This study explored how a multicultural/multilingual school negotiated culture with limited English proficient (LEP) students' families, particularly in the context of parent involvement activities. In order to understand how such negotiation of culture occurred, the researcher focused on the perspectives that school administrators, teachers and parents of students in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program had on the education of LEP students and their parents' involvement in school-organized activities. It also focused on the participants' understandings of cultural capital and the extent to which the school builds on immigrant /sojourner families' knowledge and culture to support their children's education. In this ethnographical study, the researcher used a variety of data collection procedures: a questionnaire for teachers and parents, document analysis, interviews, and participant observation. While results from the questionnaires show that teachers and parents had similar views of LEP student education and parent involvement, more detailed information gathered through interviews and observations show that school personnel and immigrant/sojourner parents held different perspectives and expectations. Moreover, the results revealed that cultural capital, social class, and parents' educational attainment level influence the way parents understand the academic and social expectations of the school's dominant culture and their interactions with school personnel. Likewise, cultural biases influence school administrators and teachers' perceptions and interactions with parents from ethnic/linguistic minority groups.

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This study examines the role of parental cultural capital as it pertains to whether a student attends a chosen school and whether the quality of the school a student attends is a function of cultural capital. Three theory-based factors representing cultural capital and three factors that represent facets of school quality were created using principal components analysis. Logistic regression was used to determine that cultural capital does play a role in whether a student attends a chosen school. In fact, one aspect of cultural capital, institutional engagement, is the strongest predictor of whether a student attends a chosen school. Linear regression models shed light on the role that different forms of cultural capital and choosing may play in the quality of school that the student attends. While the results are complex, I am able to conclude that cultural capital and choosing do play a role in the quality of school that a student attends, but community and school district characteristics, as well as parental socioeconomic status may play a stronger role. Models control for student and school district characteristics and school clustering effects. Suggestions for future research and implications for policy are discussed. / Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to focus on the theoretical framework of cultural capital as a potential catalyst for the graduation rates of African American men in community colleges. Cultural capital is being defined as 'institutionalized, i.e., widely shared, high status cultural signals (attitudes, preferences, formal knowledge, behaviors, goods and credentials) used for social and cultural exclusion' (Lareau and Weininger, 2003, p. 587). Unfortunately, cultural capital as a construct has been difficult to measure quantitatively due to varying interpretations of the variable structure (Dika and Singh, 2002; Pishghadam, Noghani, and Zabihi, 2011; Sullivan, 2001). Consequently, researchers have indicated the need to better operationalize cultural capital, to provide better avenues for both replication and extension of the constructs measurement (Noble and Davies, 2009). Therefore, this study first employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS:88/00) to determine the latent variable structure of a measure of cultural capital in the community college field. Second, a factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted based on the new variable structure to determine whether there are differences in the self-reported levels of cultural capital for African American male students as compared to male and female students of other races within community colleges. Third, a binary logistic regression was conducted to determine how well the variables of cultural capital predict graduation for African American men in community colleges. The EFA, utilizing a sample of 3097 participants, extracted six factors indicative of the latent variable structure of cultural capital: (a) parental involvement, (b) habitus, (c) engagement with parents, (d) educational level of parents, (e) high school extracurricular activities, and (f) awareness of college norms. The resultant variable structure was then used to determine that there were no significant differences between the self-reported levels of cultural capital for African American male students and both male and female students from other races within community colleges. Similarly, the variables of cultural capital were not found to be a significant predictor of graduation for African American males within the community college field. As a result, implications for future research were outlined to include replicating the study with a more current dataset and replicating the study with a four-year student population. Additionally, implications for counselors in community college settings included highlighting an awareness of college norms, encouraging student engagement with parents, increasing parental involvement, and promoting collaboration with high school counselors and college counselors in high school environments. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this qualitative ethnographic case study was to investigate how an adult agricultural educational program generates new learning spaces for military veterans. Utilizing Symbolic Interactionism and Cultural Capital Theories this study illustrates how military veterans use and making new meanings of military symbols in an agricultural educational context. After leaving their military service, veterans often discharge with not only the physical scars of battle, but sometimes harboring mental and emotional distress that can prevent their abilities to successfully reintegrate into a civilian setting. For several veterans, adult agricultural programs can provide a vital educational experience to help them address physical and mental challenges, launch a new career in agriculture, and form new civilian identities. Findings from this research indicate that participants of this study transformation of a civilian identity is positively impacted when familiar symbols of the military are used in the implementation of agriculture education and that these symbols then take on new meanings supporting Blumer (1969) Symbolic Interactionism Theory. Further, mutually beneficial experiences occurred between veterans and community members, allowing for the veteran to build positive connection with civilians and move up in civilian society. This supports the concept of Pierre Bourdieu (1986) Cultural Capital Theory. Further, these finding show that military veterans are employing this adult agricultural education program to transform their cultural identity and re-assign symbolic military meanings of objects and self. They connect with familiar military constructed language, behaviors, and physical symbolism to represent their identity, during and after their service. For them, it is important to be able to express their military identity to civilians and other veterans. It is also, vital for them to participate and express their military identities through symbolic military behaviors. This military symbolism is critical to their ability to socialize with others, acquire a civilian identity, and navigate social mobility. When the use of symbolism is not applied, or is not recognized by civilians, it influences their civilian identity and for some, creates transition challenges and challenges to their connection to civilian population. / Ph. D. / The United States has been engaged in a number of wars and conflicts throughout the world, including the more recent wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Military members returning from wars sometimes come home with not only the physical scars of battle, but many times harboring mental and emotional distress that inhibit their abilities to successfully reintegrate into civilian life. As such, adult agricultural education programs that serve veterans have grown in number to assist these service members as they transition back into the civilian society, face physical and mental challenges, begin a new career in agriculture, and construct new identities. This process is enticing veterans across the country to enter farming educational programs and many of those veterans are reporting transformations in their self-identity and quality of life. The purpose of this qualitative ethnographic case study was to investigate how an adult agricultural educational program generates new learning spaces for military veterans. Utilizing Symbolic Interactionism and Cultural Capital Theories, this study illustrates how military veterans use and make new meanings of military symbols in an agricultural educational context. Findings show that military veterans are employing this adult agricultural education program to transform their cultural identity and re-assign symbolic military meanings of objects and self. They connect with familiar military constructed language, behaviors, and physical symbolism to represent their identity, during and after their service. For them, it is important to be able to express their military identity to civilians and other veterans. It is also, vital for them to participate and express their military identities through symbolic military behaviors. This military symbolism is critical to their ability to socialize with others, acquire a civilian identity, and navigate social mobility. When the use of symbolism is not applied, or is not recognized by civilians, it influences their civilian identity and for some, creates transition challenges and challenges to their connection to civilian population

A growing amount of research finds that the accumulation of, investment in, and mobilization of certain cultural resources are significant predictors of children's advantageous social development in both institutional settings and interpersonal relationships. Several theories and empirical analyses illustrate the importance of children's leisure-time activities in the accumulation of valuable resources. These cultural resources confer advantages to children, especially in educational settings (e.g. teachers' perception of students, intellectual development, and academic outcomes) because these arenas are often key spaces for social mobility. However, few research studies attempt to empirically pinpoint the socioeconomic origins of children's cultural (dis)advantages. This notable gap in the research literature can be addressed by examining family-level predictors of the accumulation and transmission of these cultural resources. The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between family-level socioeconomic status and children's participation in structured, extracurricular, arts-based activities as well as cultural performance attendance. Drawing on Bourdieu's (1984) concept of 'cultural capital' and Lareau's (2002; 2003) concept of 'concerted cultivation', this study explores whether or not socioeconomic status is a significant predictor of children's participation in extracurricular arts activities as well as attendance of cultural performances using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the Child Development Supplement (CDS-II). I evaluate Lareau's class analysis and expand upon it by disaggregating the key dimensions of socioeconomic status and identifying which are the most salient for increased participation in arts-based activities among children in the United States context. I provide a detailed analysis and discussion of the nuanced relationships between socioeconomic status measures and youth participation in the arts. / Master of Science

Using data from the 1982, 1985, 1992, and 1997 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), this thesis tests the effects of class, age, gender and race on the breadth of musical preferences that respondents report to liking. Specifically, the omnivore/univore framework developed by Peterson (1992) is examined. It is hypothesized that age and social class are positively related to musical omnivorousness (liking a wide variety of music). That is, older people and people higher in social economic standing will be more omnivorousness in musical preferences. The underlying theory here is that in today's society, being omnivorous is a form of cultural capital. Cultural exclusivity is no longer valued as it may have been in the past and is more often a sign of ignorance rather than status. Hence, the hypothesis is that people today will use a wide knowledge of musical forms to help them network and "get ahead." This should be more important for people as they age because the need to network as a way of moving higher in the social economic hierarchy should be more important. Additionally, it is hypothesized that women and whites will be more omnivorousness because they may feel less alienated in general from mainstream society, especially at younger ages. Hence, blacks and men will gravitate towards fewer genres of musical as a symbolic rejection of the values of mainstream society. This should also be more salient when people are younger. Overall, the findings presented support the contention the omnivorousness is replacing exclusiveness as a sign of status. Indeed, the findings show that class is positively related to omnivorousness, age is positively related to omnivorousness, being female is positively related to omnivorousness, and that whites are more omnivorous than blacks. Perhaps most interesting, however, is that the relationship between age and omnivorousness was determined to be a curvilinear relationship. No other analysts have reported this. Moreover, the findings present evidence that age may indeed be a more important determinant of musical omnivorousness than social class. Hence, it is concluded that no longer should musical preferences be examined simply as varying by social class but also as changing across the life cycle. / Master of Science

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of adult first-generation students through their college journey. With a conceptual framework based on student involvement and social and cultural capital theories that contribute to student persistence, retention, and graduation, this study was guided by three research questions: (1) What were the expectations and motivations of adult first-generation students when pursuing postsecondary studies after the age of 25? (2) What were the main challenges experienced by this population during their journey through college? and (3) What strategies did these students use to cope with those challenges? Five first-generation participants who started or resumed their college careers when they were 27, 34, 47, and 50 years old were interviewed in-depth. Results indicated that all participants had to search for their inner strength to pursue higher education studies and required the support of their family and social network to succeed. As a result of their rich lived experiences, these adult first-generation students showed how their strong social and cultural capital enabled them to juggle family and work responsibilities and overcome the challenges of their college experiences.

The purpose of this study was to analyze recent appropriations of works of art in advertising. Why was art infused into magazine advertisements, how were the works of art tampered with to achieve commercial goals, how well did they function together with the ad copy? What did these advertisements want? What did the artwork contribute to the commercial message? These were some of the questions asked in the study that involved a closer look at four appropriations: one based on a battle painting by the Swedish 1900th century artist Carl Wahlbom, with a commercial message printed on top;  one a collage including an 18th century portrait of Marie Antoinettte by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun; one advertisement was influenced by Dutch 1700th century still lifes, and, finally, one paraphrased Velázquez’s famous painting Las Meninas from 1655. Companies behind the advertisements featured a Swedish trade journal, a fashion exhibition in Paris, a shop for kitchen utensils in Stockholm, and an up-scale department store in Madrid.The ads, in different ways based on works of art, were evaluated as reasonably successful commercial messages. These ads, however, hardly qualified as works of art in their own right – if that was the intention. A critical observer would tend to see the ads as ways of borrowing cultural capital from the world of art.One observation made as a result of the study was the need for insights into possible interpretations of the original work of art not to have the commercial message misunderstood.