Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Economic and social inequalities pose a great threat to the stability and growth of the United States. Education, and particularly the completion of a college degree, is one of the greatest forces for narrowing these inequalities, both for individuals and as a nation. Since the 1980s, when economic inequality began to increase, state and federal funding for higher education decreased, and the cost of college tuition steadily rose. Not surprisingly, poorer students are completing college at much lower rates than their more economically advantaged peers. Some of this can be attributed to economic barriers such as tuition costs, decreased state and federal funding, and the opportunity costs of pursuing a college degree. Inspired by three thought leaders – Pierre Bourdieu, Robert Putnam, and Thomas Piketty –this paper aims to contribute to the literature addressing barriers to college completion. Beyond the economic barriers encountered, students from poorer backgrounds are hindered in completing college degrees by their lack of cultural capital, the ability to demonstrate competence in the dominant culture of the academy.

My argument is structured in three parts. Part one summarizes growing economic disparities within the United States and establishes a case for increased higher education degree attainment as a public good that has the power to not only increase the social mobility of individuals, but also to strengthen the national economy. Here I draw on Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty and Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis by Robert Putnam. Part two explores the literature regarding cultural capital in the context of college completion. My foundation for this work is grounded in Pierre Bourdieu’s scholarship on this subject, and builds from work done by DiMaggio & Mohr (1985) and Lareau & Weininger (2003). From these, I propose my understanding of cultural capital as a current barrier and potential bridge for students from poorer backgrounds in college. In part three, I give specific examples of how cultural capital acts as a barrier to college completion. By recognizing and addressing the barriers created by cultural capital, we can increase college degree attainment among poorer students. Doing so has the potential to not only decrease social and economic inequalities in the United States, but also increase our overall economic performance as a nation by strengthening our workforce.