Cultural Reproduction Theory

Cultural reproduction theory examines the process of passing down culture from one generation to the next. Culture includes values, symbols, language, material objects, rituals, tastes, norms, and so on.

Social institutions - like family and education - are important venues in which culture is reproduced.

This perspective is especially popular in studies of the institution of education. Scholars like Annette Lareau examine cultural reproduction at school and at home. Lareau also argues that cultural reproduction maintains and justifies class inequality since middle-class values and norms dominate in institutional settings like schools.