This article is devoted to the explanation of the influence of social origins on student achievement. Using the data of the Project for International Student Assessment on 25 nations, I show that cultural capital provides a relevant, but far from exhaustive, account of schooling inequalities; furthermore, the explanatory power of Bourdieu’s theory seems impressively similar across countries. I also try to argue that, in order to elaborate a more satisfactory explanation, we need to take into account at least two more factors: occupational aspirations and economic resources. Finally, I discuss whether the above mentioned factors can be integrated into a coherent theoretical framework to achieve a better understanding of educational inequalities.
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