Cultural capital is the sum of our cultural experiences and knowledge that we bring to
the educational table. In the United States at least, the prevailing culture is white, western,
and largely middle-class, thus those students who do not bring this capital to school are
seriously disadvantaged.
We learn by incorporating new ideas and information
into our minds, connecting those new ideas and information into what is already in our minds.
The more there is in our minds already, the more easily we can file new information and ideas
and make connections between them and what is already there.
Generally, how
students are taught in American schools is based upon a presumption that all students bring the
same or similar cultural capital with them to school. The middle-class child has likely grown up
with books, music, and art at home. The middle-class child has attended summer camp, taken
dancing lessons, and played soccer. He or she has been to art galleries, museums, zoos,
plays,...
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