A Systematic Review of Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital Theory and Immigrant Children’s Studies

Research Article
Open access

A Systematic Review of Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital Theory and Immigrant Children’s Studies

Yibo Feng 1*
  • 1 Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom    
  • *corresponding author fybdou392@gmail.com
LNEP Vol.87
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-083-2
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-084-9

Abstract

This article reviews determinant literature on Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory in relation to studies on immigrant children. Based on the analysis of the existing literature, the paper looks into the applicability of Bourdieu’s cultural capital in figuring out the outcome of education among immigrant children and their social integration in the new society and asserts that the cultural capital, such as language proficiency, and social habitus, has a significant impact on the educational experiences and social adjustment of immigrant children. Moreover, the paper also demonstrates how immigrant children’s family strategies can be combined with the rewards of the educational system, which, to a certain extent, can help children bypass the obstacles imposed by the school. By analysing the relevant literature using the PRISMA framework, the article summarises the main research questions, research findings and research gaps in the present literature in this article. Thus, in addition to enhancing the understanding of the experience of immigrant children in the education system of the host country, the article also provides a reference for future research, especially about how the cultural capital affects the generational development of immigrant children.

Keywords:

Cultural Capital, Habitus, Immigrant Children, Social Integration, Educational Achievement

Feng,Y. (2025). A Systematic Review of Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital Theory and Immigrant Children’s Studies. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,87,68-76.
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References

[1]. Mikus, K., Tieben, N., & Schober, P. S. (2019). Children’s conversion of cultural capital into educational success: the symbolic and skill-generating functions of cultural capital. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41(2), 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1677454

[2]. Antony-Newman, M. (2019). Parental involvement of Eastern European immigrant parents in Canada: whose involvement has capital? British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41, 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1668748

[3]. Thuy, T. T. H. (2020). Effects of cultural capital on children’s educational success: An empirical study of vietnam under the shadow of bourdieu’s cultural reproduction theory. Europe PMC. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0573.v1

[4]. Griffin, T., & Glover, T. D. (2020). The Development of Social and Cultural Capitals for Immigrant Hosts of VFR Travellers. Leisure Sciences, 45(3), 262–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2020.1817201

[5]. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. Readings in Economic Sociology.

[6]. Lareau, A. (2002). Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families. American Sociological Review, 67(5), 747–776. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088916

[7]. Rosales, O., Gutierrez, C., & Padilla, A. M. (2024). Understanding the Nuances of First-Generation College Students: How the Culture of College Factors Into Academic Success. Journal of College Student Development, 65(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2024.a919350

[8]. Ma, G., & Wu, Q. (2020). Cultural capital in migration: Academic achievements of Chinese migrant children in urban public schools. Children and Youth Services Review, 116, 105196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105196

[9]. Lassi Lavanti, Harju-Luukkainen, H., & Kuusisto, A. (2023). Teachers’ Perceptions of the Cultural Capital of Children and Families with Immigrant Backgrounds in Early Childhood Education. Education Sciences, 13(10), 977–977. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13100977

[10]. Emery, L., Spruyt, B., Boone, S., & Van Avermaet, P. (2020). The educational trajectory of Newly Arrived Migrant Students: Insights from a structural analysis of cultural capital. Educational Research, 62(1), 18–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2020.1713021

[11]. Davies, S., & Rizk, J. (2017). The Three Generations of Cultural Capital Research: A Narrative Review. Review of Educational Research, 88(3), 331–365. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654317748423

[12]. Dumais, S. A. (2006). Early childhood cultural capital, parental habitus, and teachers’ perceptions. Poetics, 34(2), 83–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2005.09.003

[13]. Wilson, S., & Worsley, A. (2021). Unequal childhoods: A case study application of Lareau’s “accomplishment of natural growth” in British working‐class and poor families. British Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 770–786. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3707

[14]. Luo, J., Zhang, K., Ma, W., & Abbasi, M. Z. (2022). The influence of family cultural capital on migrant children’s academic achievement — from the perspective of emotional regulation. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 25(Supplement_1), A4–A5. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyac032.005

[15]. McGinnity, F., Murray, A., & Darmody, M. (2022). Academic achievement of immigrant children in Irish primary schools: the role of capitals and school context. Eesti Haridusteaduste Ajakiri. Estonian Journal of Education, 10(2), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.12697/eha.2022.10.2.05b

[16]. Xu, J., & Lv, C. (2022). The influence of migrant children’s identification with the college matriculation policy on their educational expectations. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 933216.

[17]. Erel, U. (2010). Migrating Cultural Capital: Bourdieu in Migration Studies. Sociology, 44(4), 642–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038510369363

[18]. Bourdieu, P. (1977). The economics of linguistic exchanges. Social Science Information, 16(6), 645–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901847701600601

[19]. Siew, C., Mei, L., & Raza, K. (2024). Work-integrated (adult) learning: Un-stigmatizing blue-collar adult learners in Singapore by embracing visibility. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/14779714241228847

[20]. Rehbein, B. (2020). Social Inequality and Sociocultures. Methaodos Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 8(1), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v8i1.331

[21]. Rico, O. (2024). Emotionalität, Habitus und soziale Wirklichkeit der Emotionen. Springer EBooks, 105–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-43774-9_4

[22]. Yeung, J. W, Chen, H. F, Zhang, Z, Low, A. Y. T, & Lo, H. H. (2022). Where There’sa Will, There’sa Way? Social and Mental Forces of Successful Adaptation of Immigrant Children in Young Adulthood. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6433.

[23]. Lindell, J., & Aleksandra Dominika Kas. (2023). Media practice and class-making: The anticipation of stigma and the cultural middle-class habitus. Media, Culture & Society, 46(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231185966

[24]. Akgül, G. (2021). A comparative study on the adaptation of immigrant students among five European countries. Journal of Educational Sciences & Psychology, 11(2), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.51865/jesp.2021.2.04

[25]. Hextrum, K., Knoester, C., & Tompsett, J. (2024). Inequalities in Girls’ High School Sports Participation: How Social Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender Route Opportunities to Play and Persist in Athletics. Sociological Focus, 57(2), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2024.2317480

[26]. Yoon, T.-I., Kim, K.-H., & Eom, H.-J. (2011). The border-crossing of habitus: media consumption, motives, and reading strategies among Asian immigrant women in South Korea. Media, Culture & Society, 33(3), 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443710394901

[27]. Breinholt, A., & Jæger, M. M. (2020). How does cultural capital affect educational performance: Signals or skills? The British Journal of Sociology, 71(1), 28–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12711

[28]. Zipin, L., Sellar, S., Brennan, M., & Gale, T. (2013). Educating for Futures in Marginalized Regions: A sociological framework for rethinking and researching aspirations. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47(3), 227–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2013.839376

[29]. Gaddis, S. M. (2013). The influence of habitus in the relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement. Social Science Research, 42(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.08.002

[30]. Akua-Sakyiwah, B. (2016). Away From Home: Somali Women’s Mediated Entry Into the United Kingdom. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 15(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2016.1151095

[31]. Zhou, M., & Kim, S. (2006). Community Forces, Social Capital, and Educational Achievement: The Case of Supplementary Education in the Chinese and Korean Immigrant Communities. Harvard Educational Review, 76(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.76.1.u08t548554882477

[32]. Hakak, Y., & Anton, S. (2020). Smooth sailing with the occasional “culture shock”: the experiences of Romanian social workers in England. European Journal of Social Work, 24(6), 1097–1108. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2020.1838451

[33]. Mohyuddin, S., Sengupta, S., Patel, P., Prikshat, V., & Varma, A. (2021). The challenge of skilled expatriates from the Indian subcontinent losing intellectual capital in Australia: resolving the crisis of habitus. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 23(1), 144–170. https://doi.org/10.1108/jic-01-2021-0031

[34]. Waters, J. L. (2006). Geographies of cultural capital: education, international migration and family strategies between Hong Kong and Canada. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 31(2), 179–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5661.2006.00202.x

[35]. Dubbin, L. A., Chang, J. S., & Shim, J. K. (2013). Cultural health capital and the interactional dynamics of patient-centered care. Social Science & Medicine, 93, 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.06.014

[36]. Navarro, Z. (2006). In Search of a Cultural Interpretation of Power: The Contribution of Pierre Bourdieu. IDS Bulletin, 37(6), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2006.tb00319.x

[37]. Lee, J.-S., & Bowen, N. K. (2006). Parent Involvement, Cultural Capital, and the Achievement Gap among Elementary School Children. American Educational Research Journal, 43(2), 193–218. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312043002193

[38]. Friesen, M. R. (2011). Immigrants’ integration and career development in the professional engineering workplace in the context of social and cultural capital. Engineering Studies, 3(2), 79–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/19378629.2011.571260

[39]. Ottaviano, G. I. P., Peri, G., & Wright, G. C. (2018). Immigration, trade and productivity in services: Evidence from U.K. firms. Journal of International Economics, 112, 88–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2018.02.007


Cite this article

Feng,Y. (2025). A Systematic Review of Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital Theory and Immigrant Children’s Studies. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,87,68-76.

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Volume title: Proceedings of ICEIPI 2025 Symposium: Reimagining Society: AI's Role in Cultural Transformation and Learning Environments

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Conference date: 25 June 2025
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Volume number: Vol.87
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References

[1]. Mikus, K., Tieben, N., & Schober, P. S. (2019). Children’s conversion of cultural capital into educational success: the symbolic and skill-generating functions of cultural capital. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41(2), 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1677454

[2]. Antony-Newman, M. (2019). Parental involvement of Eastern European immigrant parents in Canada: whose involvement has capital? British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41, 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1668748

[3]. Thuy, T. T. H. (2020). Effects of cultural capital on children’s educational success: An empirical study of vietnam under the shadow of bourdieu’s cultural reproduction theory. Europe PMC. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0573.v1

[4]. Griffin, T., & Glover, T. D. (2020). The Development of Social and Cultural Capitals for Immigrant Hosts of VFR Travellers. Leisure Sciences, 45(3), 262–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2020.1817201

[5]. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. Readings in Economic Sociology.

[6]. Lareau, A. (2002). Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families. American Sociological Review, 67(5), 747–776. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088916

[7]. Rosales, O., Gutierrez, C., & Padilla, A. M. (2024). Understanding the Nuances of First-Generation College Students: How the Culture of College Factors Into Academic Success. Journal of College Student Development, 65(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2024.a919350

[8]. Ma, G., & Wu, Q. (2020). Cultural capital in migration: Academic achievements of Chinese migrant children in urban public schools. Children and Youth Services Review, 116, 105196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105196

[9]. Lassi Lavanti, Harju-Luukkainen, H., & Kuusisto, A. (2023). Teachers’ Perceptions of the Cultural Capital of Children and Families with Immigrant Backgrounds in Early Childhood Education. Education Sciences, 13(10), 977–977. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13100977

[10]. Emery, L., Spruyt, B., Boone, S., & Van Avermaet, P. (2020). The educational trajectory of Newly Arrived Migrant Students: Insights from a structural analysis of cultural capital. Educational Research, 62(1), 18–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2020.1713021

[11]. Davies, S., & Rizk, J. (2017). The Three Generations of Cultural Capital Research: A Narrative Review. Review of Educational Research, 88(3), 331–365. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654317748423

[12]. Dumais, S. A. (2006). Early childhood cultural capital, parental habitus, and teachers’ perceptions. Poetics, 34(2), 83–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2005.09.003

[13]. Wilson, S., & Worsley, A. (2021). Unequal childhoods: A case study application of Lareau’s “accomplishment of natural growth” in British working‐class and poor families. British Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 770–786. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3707

[14]. Luo, J., Zhang, K., Ma, W., & Abbasi, M. Z. (2022). The influence of family cultural capital on migrant children’s academic achievement — from the perspective of emotional regulation. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 25(Supplement_1), A4–A5. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyac032.005

[15]. McGinnity, F., Murray, A., & Darmody, M. (2022). Academic achievement of immigrant children in Irish primary schools: the role of capitals and school context. Eesti Haridusteaduste Ajakiri. Estonian Journal of Education, 10(2), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.12697/eha.2022.10.2.05b

[16]. Xu, J., & Lv, C. (2022). The influence of migrant children’s identification with the college matriculation policy on their educational expectations. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 933216.

[17]. Erel, U. (2010). Migrating Cultural Capital: Bourdieu in Migration Studies. Sociology, 44(4), 642–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038510369363

[18]. Bourdieu, P. (1977). The economics of linguistic exchanges. Social Science Information, 16(6), 645–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901847701600601

[19]. Siew, C., Mei, L., & Raza, K. (2024). Work-integrated (adult) learning: Un-stigmatizing blue-collar adult learners in Singapore by embracing visibility. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/14779714241228847

[20]. Rehbein, B. (2020). Social Inequality and Sociocultures. Methaodos Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 8(1), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v8i1.331

[21]. Rico, O. (2024). Emotionalität, Habitus und soziale Wirklichkeit der Emotionen. Springer EBooks, 105–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-43774-9_4

[22]. Yeung, J. W, Chen, H. F, Zhang, Z, Low, A. Y. T, & Lo, H. H. (2022). Where There’sa Will, There’sa Way? Social and Mental Forces of Successful Adaptation of Immigrant Children in Young Adulthood. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6433.

[23]. Lindell, J., & Aleksandra Dominika Kas. (2023). Media practice and class-making: The anticipation of stigma and the cultural middle-class habitus. Media, Culture & Society, 46(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231185966

[24]. Akgül, G. (2021). A comparative study on the adaptation of immigrant students among five European countries. Journal of Educational Sciences & Psychology, 11(2), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.51865/jesp.2021.2.04

[25]. Hextrum, K., Knoester, C., & Tompsett, J. (2024). Inequalities in Girls’ High School Sports Participation: How Social Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender Route Opportunities to Play and Persist in Athletics. Sociological Focus, 57(2), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2024.2317480

[26]. Yoon, T.-I., Kim, K.-H., & Eom, H.-J. (2011). The border-crossing of habitus: media consumption, motives, and reading strategies among Asian immigrant women in South Korea. Media, Culture & Society, 33(3), 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443710394901

[27]. Breinholt, A., & Jæger, M. M. (2020). How does cultural capital affect educational performance: Signals or skills? The British Journal of Sociology, 71(1), 28–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12711

[28]. Zipin, L., Sellar, S., Brennan, M., & Gale, T. (2013). Educating for Futures in Marginalized Regions: A sociological framework for rethinking and researching aspirations. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47(3), 227–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2013.839376

[29]. Gaddis, S. M. (2013). The influence of habitus in the relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement. Social Science Research, 42(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.08.002

[30]. Akua-Sakyiwah, B. (2016). Away From Home: Somali Women’s Mediated Entry Into the United Kingdom. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 15(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2016.1151095

[31]. Zhou, M., & Kim, S. (2006). Community Forces, Social Capital, and Educational Achievement: The Case of Supplementary Education in the Chinese and Korean Immigrant Communities. Harvard Educational Review, 76(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.76.1.u08t548554882477

[32]. Hakak, Y., & Anton, S. (2020). Smooth sailing with the occasional “culture shock”: the experiences of Romanian social workers in England. European Journal of Social Work, 24(6), 1097–1108. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2020.1838451

[33]. Mohyuddin, S., Sengupta, S., Patel, P., Prikshat, V., & Varma, A. (2021). The challenge of skilled expatriates from the Indian subcontinent losing intellectual capital in Australia: resolving the crisis of habitus. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 23(1), 144–170. https://doi.org/10.1108/jic-01-2021-0031

[34]. Waters, J. L. (2006). Geographies of cultural capital: education, international migration and family strategies between Hong Kong and Canada. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 31(2), 179–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5661.2006.00202.x

[35]. Dubbin, L. A., Chang, J. S., & Shim, J. K. (2013). Cultural health capital and the interactional dynamics of patient-centered care. Social Science & Medicine, 93, 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.06.014

[36]. Navarro, Z. (2006). In Search of a Cultural Interpretation of Power: The Contribution of Pierre Bourdieu. IDS Bulletin, 37(6), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2006.tb00319.x

[37]. Lee, J.-S., & Bowen, N. K. (2006). Parent Involvement, Cultural Capital, and the Achievement Gap among Elementary School Children. American Educational Research Journal, 43(2), 193–218. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312043002193

[38]. Friesen, M. R. (2011). Immigrants’ integration and career development in the professional engineering workplace in the context of social and cultural capital. Engineering Studies, 3(2), 79–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/19378629.2011.571260

[39]. Ottaviano, G. I. P., Peri, G., & Wright, G. C. (2018). Immigration, trade and productivity in services: Evidence from U.K. firms. Journal of International Economics, 112, 88–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2018.02.007