Cultural capital as a Predictor of Student Performance in Spain

Bourdieu argued that cultural capital, and therefore cultural possessions in the home, were the main variables for predicting academic performance, as they were the ones that carried most weight in the field of education. However, the latest research into family origins and academic performance reveal gradual decreases in both, including the number of books in the home. Indeed, the OECD has a specific index for cultural possessions in the home, but it does not appear even once in the 2015 PISA Report. This paper looks at whether cultural capital continues to predict student performance and if so what weight is carried by cultural possessions and the number of books in the home. To that end we conduct a comparative analysis of these variables and the indices used by PISA to measure the economic, social and cultural environment in general and cultural possessions in particular.