Ateneo De Manila University

Understanding the Self

First Semester, SY 2018-2019
Maia Coronel (PSY-G)
​ y Katerina Bodovski (Week 11)
Summary of: ​Parental practices and educational achievement: social class, race, and habitus b

Introduction
● Background of the study (​Lareau)
■ how ​race and socioeconomic backgrounds​​ affect the way families raise their children
■ how ​socialization​​ within families produce social class differences
■ child-rearing practices of ​“concerted cultivation” and “accomplishment of natural growth”
■ she also analyzed case studies of ​white and black elementary school children. ​Her findings…
● no difference after taking social class differences into account
● parenting styles were about the same;
● Central question of this study: ​How are children’s educational success shaped by race and social class?
○ a ​nationally representative​​ database was used to test this
○ quantitative analysis ​of: parents expectations (attitudes) vs. concerted cultivation (actions) vs standardized test
scores
○ data from: “Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K data)
● Two aimed contributions of the study
1. connects two research traditions 2. provides further information on ​how students’
a. educational stratification; quantitative performance is affected by parenting style
b. culture, values and practices; qualitative

Theoretical Background
● Social class and parental practices:
○ social class and cultural resources ​(​Bourdieu, Bowles, Gintis, Farkas, Gill
■ Family social class = stems from ​cultural/social resources​​ (traits adapted from family)
● work habits and learning styles ● values and attitudes
● cultural norms ● parenting styles
○ father and son relationship ​(​Bleau and Duncan)
■ first to statistically tackle this question
■ proposed model: ​cause and effect relationship​​ involving...father’s education and occupation and son’s
education, first job, and occupational attainment
○ effect of self on education ​(​Sewell and Hauser)
■ part of the effect can be traced to: own aspirations, peer influences, and own perception of parental
encouragement

Summary of findings from these studies

■ contributors​​ to students success: effort, organization, enthusiasm, parental involvement
■ positive outcomes:​​ improved homework, study habits, attitude towards school, higher attendance, and less drop outs

○ differential parenting ​(​Lareau)

■ she observed late-elementary children, with different social backgrounds, White and Black...her findings:
● middle/upper class families
○ Concerted cultivation​​ - using organized activities to hone childrens skills
○ parents put their kids in ​activities ​that developed their skills and talents (workshops,
sports, clubs, art, etc.)
○ rich vocabulary​​ used in l​ ong conversations​​ with their children
○ more ​expressive​​ about their concerns, taught children ​how to speak up
● low income/working class families
○ Accomplishment of natural growth​​ - providing love and care in order for the child to
grow
○ parents felt responsible for providing everything and were busy working
○ children spent time ​playing​​ with siblings and neighbors; ​watching tv
○ conversed less ​and had a ​limited vocabulary​​ between parties
 ○ felt ​powerless​​ and ​dependent​​; eventually passing these traits on to the children
● ”high stock of middle class cultural capital” = values and practices in educational settings
○ social hierarchy and educational hierarchy ​(​Bourdieu)​
■ certain tastes, styles, manners of speech = place in social hierarchy
■ educational system creates social inequality ​= by turning social hierarchies to educational hierarchies;
rewarding middle and upper class behaviors and ideas
○ habitus
■ people in different social locations are socialized differently (Lareau)
■ differences in ​habitus​ give individuals different ​advantages​​ (traits, social connections, and other cultural
resources) that become beneficial in the real world (Bourdieu)

Cultural capital in a racially diverse context

● Culture capital (​Lamont and Lareau)
■ culture capital: cultural signals that are meant for social and cultural exclusion
○ Four forms of social exclusion (​Bourdieu and Passeron)
● Self elimination - basing your aspirations on what your success rate is perceived to be
● Over-selection - being at a disadvantage in terms of culture capital and being expected to outperform this
handicap
● Relegation - unfair reception of less from educational investment
● Direct exclusion
○ White Majority and African Americans
■ african americans in the ​second circle:​​ because of discrimination and exclusion
■ suffered from all four types of social exclusion
■ purpose of black culture capital: ​ethnic​​ ​authenticity​​, ​positivity​​ in the face of discrimination
■ black middle classes and white middle classes are still ​separate and unequal
■ language plays a role ​in cultural capital (Patillo-McCoy)
● code switching -​​ standard english in social institutions and black english at home (group
solidarity)
● Why study elementary students?
○ younger subjects mean that their educational practices and behaviors reflect more of the ​parents’ own​​ world
view and cultural orientation
● What does this study aim to answer?​​ (conceptual model in Figure 1.)
○ “To what extent is family socio-economic status (SES) associated with parents’ educational expectations and
concerted cultivation for both White and African American students?”
○ “Are parents’ educational expectations and concerted cultivation associated with student achievement for both
White and African American students?”
● Data and measures ​(from the ECLS-K)
○ a set of kindergartners were chosen and observed till they reached 5th grade; ​a full elementary experience
○ the data included
■ interviews​​ with parents and teachers on ​child’s progress and wellbeing
■ child assessment; ​standardized tests for ​math, reading and gen. knowledge
○ sample consisted of ​6317 students in 1074 schools
● Variables (things that were taken into account)
​All variables were converted to z-scores. The results were to make associations. However, the results may imply
potential causal relationships.
1. Black or Non-hispanic White
2. Family SES - score of parental education, occupational prestige and income
3. Parental expectations - scale of 1-6, whether they expect their children to get a PhD or incomplete education
4. Concerted cultivation
○ Parental activities at home: telling stories, singing songs, playing games, etc.
○ Leisure activities
■ Child’s participation in activities: art classes, sports, etc.
■ Educational trips with a family member and the child: visits to the library, museum, zoo, etc.
○ Parents’ school involvement
○ Number of children’s books at home
5. Reading and Mathematics scores
 6. Controlled variables
○ Previous score
○ Female
○ Age
○ Family structure

Results
● academic achievement of Black children consistently less across time​​ (by one standard deviation)
● single parent households: 13% of White children, 41% of black children
● extracurricular activities and educational trips: White students > Black students
● White students have ​on average double ​the number of books at home
● parental activities as home: ​same​​ (playing games, singing songs, helping with homework)
● african american parents have higher educational expectation for their children
● girls​​ had higher expected educational attainment; exposed to more concerted cultivation
● but in african american families, ​more cultivating effort was given to sons
● african american children’s reading skills: negatively affected by ​code-switching

Discussion
● contrary to Lareau’s argument - there is a relationship between race and concerted cultivation
● this is especially prevalent in ​segregated inner-city neighborhoods
● parents expect more from daughters
● more concerted cultivation given to white girls as opposed to boys, ​yet this is reversed among African american
children
● parents socialize their children based on their perception of the opportunities available for them
● certain cultural practices are more beneficial compared to others because of dominance- higher cultural capital

Reading Check
1. What is concerted cultivation?​ using organized activities to hone childrens skills
2. What is the average ratio of the number of books at home of a white child to the number of books at home of an african
american child? ​2:1
3. Why do most african american children have trouble in reading and vocabulary? ​code-switching
4. Do parents expect higher educational attainment from their sons or their daughters?​ daughters
5. What do you call “cultural signals that are meant for social and cultural exclusion”? ​cultural capital

Source:
Katerina Bodovski (2010): ​Parental practices and educational achievement: social class, race, and ​habitus ​, ​British Journal
of Sociology of Education, 31:2, 139-156