Dilemmas in studying cultural capital in children

The aim of this paper is to reexamine problems occurring in studies on cultural capital in children, so as to better understand their causes and identify possible solutions. The paper seeks to provide answers to the following questions: 1) to what extent various ways of operationalizing cultural capital are linked to various conceptions of cultural capital, and 2) which of the various models of conceptualization and operationalization of cultural capital can best explain the behavior of children in the field of education. Taking different conceptions of cultural capital as our starting point, through a critical analysis of various concrete examples of studies we examine to what extent the ways of operationalizing cultural capital are related to different conceptions of the concept, and to what extent they are able to explain academic achievement and educational aspirations in children. Our conclusion is that the different ways of operationalization are linked to different conceptions of cultural capital, and that problems in studies on cultural capital stem mainly from the lack of precision of the concept itself. The resulting dilemmas are amplified when the subjects of research are children, in which case some indicators of cultural capital on which consensus practically exists in other research, become contentious. By looking at the theoretical starting points and results of different studies, we conclude that studies which adopt a broader and reproductive approach to cultural capital are, on the one hand, closer to Bourdieu's original thought, and on the other, empirically more useful (they are able to explain academic achievement and educational aspirations to a greater extent). Also, we conclude that more "open", more inductive and qualitative research could result not only in a better understanding of children in the field of education, but also lead to the establishment of "guidelines" for change in educational practices.