Impact of Parental Social and Cultural Capital on Students Academic Performance: An Evidence from Secondary Schools in South Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

The present research analyzes the impact of Parental Social and Cultural Capital on Academic Performance of ninth and tenth grade students belonging to three districts of South Punjab, Pakistan, that are Multan, Bahawalpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan. Based on the theories of capital as presented by Pierre Bourdieu and Coleman, this study attempts to fill an existing gap in literature that mostly revolves around primary education and/or tertiary education, while ignoring the transitional stage of secondary schooling especially in poorly developed regional areas like South Punjab. The current study employs a qualitative design and uses a total of 12 focus group discussions (FGDs) having 8-10 participants each from rural and urban, male and female groups in one tehsil per district. The research findings reveal that Parents' Socio-Capital (which involves educational background of the parents, their economic background, family participation, and availability of learning materials in the house) affects student motivation, confidence, and academic support significantly, with the lack of contributing to the disadvantages associated with poverty and illiteracy of the parents. Parents' Cultural Capital (which includes cultural values, time management skills, access to community resources like library, and home language) has been identified to affect student confidence and academic performance, with language match between the home and school, as well as gender-based cultural norms, acting as important moderators of these effects. It has been concluded that parental social and cultural capital are fundamental drivers of students' academic performance, and that educational success can’t be reached solely with material resources, unless there is also a supportive family setting and some positive cultural practices in the mix. In a sense, it extends Bourdieu’s and Coleman’s theoretical viewpoints to the multilingual, gender-stratified, rural–urban setting of South Punjab, Pakistan, which adds to the wider knowledge base on educational inequality. Overall, the results offer practical implications for parents, schools, policymakers, and even future researchers who want to foster more equitable educational outcomes, across different groups.