultural Capital

Cultural capital can be defined as the social assets of a person, gained through the experiences and the opportunities available to them, that can be used to increase their chances of success in life. 

Cultural capital in primary schools is what pupils acquire alongside traditional academic knowledge. The concept relates back to the social theory of French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu. The theory states that the social success of a person depends on his or her accumulated life experiences (cultural capital).

Cultural capital, broadly, is about the values, knowledge, skills, and ideas that are valued in a given culture, society, or social group. It is important to recognise that everyone has some cultural capital but in different amounts built up over time through many different experiences and opportunities. It is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a pupil can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a student will draw upon to be successful in their future education, society, their career and the world of work. Cultural capital gives a student power and it helps them achieve goals, become successful, and rise up the social ladder. Cultural capital is having assets that give students the desire to aspire and achieve and is understood to contribute to 'getting on in life' whatever their starting point. 

Cultural Capital at St Robert Bellarmine

Every child and family who joins our setting will have their own knowledge and experiences that will link to their culture, experiences and wider family. This might include: languages, beliefs, traditions, cultural and family heritage, interests, travel and work. At St Robert Bellarmine we strive hard to ensure that we 'add value' to our pupils' Cultural Capital both inside and outside of the classroom. Our pupils realise that being successful is not just about their academic performance, therefore we offer a wide range of opportunities and experiences for pupils to be involved in throughout their time with us. In addition to pupils’ academic success, we actively recognise and celebrate qualities we see in our pupils which are essential to be well-rounded citizens equipped to succeed in life.

Here at St Robert Bellarmine, we have carefully constructed our curriculum by putting children at the centre. We want our curriculum to help to support and address the potential barriers many children in our school may meet. We understand that cultural capital is important in underpinning some of the areas we need to help support our children in our school context. The children benefit from a curriculum that builds on what they already know and understand.  This means they have a deep and connected knowledge and understanding of where they came from, who they are and what they could eventually become.  We believe that exposure, not only to culture but also to situations in which the children might not have previous experiences of, is of paramount importance to their ongoing successes. Gradually widening children’s experiences as they progress through school is an important step in providing rich and engaging learning across the curriculum. From their entry into nursery, we plan carefully for our children to have progressively richer experiences that enrich and underpin our curriculum. Through this we aim to ensure all of our children are prepared and equipped to succeed in their futures in an ever-changing world.