Questions We Can Help You To Answer

Paper instructions:

The authors visited over 50 elite college preparatory schools in the United States and England, interviewing administrators, faculty, students, and alumni. Attended by less than one per cent of the high school population, these schools turn out a disproportionate number of business, professional, and government leaders. The authors argue that these schools are “status seminaries”: the philosophies, programs, and lifestyles of boarding schools help transmit the power and privilege of elite families. While the “visible” curriculum prepares students for elite colleges and universities, the “invisible” curriculum gives students the “cultural capital” that prepares them for power. 

Use the insights from Preparing for Power to reflect on the situation at an elite educational institution with both students and teaching staffs coming from very diverse backgrounds. In what ways are the insights applicable to the school and the students' experiences here? The paper should start off with a definition of “cultural capital” (use textbook definition but explain it in own words without simply paraphrasing) and then examine all the ways you can think of by which cultural capital is transmitted at the school's international students department. Be specific in explaining the forms of cultural capital and the ways and contexts in which they are transmitted.