Evaluating the continued relevance of Pierre Bourdieu's concept of 'Cultural Capital' in the analysis of class inequalities within the UK higher education system

Abstract

Class inequalities within the contemporary higher education system have been at the focus of governments across the world over recent years. Mainstream literature presents the importance of considering this topic in order to improve social mobility and reflect the need for a highly educated workforce within a competitive global economy. Looking specifically at the United Kingdom (UK), this literature review considers the work of Pierre Bourdieu and his cultural reproduction theory; and specifically how the concept of cultural capital contributes to a deeper understanding of persistent class barriers that prevent access to higher education. The first section outlines the key principles of neoliberalism to contextualise the contemporary higher education system from a social justice and equity perspective. This section also discusses the methodology of the literature review and how it was conducted; and highlights the importance of employing a reflexive approach to social analysis that Bourdieu himself adopts. Chapter two then outlines the key literature which explores the concept of cultural capital and is structured according to its perceived relevance: significant, insignificant and limited; and addresses emerging themes from the literature. Finally, chapter three discusses the findings of the literature review and concludes that cultural capital as a concept is still of significant relevance to the analysis of class inequalities in the field of education when considered alongside structural factors such as assumption of dominant culture, engagement strategies and pedagogic communication; and within the wider architecture of Bourdieu’s cultural reproduction theory. By adopting Bourdieu’s rigorous approach to analysis, this research also concludes the concept of cultural capital should be continuously revisited and empirically evaluated to ensure its continued relevance in an increasingly marketized environment of the institutional hierarchy. Given the neoliberal context within which the higher education system operates in the UK, these findings are able to contribute to a comprehensive evidence base on public policy approaches to tacking class inequalities in the UK higher education system.