Linguistic proficiency as cultural capital in school environments

Abstract

The main concern of this paper is the extent to which students’ expectations of first language studies reflect the idea that linguistic proficiency produces social and cultural capital (Bourdieu 2008 and earlier work). The participants consisted of 14 focus groups of students in secondary schools in Iceland. Most of the students believe it is desirable to acquire fluency in reading and formal writing. In their view, however, the amount of time devoted to traditional school grammar is actually a detriment to that goal. Furthermore, the students think that success in Icelandic as a school subject depends to some extent on reading habits and language instruction at home. These views support the idea that schools tend to reward their students for knowledge and skills that are not necessarily highlighted in the classroom but which can be viewed as advantageous due to systematic cultural reproduction within families and social networks.