Guest Blog Post: Cultural Capital by Miss Grey and Play

Jun 20, 2019

Developing Cultural Capital in the Early Years

We are incredibly lucky to have a guest blog this week from Chloe Grey (AKA Miss Grey and Play).

Chloe studied her early years PGCE in Leeds and has since taught in Reception, Year 1 and Nursery in a range of schools. She has also worked as a nanny and spent time in schools in Australia and New Zealand including Montessori Settings. Chloe is currently studying for my Masters in Education and teaching in a school Nursery.

What is cultural capital?

Cultural capital is a term coined by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. He discussed ‘field’ as being like the cultural environment and ‘habitus’ as being the skills and attributes we possess relating to these cultural norms and values. This has been applied to education with the idea that some children would have had more culturally diverse experiences that may put them at an advantage. Ofsted have used the term in the new inspection framework e.g.“Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. It is about giving children the best possible start to their early education”.So what exactly should this new ‘buzz word’ look like in practice?

But my children have high cultural capital...

The schools I taught in early in my career were very ‘leafy lane’. They went to after school clubs and had lovely holidays abroad so I thought that they had high cultural capital. My current school is a completely different story; it has extremely high levels of deprivation and EAL learners. At first, I was continually stunned by the experiences that were alien to the children and I considered them to have low cultural capital. However, they brought a range of cultural experiences that were less obvious to me at first. I now realise that both kinds of schools had areas of ‘need’ in terms of their cultural capital. My first schools needed to develop their understanding of other cultures and religions but my current pupils need a broader range of experiences.

Steps for developing pupil’s cultural capital

Start with the community you serve

Everyone has a different cultural background and experiences and it is your job to find out what these are so that you can extend and enrich them in a meaningful way. Developing your children’s cultural capital should look different in each setting. Use discussions with children, families and other staff to inform your provision so that it is accurate e.g. I introduced Handa’s surprise and my African children had absolutely no idea what it was! Ask parents and caregivers what experiences children have had as they enter your setting. This could be in the form of a simple tick sheet in welcome packs. Use your home visits or informal discussions with families to gain more information about their backgrounds and interests.

Investigate culture through open-ended resources

When I began teaching in a culturally diverse school I felt overwhelmed. How could I represent Pakistani, Indian, African, Slovakian, Hungarian and Bengali (I could go on) children in the same provision? The answer lay in open-ended resources and loose parts. Wooden peg dolls can be any person in your family so children told me about their ‘Api’ as they played. Glass beads in the home corner can be a whole range of foods. If I had plastic onions and peppers I may never have heard about the cultural dishes children experience in their home lives. My favourite open ended resources are Grimms and Grapat!

Promote cultural capital through authentic resources and experience

Once you have a clear idea of the backgrounds and experiences of your cohort you can begin to develop their ‘cultural capital profile’. If they need life experiences use real resources and trips to enhance this. The DfE have created an activity passport that could support this as children move through school. If your children need to develop their knowledge of other religions or cultures then try to do this meaningfully through making links with other schools e.g. pen pals or linking schemes. Use authentic resources to bring learning to life for children and remember to check their appropriateness. This is best done simply so that it doesn’t overwhelm or exclude children that have less experience or interest in that area e.g. chop sticks in the home corner as opposed to a Chinese takeaway role play.

Use individual next steps and interests to create a personalised experience

Once you have begun to provide experiences and resources that fit the profile of your cohort you can focus on the individual children’s needs. Whether this is through ‘objective-led’ or ‘in the moment planning’, it doesn’t really matter! As long as you are responding to the needs and interests of your children they will be building their cultural capital. Then your work is done! Only joking, repeat steps 1-4 in September.

Further Information and Resources...

Bourdieu, P. (1977) Outline of a theory of practice.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In Waite, S (2013) Children learning outside the classroom: from birth to eleven. 2^nd SAGE.
EYFS Ofsted inspection framework: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-inspection-handbook-eif
The DFE activity passport: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/my-activity-passport
Example proforma for collecting children’s previous experiences...

Find me at:

https://linktr.ee/missgreyandplay