Students' educational drive and ethnic capital

Abstract

Class has been central to European sociology and especially to sociology of education. Class origins (through one's parents) do indeed largely determine one's educational attainments and through them, with further support from one's class origins, determine one's class destination. And the cycle continues in one's own children. However, class does not affect all ethnic groups in the same manner, given that different groups bring different resources to any given situation, in this case, education, through their ethnic capital. Ethnic capital is the social capital that may be distinctive to a particular ethnic group and so can vary across groups. It can motivate, support and channel the behaviour of members of a group. This article focuses on the ethnic capital of one set of parents and the wider community. It is based on qualitative research undertaken with a small group of British Kashmiris who have been educationally successful. The investigation explored the contribution of their parents and the wider community to their education: how the parents and the wider family communicated their expectations on education and the support and encouragement they provided to the young people. The findings showed that in a socioeconomically disadvantaged context the ethnic capital of the parents and the community can be a driving factor in their children's education.

Comparing apples with apples? How ethnolinguistic and immigration status differentiates university admissions in Toronto and Sydney

“…Chow and Guppy (2021) showed in Canada that even with higher education expansion, parents' socio‐economic background and educational attainment have a lasting impact on student opportunities. In some settings, like the UK and the USA, researchers combined the concepts of cultural and social capital with ethnicity to explain the “immigrant paradox” whereby some migrant youth succeeded in host country education systems even if they originated from low socio‐economic backgrounds (Iqbal & Moodod, 2023; Lee & Zhou, 2015). Elsewhere, in countries with skilled migration programs, such as Canada and Australia, the immigrant educational advantage augments for those already positively selected on occupational class.…”

“…Ethnic capital refers to ethnoracial characteristics embedded within family relationships, the transmission of aspirations and attitudes, and norm‐enforcing cultures that ascribe value to the academic success of minority groups (Iqbal & Moodod, 2023; Kim, 2019). Iqbal and Moodod (2023) note that ways in which ethnic capital interacts with immigrants' class cultures can vary across groups, times and places. However, this form of capital always contains the triad of adult‐child relationships, transmissions of aspirations and attitudes, and norms enforcement.…”

“…In other settings, researchers have studied for some time how the various forms of capital that family members bestow on children have the potential to influence their overall academic success. Ethnic capital involves the transfer of attitudes and propensities embedded within cultures from parents to children, impacting how youth engage with different institutional settings (Iqbal & Moodod, 2023; Kim, 2019). Although this can vary across immigrant groups, intergenerational transmission of norms, cultural resources, and social expectations can enhance academic success among minority students.…”

Status Consumption and Negotiation of Tastes: Anchoring on Ethnic Capital

“…Numerous researchers (Borjas, 1992;Cutler et al, 2005;Zhou and Lin, 2005;Vallejo, 2009;Shah et al, 2010;Mukherjee and Pattnaik, 2021;Iqbal and Modood, 2023;Haq et al, 2023) have examined the social and intergenerational mobility of immigrant communities within the context of education, employment, and the labor market. These studies have led to the development of the concept of ethnic capital. "…”

“…Cutler et al (2005) defined ethnic capital as having access to the set of individual attributes, cultural norms, and ethnic institutions that contribute to the well-being of an ethnic group. Iqbal and Modood (2023) discovered that the ethnic capital of parents and the community can be a driving factor in their children's education, particularly in a socioeconomically disadvantaged context. Meanwhile, Haq et al (2023) contributed to the field with their model that explains how ethnic minority culture shapes the development of human capital resources, as well as the relationship between these resources and business performance in communities that are often characterized as "left behind.""…”