Race, Cultural Capital, and Schooling: An Analysis of Trends in the United States

TLDR

Let's parse labeled abstract lines: Line 1: [Mechanism, Findings] ... This line contains both Mechanism and Findings content. It describes using survey data on Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites in 1982 and 1985, examining link between racial inequality in schooling and differences in cultural capital. Findings: significant increase in parental cultural capital across birth cohorts, faster among Blacks, persists after controlling for differences, suggests racial integration.

Abstract

Using survey data on Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites in 1982 and 1985, the authors examine the link between racial inequality in schooling and differences in cultural capital-the degree to which parents socialize their children into high-status culture.The findings indicate a significant increase in parental cultural capital across birth cohorts (from 1900 to 1960).That this increase has been faster among Blacks than among Whites and persists after Black-White differences are taken into account suggests a degree of racial integration in the cultural domain.The results also show that exposure to high-status culture is associated with higher levels of schooling and that the integration of Blacks into high-status culture has contributed to the Black-White convergence in schooling.The latter finding illustrates that cultural capital may serve as a route to upward mobility for less privileged minority groups.D ifferences in schooling are a key factor in the debate on racial inequality in American society.As is well known, the Black-White gap in schooling has narrowed over the course of this century, but even in recent cohorts, Blacks remain at a disadvantage.Although American research has examined several causes underlying this trend (Farley and Allen 1989), the European tradition of research on cultural capital may provide another answer.Using individual survey data on cultural socialization, we examine the link between racial inequality in schooling, on the one hand, and exclusion in the cultural domain, on the other hand.More specifically, we assess whether racespecific trends in educational attainment in the 20th century are related to changes in exposure to Euro-American high-status culture in Black and White families. We examine the link between racial inequality in schooling, on the one hand, and exclusion in the cultural domain, on the other hand.More specifically, we assess whether racespecific trends in educational attainment in the 20th century are related to changes in exposure to Euro-American high-status culture in Black and White families. CULTURAL CAPITAL AND RACIAL INEQUALITY Racial Differences in Schooling The American history of racial inequality in schooling can be roughly divided into three periods (Smith 1984). Shortly after Emancipation in 1863, there were signs that schooling was expanding more rapidly among Blacks than among Whites.During Reconstruction, the difference in average years of schooling completed by Black and White men declined from 4.39 for men born before 1865, to 3.18 for men born in the 1880s.This period of convergence was followed by a 20-year period of divergence.After 1896, educational opportunities for Blacks were blocked by the so-called separate-but-equal doctrine.As a consequence of this doctrine, all public schools became segregated by race, and Black schools received considerably less governmental support than did white schools.The salaries of teachers in White schools, for example, were about 22 SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION 1996, VOL.69 (JANUARY):22-34 * 13 constant is the average Yi of Whites born in 1900.* O3black iS the disadvantage of Blacks compared to Whites in 1900.* 13black trend is the increase in Yi for Blacks per decade.* 13white trend is the increase in Yi for Whites per decade.* i3black trend V white trend is the Black-White convergence in Yi per decade.