French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's (1930-2002) highly influential concept of cultural capital concerned the link between original class membership and ultimate class membership and how this link is mediated by the education system.
According to Bourdieu, inequalities are recycled through the education system and other social institutions. Education mirrors the capitalistic system, in that it sorts individuals,
and assigns them the skills necessary to fulfill their destined
occupation.
An individual is provided the appropriate attitude that should be observed within the labor force. This establishes an acceptance to (and reproduction of) a submissive attitude to the established order.
Bourdieu says that success in life depends on the earlier accomplishments in life. Children from the dominant classes have internalized these skills and knowledge during their junior years. The educational attainment of social groups is therefore directly related to the amount of cultural capital they possess. Thus middle-class students have higher success rates than working-class students.
This further confirms cultural norms and reproduces the same system upon each successive generation.
