SEARCH ARTICLE

11 Pages : 97-105

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-III).11      10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-III).11      Published : Sep 2021

The Role of Parental Cultural Capital in Student's Career Selection at Higher Education Level in District Layyah

    The career selection process is a very important decisionin every student’s life. Many factors are affecting before thetaking a decision on their future career. In this study, the researcher wants toinvestigate the influence of respondents’ parental cultural capital of selectedareas. Some other factors like; the profession of their parents, their residenceand the income of their family on the career selection process of 320students of tertiary level education from the government sector graduatecolleges of District Layyah. In this study, the researcher also investigatedthose students who are studying in the B.S. program; either they are in theirown will, or they faced some external forces with selecting this field of study.For this proposal, the data was collected through a questionnaire. The resultsshow the parents influence as most significant in the career selection processof the students at the higher education level. It is recommended that parentsequally mobilize their resources, such as social and cultural capital, to theirchildren. This will help them make wise career decisions.

    Parental Cultural Capital, Student’s Career Selection, District Layyah
    (1) Ghulam Abbas
    PhD Scholar, Department of Sociology, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
    (2) Muhammad Farooq
    Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
    (3) Ayesha Chaudhary
    Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

04 Pages : 38-48

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2026(XI-I).04      10.31703/gssr.2026(XI-I).04      Published : Mar 2026

Cultural Capital and Educational Inequality: A Study of Academic Achievement and Persistence among Higher Education Students

    This is a qualitative research study on the influence of cultural capital on the experience of students and their education results in higher education. Through the Bourdieu theory of cultural capital, habitus, and field, the study examines the way students with varying socioeconomic statuses act to mobilize embodied, objectified and institutionalized forms of capital in universities. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 undergraduate students, with different socioeconomic and first-generation backgrounds. Thematic analysis showed that cultural capital has significant impacts on academic confidence, classroom involvement, institutional orientation, and sense of belonging. Students with high socioeconomic status exhibited a greater adherence to the mainstream academic standards, and the first-generation and low-SES students indicated that they experienced difficulties in the beginning but had developed coping strategies throughout their lives. The results bring out the reproductive character of higher education as well as its reorganizational possibilities. The research paper highlights the importance of having inclusive institutional practices in order to minimize the inequalities in academic achievement and persistence.

    Cultural Capital, Education Inequality, Academic Achievement, Persistence, Higher Education
    (1) Shafquat Ali
    Visiting Lecturer, Department of Sociology & Gender Studies, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan.
    (2) Muhammad Tahir
    Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Karakorum University Diamer Campus, Chilas, Gilgit- Baltistan, Pakistan.
    (3) Shazib Iqbal
    M.Sc. Graduated, Department of sociology and Criminology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.