12 Questions
What concept does Randall Collins challenge in his book 'The Credential Society'?
Societal shift from ascription to achievement
According to Bourdieu and Passeron, what do academic credentials do to pre-existing differences in cultural capital?
Intensify them with a meritocratic seal
How does Philip Brown describe the relationship between middle-class social status and professional occupations?
Increasingly reliant on access to professional occupations
According to Bourdieu, what is the impact of new class fractions entering the race for academic qualifications?
Force middle-class groups to increase investments in education
What does the paper by Brown et al. (1997) aim to identify?
The exclusionary tactics of the middle classes during social uncertainty
According to Coleman and Bourdieu, what is educational access dependent upon?
Parental socio-economic status and geographical location
What is the main focus of the paper on geographies of cultural capital?
The relationship between 'parental choice', class status, and spatial mobility
What has transformed geographies of middle-class decision-making in education according to the text?
Growth of a multi-billion dollar international education market
What does the paper reveal about the accumulation of cultural capital through migration to Canada?
It enables families to accumulate a more valuable form of cultural capital
How does the text describe the relationship between international education and class reproduction?
International education is closely linked with class reproduction
In what way does the paper connect international education with place-based transnational social networks?
By arguing for a geographically sensitive account of educational value
What significant change does the text attribute to the recent growth of international education markets?
A transformation in geographies of middle-class decision-making
Study Notes
Credentialism and Class Reproduction
- The expansion of formal education in the 20th century has not changed the fact that socio-economic status affects access to quality education.
- Children's academic achievement is still linked to their parents' socio-economic status and access to education of varying quality.
- Cultural capital is transmitted across generations, and the value of academic credentials varies spatially.
The Significance of Academic Credentials
- Access to professional occupations is dependent on acquiring formal academic credentials.
- Middle-class social status is increasingly dependent on access to professional occupations.
- The capacity of formal academic credentials to guarantee middle-class social status is more significant than ever.
Education and Social Reproduction in Hong Kong
- The middle classes in Hong Kong are reliant on professional occupations and formal academic credentials for social reproduction.
- Local educational opportunities for working-class families have expanded, but the middle classes have to step up their investments to maintain their relative scarcity of qualifications and position in the class structure.
Geographies of Cultural Capital
- Middle-class groups have developed tactics to maintain their social status and privileged lifestyles through education.
- International migration has enabled middle-class families to accumulate a more valuable form of cultural capital in a 'Western' university degree.
- The relative value of international education is closely linked to class reproduction and place-based transnational social networks.
Test your understanding of the paper 'Geographies of cultural capital: education, international migration and family strategies between Hong Kong and Canada' by Johanna L Waters. Explore themes such as parental choice, class status, and spatial mobility in relation to education and social reproduction.
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