Concerted Cultivation, Parenting Style

The term concerted cultivation refers to the mode of child-rearing that middle-class parents perform in deliberate efforts to foster their children’s development and promote cognitive and social skills. Concerted cultivation is carried out on three levels: (1) child-rearing in the home, (2) interaction with schools, and (3) organized activities for children. All three levels are seen to promote skills in interacting with adults on an equal basis and to further promote a strong sense of entitlement. These skills and sense of entitlement constitute what sociologist Pierre Bourdieu describes as cultural capital—the know-how and behavior that allows one to achieve in school and make the social connections necessary to become part of the middle class.

Understandings of concerted cultivation grew out of a study by sociologist Annette ...