Building upon theories of capital conversion, we examine relationships between one form of social capital (intergenerational closure, defined as the number of connections among parents in a school) and both simple and complex forms of cultural capital (school-oriented home activities and concerted cultivation) across socioeconomic status (SES). Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 2010 to 2011, the results show that intergenerational closure is significantly and positively associated with both home activities and concerted cultivation, having a stronger association with the latter. Families with lower SES report higher rates of engaging in everyday home activities, whereas families with higher SES concentrate more of their efforts into concerted cultivation. Furthermore, network size positively affects home activities across socioeconomic contexts but has stronger associations with concerted cultivation in socioeconomically disadvantaged families. We interpret these findings as suggesting that parental networks can be key mechanisms for converting forms of capital in socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts.
AinsworthJames W.2002. “Why Does It Take a Village? The Mediation of Neighborhood Effects on Educational Achievement.” Social Forces81(1):117–52.
2.
AlexanderKarl L.EntwisleDoris R.HorseyCarrie S.1997. “From First Grade Forward: Early Foundations of High School Dropout.” Sociology of Education70(2):87–107.
AltintasEvrim. 2016. “The Widening Education Gap in Developmental Child Care Activities in the United States, 1965–2013.” Journal of Marriage and Family78(1):26–42.
5.
AuriniJaniceHillierCathlene. 2018. “Reopening the Black Box of Educational Disadvantage. Why We Need New Answers to Old Questions.” Pp 309–33 in Education in a New Society: Renewing the Sociology of Education, edited by MehtaJalDaviesScott. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
6.
AuriniJaniceMissaghianRodMilianRoger Pizarro. 2020. “Educational Status Hierarchies, After-school Activities, and Parenting Logics: Lessons from Canada.” Sociology of Education93(2):173–89.
7.
BennettPamela R.LutzAmy C.JayaramLakshmi. 2012. “Beyond the Schoolyard: The Role of Parenting Logics, Financial Resources, and Social Institutions in the Social Class Gap in Structured Activity Participation.” Sociology of Education85(2):131–57.
8.
BodovskiKaterinaFarkasGeorge. 2008. “‘Concerted Cultivation’ and Unequal Achievement in Elementary School.” Social Science Research37(3):903–19.
9.
BourdieuPierre. 1986. “The Forms of Capital.” Pp. 241–58 in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by RichardsonJohn G.New York: Greenwood Press.
10.
BourdieuPierre. 1987. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
11.
BourdieuPierrePasseronJean-Claude. 1990. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. London, England: Sage.
12.
BreinholtAstaJaegerMads Meier. 2020. “How Does Cultural Capital Affect Educational Performance: Signals or Skills?” British Journal of Sociology71(1):28–46.
13.
CalarcoJessica McCrory. 2011. ““I Need Help!” Social Class and Children’s Help-seeking in Elementary School.” American Sociological Review76(6):862–82.
14.
CalarcoJessica McCrory. 2014. “Coached for the Classroom: Parents’ Cultural Transmission and Children’s Reproduction of Educational Inequalities.” American Sociological Review79(5):1015–37.
15.
CalarcoJessica McCrory. 2020. “Avoiding Us versus Them: How Schools’ Dependence on Privileged “Helicopter” Parents Influences Enforcement of Rules.” American Sociological Review85(2):223–46.
16.
CarbonaroWilliam J.1998. “A Little Help from My Friend’s Parents: Intergenerational Closure and Educational Outcomes.” Sociology of Education71(4):295–313.
17.
CarolanBrian V.LardierDavid T.Jr.2018. “Adolescents’ Friends, Parental Social Closure, and Educational Outcomes.” Sociological Focus51(1):52–68.
18.
CarolanBrian V.WassermanSara J.2015. “Does Parenting Style Matter? Concerted Cultivation, Educational Expectations, and the Transmission of Educational Advantage.” Sociological Perspectives58(2):168–86.
19.
CeballoRosarioMcLoydVonnie C.2002. “Social Support and Parenting in Poor, Dangerous Neighborhoods.” Child Development73(4):1310–21.
20.
CentolaDamon. 2018. How Behavior Spreads: The Science of Complex Contagions. Vol. 3. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
21.
CheadleJacob E.2008. “Educational Investment, Family Context, and Children’s Math and Reading Growth from Kindergarten through the Third Grade.” Sociology of Education81(1):1–31.
22.
CheadleJacob E.2009. “Parent Educational Investment and Children’s General Knowledge Development.” Social Science Research38(2):477–91.
23.
CheadleJacob E.AmatoPaul R.2011. “A Quantitative Assessment of Lareau’s Qualitative Conclusions about Class, Race, and Parenting.” Journal of Family Issues32(5):679–706.
24.
ChettyRajJacksonMatthew O.KuchlerTheresaStroebelJohannesHendrenNathanielFlueggeRobert B.GongSaraGonzalezFedericoGrondinArmelleJacobMatthewJohnstonDrewKoenenMartinLaguna-MuggenburgEduardoMudekerezaFlorianRutterTomThorNicolajTownsendWilburZhangRubyBaileyMikeBarberáPabloBholeMonicaWernerfeltNils. 2022a. “Social Capital I: Measurement and Associations with Economic Mobility.” Nature608(7921):108–21.
25.
ChettyRajJacksonMatthew O.KuchlerTheresaStroebelJohannesHendrenNathanielFlueggeRobert B.GongSaraGonzalezFedericoGrondinArmelleJacobMatthewJohnstonDrewKoenenMartinLaguna-MuggenburgEduardoMudekerezaFlorianRutterTomThorNicolajTownsendWilburZhangRubyBaileyMikeBarberáPabloBholeMonicaWernerfeltNils. 2022b. “Social Capital II: Determinants of Economic Connectedness.” Nature608(7921):122–34.
26.
ChiangYi-Lin. 2018. “When Things Don’t Go as Planned: Contingencies, Cultural Capital, and Parental Involvement for Elite University Admission in China.” Comparative Education Review62(4):503–21.
27.
ChinTiffaniPhillipsMeredith. 2004. “Social Reproduction and Child-rearing Practices: Social Class, Children’s Agency, and the Summer Activity Gap.” Sociology of Education77(3):185–210.
28.
CinelliCarlosHazlettChad. 2020. “Making Sense of Sensitivity: Extending Omitted Variable Bias.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Statistical Methodology)82(1):39–67.
29.
ColemanJames S.1988. “Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital.” American Journal of Sociology94:95–120.
30.
ColemanJames S.1990. Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
31.
CoxAmanda BarrettSteinbuglerAmy C.QuinnRand. 2021. “It’s Who You Know (and Who You Are): Social Capital in a School-based Parent Network.” Sociology of Education94(4):253–70.
32.
CucchiaraMaia Bloomfield. 2013. “‘Are We Doing Damage?’ Choosing an Urban Public School in an Era of Parental Anxiety.” Anthropology and Education Quarterly44(1):75–93.
33.
CucchiaraMaia BloomfieldHorvatErin McNamara. 2009. “Perils and Promises: Middle-class Parental Involvement in Urban Schools.” American Educational Research Journal46(4):974–1004.
34.
DaviesScott. 2024. “Cultural Capital—Field Connections for Three Populations of Chinese Students: A Theoretical Framework for Empirical Research.” Chinese Sociological Review56(3):261–84.
35.
DaviesScottRizkJessica. 2018. “The Three Generations of Cultural Capital Research: A Narrative Review.” Review of Educational Research88(3):331–65.
36.
DikaSandra L.SinghKusum. 2002. “Applications of Social Capital in Educational Literature: A Critical Synthesis.” Review of Educational Research72(1):31–60.
37.
DiMaggioPaul. 1982. “Cultural Capital and School Success: The Impact of Status Culture Participation on the Grades of US High School Students.” American Sociological Review47(2):189–201.
38.
DominaThurston. 2005. “Leveling the Home Advantage: Assessing the Effectiveness of Parental Involvement in Elementary School.” Sociology of Education78(3):233–49.
39.
DufurMikaela J.ParcelToby L.TroutmanKelly P.2013. “Does Capital at Home Matter More than Capital at School? Social Capital Effects on Academic Achievement.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility31:1–21.
40.
DumaisSusan A.KessingerRichard J.GhoshBonny. 2012. “Concerted Cultivation and Teachers’ Evaluations of Students: Exploring the Intersection of Race and Parents’ Educational Attainment.” Sociological Perspectives55(1):17–42.
41.
DuncanGreg J.MurnaneRichard J.2011. Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
42.
EhrenreichBarbara. 1989. Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class. New York: Harper Perennial.
43.
EntwisleDoris R.AlexanderKarl L.OlsonLinda Steffel. 2005. “First Grade and Educational Attainment by Age 22: A New Story.” American Journal of Sociology110(5):1458–502.
44.
EpsteinJoyce L.2005. “Attainable Goals? The Spirit and Letter of the No Child Left Behind Act on Parental Involvement.” Sociology of Education78(2):179–82.
45.
FasangAnette EvaManginoWilliamBrücknerHannah. 2014. “Social Closure and Educational Attainment.” Sociological Forum29(1):137–64.
46.
GamoranAdamMillerHannah K.FielJeremy E.ValentineJessa Lewis. 2021. “Social Capital and Student Achievement: An Intervention-based Test of Theory.” Sociology of Education94(4):294–315.
47.
GanglMarkus. 2010. “Causal Inference in Sociological Research.” Annual Review of Sociology36:21–47.
48.
GevenSaraWerfhorstHerman G. van de. 2020. “The Role of Intergenerational Networks in Students’ School Performance in Two Differentiated Educational Systems: A Comparison of between-and within-individual Estimates.” Sociology of Education93(1):40–64.
49.
GranovetterMark S.1973. “The Strength of Weak Ties.” American Journal of Sociology78(6):1360–80.
50.
HansonSandra L.GilbertEmily. 2012. “Family, Gender and Science Experiences: The Perspective of Young Asian Americans.” Race, Gender & Class19(3/4):326–47.
51.
HorowitzJonathanHammJill. 2021. “Network Position and Academic Achievement in Middle School.” Unpublished Manuscript, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
52.
HorvatErin McNamaraWeiningerElliot B.LareauAnnette. 2003. “From Social Ties to Social Capital: Class Differences in the Relations between Schools and Parent Networks.” American Educational Research Journal40(2):319–51.
53.
IshizukaPatrick. 2019. “Social Class, Gender, and Contemporary Parenting Standards in the United States: Evidence from a National Survey Experiment.” Social Forces98(1):31–58.
54.
KaoGraceRutherfordLindsay Taggart. 2007. “Does Social Capital Still Matter? Immigrant Minority Disadvantage in School-specific Social Capital and Its Effects on Academic Achievement.” Sociological Perspectives50(1): 27–52.
55.
KimelbergShelley McDonough. 2014. “Beyond Test Scores: Middle-class Mothers, Cultural Capital, and the Evaluation of Urban Public Schools.” Sociological Perspectives57(2):208–28.
56.
KornrichSabinoFurstenbergFrank. 2013. “Investing in Children: Changes in Parental Spending on Children, 1972–2007.” Demography50(1):1–23.
57.
LamontMicheleLareauAnnette. 1988. “Cultural Capital: Allusions, Gaps and Glissandos in Recent Theoretical Developments.” Sociological Theory6(2):153–68.
58.
LareauAnnette. 1987. “Social Class Differences in Family-school Relationships: The Importance of Cultural Capital.” Sociology of Education60(2):73–85.
59.
LareauAnnette. 2000. Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
60.
LareauAnnette. 2011. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkley, CA: University of California Press.
61.
LareauAnnetteHorvatErin McNamara. 1999. “Moments of Social Inclusion and Exclusion Race, Class, and Cultural Capital in Family-school Relationships.” Sociology of Education72(1):37–53.
62.
LareauAnnetteWeiningerElliot B.2003. “Cultural Capital in Educational Research: A Critical Assessment.” Theory and Society32(5):567–606.
63.
LeeJenniferZhouMin. 2015. The Asian American Achievement Paradox. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
64.
LeeJung-SookBowenNatasha K.2006. “Parent Involvement, Cultural Capital, and the Achievement Gap among Elementary School Children.” American Educational Research Journal43(2):193–218.
65.
LiAngranChengSimonVachonTodd E.2023. “Too Much of a Good Thing? Testing the Curvilinear Relationship between Parental Involvement and Student Outcomes in Elementary School.” Social Forces101:1230–57.
66.
LiAngranFischerMary J.2017. “Advantaged/Disadvantaged School Neighborhoods, Parental Networks, and Parental Involvement at Elementary School.” Sociology of Education90(4):355–77.
67.
LiAngranHamlinDaniel. 2019. “Is Daily Parental Help with Homework Helpful? Reanalyzing National Data Using a Propensity Score–based Approach.” Sociology of Education92(4):367–85.
68.
LinNan. 1999. “Social Networks and Status Attainment.” Annual Review of Sociology25(1):467–87.
69.
LiuAiranXieYu. 2016. “Why Do Asian Americans Academically Outperform Whites? The Cultural Explanation Revisited.” Social Science Research58:210–26.
70.
LouieVivian S.2004. Compelled to Excel: Immigration, Education, and Opportunity among Chinese Americans. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
71.
LuWei-Ting. 2013. “Confucious or Mozart? Community Cultural Wealth and Upward Mobility among Children of Chinese Immigrants.” Qualitative Sociology36:303–21.
72.
MikusKarolineTiebenNicoleSchoberPia S.2020. “Concerted Cultivation in Early Childhood and Social Inequalities in Cognitive Skills: Evidence from a German Panel Study.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility72:100547.
73.
MilkieMelissa A.WarnerCatharine H.2014. “Status Safeguarding: Mothers’ Work to Secure Children’s Place in the Social Hierarchy.” Pp. 66–85 in Intensive Mothering: The Cultural Contradictions of Modern Motherhood, edited by EnnisLinda Rose. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.
74.
MorganStephen L.SørensenAage B.1999. “Parental Networks, Social Closure, and Mathematics Learning: A Test of Coleman’s Social Capital Explanation of School Effects.” American Sociological Review64(5):661–81.
75.
MorganStephen L.ToddJennifer J.2009. “Intergenerational Closure and Academic Achievement in High School: A New Evaluation of Coleman’s Conjecture.” Sociology of Education82(3):267–86.
76.
MorganStephen L.WinshipChristopher. 2015. Counterfactuals and Causal Inference. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
77.
MurrayBrittanyDominaThurstonPettsAmyRenzulliLindaBoylanRebecca. 2020. ““We’re in This Together”: Bridging and Bonding Social Capital in Elementary School PTOs.” American Educational Research Journal57(5):2210–44.
78.
PachuckiMark A.BreigerRonald L.2010. “Cultural Holes: Beyond Relationality in Social Networks and Culture.” Annual Review of Sociology36:205–24.
79.
ParcelToby L.DufurMikaela J.ZitoRena Cornell. 2010. “Capital at Home and at School: A Review and Synthesis.” Journal of Marriage and Family.” 72(4):828–46.
80.
PongSuet-lingHaoLingxinGardnerErica. 2005. “The Roles of Parenting Styles and Social Capital in the School Performance of Immigrant Asian and Hispanic Adolescents.” Social Science Quarterly86(4):928–50.
81.
PortesAlejandro. 2000. “The Two Meanings of Social Capital.” Sociological Forum15(1):1–12.
82.
Posey-MaddoxLinn. 2012. “Professionalizing the PTO: Race, Class, and Shifting Norms of Parental Engagement in a City Public School.” American Journal of Education119(2):235–60.
83.
QuadlinNatasha Yurk. 2015. “When Children Affect Parents: Children’s Academic Performance and Parental Investment.” Social Science Research52:671–85.
84.
RandlesJennifer. 2021. “‘Willing to Do Anything for My Kids’: Inventive Mothering, Diapers, and the Inequalities of Carework.” American Sociological Review86:35–59.
85.
RangelDavidShojiMegan N.2020. “Social Class and Parenting in Mexican American Families.” Sociological Perspectives64:587–610.
86.
ReamRobert K.PalardyGregory J.2008. “Reexamining Social Class Differences in the Availability and the Educational Utility of Parental Social Capital.” American Educational Research Journal45(2):238–73.
87.
RedfordJeremyJohnsonJennifer A.HonnoldJulie. 2009. “Parenting Practices, Cultural Capital and Educational Outcomes: The Effects of Concerted Cultivation on Academic Achievement.” Race, Gender & Class16(1):25–44.
88.
RobinsonKeithHarrisAngel L.2014. The Broken Compass: Parental Involvement with Children’s Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
89.
RoksaJosipaPotterDaniel. 2011. “Parenting and Academic Achievement: Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Advantage.” Sociology of Education84(4):299–321.
90.
RoystonPatrickCarlinJohn B.WhiteIan R.2009. “Multiple Imputation of Missing Values: New Features for MIM.” Stata Journal9(2):252–64.
91.
SakamotoArthurGoyetteKimKimChangHwan. 2009. “Socioeconomic Attainments of Asian Americans.” Annual Review of Sociology35:255–76.
92.
SakamotoArthurWangSharron. 2021. “Deconstructing Hyper-selectivity: Are the Socioeconomic Attainments of Second-generation Asian Americans Only Due to Their Class Background?” Chinese Journal of Sociology7(1):3–21.
93.
SchaubMaryellen. 2010. “Parenting for Cognitive Development from 1950 to 2000: The Institutionalization of Mass Education and the Social Construction of Parenting in the United States.” Sociology of Education83(1):46–66.
94.
SchneiderDanielHastingsOrestes P.LaBriolaJoe. 2018. “Income Inequality and Class Divides in Parental Investments.” American Sociological Review83(3):475–507.
95.
SewellWilliam H.HauserRobert M.1975. Education, Occupation and Earnings: Achievement in the Early Career. New York: Academic.
96.
ShadishWilliam R.ClarkMargaret H.SteinerPeter M.2008. “Can Nonrandomized Experiments Yield Accurate Answers? A Randomized Experiment Comparing Random and Nonrandom Assignments.” Journal of the American Statistical Association103(484):1334–44.
97.
SheldonSteven B.2002. “Parents’ Social Networks and Beliefs as Predictors of Parent Involvement.” The Elementary School Journal102(4):301–16.
98.
SmallMario L.2006. “Neighborhood Institutions as Resource Brokers: Childcare Centers, Inter-organizational Ties, and Resource Access among the Poor.” Social Problems53(2):274–92.
99.
SmallMario L.2007. “Racial Differences in Networks: Do Neighborhood Conditions Matter?” Social Science Quarterly88(2):320–43.
100.
SmallMario L.2009. Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in Everyday Life. New York: Oxford University Press.
101.
Sui-ChuEsther HoWillmsJ. Douglas. 1996. “Effects of Parental Involvement on Eighth-grade Achievement.” Sociology of Education69(2):126–41.
102.
TianZiyao. 2023. “Educational Expenditure of Asian American Families.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility85:100802.
103.
TurneyKristinKaoGrace. 2009. “Barriers to School Involvement: Are Immigrant Parents Disadvantaged?” The Journal of Educational Research102(4):257–71.
104.
UseemElizabeth L.1992. “Middle Schools and Math Groups: Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Placement.” Sociology of Education65(4):263–79.
105.
von HippelPaul T.2007. “Regression with Missing Ys: An Improved Strategy for Analyzing Multiply Imputed Data.” Sociological Methodology37(1):83–117.
106.
WarnerJudith. 2006. Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. New York: Riverhead Books.
107.
WeiningerElliot B.LareauAnnetteConleyDalton. 2015. “What Money Doesn’t Buy: Class Resources and Children’s Participation in Organized Extracurricular Activities.” Social Forces94(2):479–503.
108.
XieYu. 2013. “Population Heterogeneity and Causal Inference.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences110(16):6262–68.
109.
ZhouGeorgeZhongLanZhengJie. 2020. “Chinese Immigrant Parents’ Involvement in Their Children’s After-school Education: Behaviors and Perspectives.” Comparative and International Education48(2).
110.
ZhouMinLeeJennifer. 2017. “Hyper-selectivity and the Remaking of Culture: Understanding the Asian American Achievement Paradox.” Asian American Journal of Psychology8(1):7–15.
