Social class inequalities in attitudes towards mathematics and achievement in mathematics cross generations: a quantitative Bourdieusian analysis.

ABSTRACT: Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of social and cultural reproduction, this article utilizes the conceptual tools of habitus and cultural capital to examine intergenerational inequalities in attitudes towards mathematics and mathematics learning in three secondary schools in England. Data from 1079 students aged 14-16 included mathematics achievement, survey measures of attitudes towards mathematics, perceived parental attitudes towards mathematics, newly developed scales for cultural capital and habitus, and social class. There was a very strong relationship between student's attitudes towards mathematics and students' perceptions of their parents' attitudes towards mathematics. Middle-class students reported more positive attitudes towards mathematics, more positive perceived parental attitud

SUBMITTER: Quaye J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8240077 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature