Concerted Cultivation? Parenting Values, Education and Class Diversity

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of new empirical evidence on parenting values and orientations to children's education and social class. A survey of parents with children involved in organized activities was undertaken, followed by a series of semi-structured interviews with a sample strategically identified with reference to both social class and subjective orientations to education. We argue that within recent literature there has been a tendency towards overstating the internal homogeneity of middle-class and working-class experiences. Our data reveal diverse parental orientations to their children's education within, as well as across, classes. We analyse this diversity in relation to varied circumstances, and draw out some implications for theories of inequality.

Family practices among Swedish parents: extracurricular activities and social class

“…In contrast to international research (Chin and Phillips 2004;Irwin and Elley 2011;Bennet et al 2012;Holloway and Pimplott-Wilson 2014;Siraj and Mayo 2014), the parents in our study did not bring up limited economic resources as a reason for limiting the number of extracurricular activities in which their children participated. One plausible explanation is that, in Sweden, popular activities, such as football and floorball, are mostly run by voluntary associations in which enrolment fees are low or non-existent.…”

“…To explain working-class children's lower participation in organised activities, this body of research emphasises structural constraints, such as limited economic resources. It notes that not all families can afford the costs associated with organised activities (Chin and Phillips 2004;Irwin and Elley 2011;Bennet et al 2012;Holloway and Pimplott-Wilson 2014;Siraj and Mayo 2014). From this perspective, class differences in children's extracurricular activities are explained not by unwillingness among working-class parents to cultivate the skills, talents, and abilities of their child but by limited access to economic resources.…”

“…The importance of parenting practices and cultures for the reproduction of social class and inequality has received growing interest in recent decades (Lareau 2002;Devine 2004;Reay 2005;Klett-Davis 2010;Irwin and Elley 2011;Shih and Yi 2014). Much of this research uses the theoretical framework developed by Pierre Bourdieu (1986Bourdieu ( , 2010, which views families as important sites for the transmission of different forms of capital between generations.…”

Ungdom, idrett og klasse: Fortid, samtid og framtid

“…I studiene inspirert av Lareau (2003) fra Nord-Amerika og europeiske land (Irwin & Elley, 2011;Lavee & Benjamin, 2015;Vincent & Ball, 2007) er det først og fremst middelklasseforeldre som ønsker å få ungene inn i «enriching activities» som idretten kan vaere et eksempel på. Om dette også er tilfelle i Norge er mer åpent.…”

Einführung in das Schwerpunktthemenheft. Eltern, Kind, Schule – ein kompliziertes Verhältnis?

“…Alltägliche Anregungen, Lerngelegenheiten und Formen der Kompetenzförderung sind vielfach beiläufig eingebettet in die familiale Lebensführung und die Beziehungsstrukturen zwischen Eltern und Kindern (Büchner 2006;Von der Hagen-Demszky 2011;Walper/Grgic 2013). Auch bewusste Bemühungen um die Bildung der nachwachsenden Generation sind kein Privileg von Schule, sondern finden sich nicht minder in Familien (Cheadle 2008;Lareau 2003), wie etwa im Konzept der concerted cultivation zum Ausdruck gebracht wird (Irwing 2011). Dass Familien nicht nur einen Be-und Erziehungsraum für Kinder, sondern auch eine wichtige Lernumgebung darstellen, mag heute selbstverständlich erscheinen, wurde jedoch lange in der hiesigen Bildungsforschung vernachlässigt (Wild/Walper 2014 (Boudon 2003).…”