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Conflict Theory on Education: Cultural Capital

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Conflict theorists argue schools reproduce inequality, and Bourdieu's cultural capital names the culturally specific knowledge easing a student's path through a system built around the dominant class's norms.

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A test item assuming familiarity with orchestral instruments rewards students whose backgrounds included exposure to that music, whatever their general aptitude.

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The claim concerns which knowledge a system rewards, not any student's underlying capability.