Playing the education game – an exploration of the relationships between children’s cultural capital, wellbeing and the ways in which they experience early years settings in England

Malpass, Hannah (2024) Playing the education game – an exploration of the relationships between children’s cultural capital, wellbeing and the ways in which they experience early years settings in England. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Text Hannah Malpass PhD Thesis published_Final version_Submitted Feb 2024_Final Award Jun 2024.pdf - Accepted Version Download (9MB)

Abstract

The aim of this research was to explore perceptions of practitioners and parents of the relationships between young children’s cultural capital, their physical and emotional wellbeing and the experiences they have in early years settings in England. The study was undertaken during the global Covid-19 pandemic, when families and early years settings faced multiple challenges. Data collection took place during and immediately after the second governmental closure of early years settings and schools.

This study followed a qualitative, interpretive approach to capture views from practitioners, trainees and parents. Due to Covid-19, data collection was conducted solely online. All participants completed online qualitative surveys. Seven practitioners then participated in follow up episodic narrative interviews with the researcher. Through thematic analysis the views of participants have been analysed to highlight the multi-dimensional nature of the relationships between cultural capital, wellbeing and experiences that children have at early years care and education settings.

This study has highlighted the importance of children’s early home experiences and the relationships they build with their parents or main carers. Practitioners and parents emphasised that the experiences children have at home determine whether they feel confident and comfortable in the educational environment and that the current system sees children labelled as difficult to manage or as having additional needs when it is that their cultural capital is different to the entrenched expectations of a rigid education system.

A new, complex synthesis of sociological and psychological theories has been developed to conceptualize the findings. The use of the Bourdieusian theory of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986; 1994) has allowed for the deeper exploration of the interactions between different ecological systems influencing the child (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; 1993). A new conceptual framework has been developed which builds on the work of these two theorists, bringing it into conversation with the findings of this project to propose a new way of interpreting the influence of cultural capital on children’s bioecology.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 19 February 2024 Submitted 24 June 2024 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cultural capital, wellbeing, early years, experiences, education
Subjects:	CAH22 - education and teaching > CAH22-01 - education and teaching > CAH22-01-01 - education
Divisions:	Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences > College of Education and Social Work
Depositing User:	Jaycie Carter
Date Deposited:	16 Sep 2024 10:53
Last Modified:	16 Sep 2024 10:53
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15840

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