The complexities of reading capital in two Puerto Rican families

TWO CASE studies of adult GED (General Education Diploma) students and their kindergarten-aged children are presented. The construct of "capital," as described by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), is applied specifically to the children's and adults' reading practices. These case studies are analyzed in terms of various forms of official "reading capital" and locally valued reading and schooling practices. The results suggest that children and families possess rich resources that are often ignored, devalued, or denied in schools. The findings of this study challenge the applicability of Bourdieu's description of capital to local communities.