ABSTRACT
T he relationship between culture and student achievement has been a topic of much interest to sociologists seeking to understand the factors that shape student performance and educational attainment. An examination of literature on this topic over the past 30 years reveals two notable shifts in the thrust of educational research. First, what distinguishes current research is a shift in assumptions about the type of impact cultural differences have on student performance. Whereas cultural differences were once treated as liabilities that needed to be removed, remediated through processes of assimilation, and replaced by majority group norms, language, and meanings, cultural differences are increasingly recognized as an asset to learning, achievement, and identity formation as well as a basis of curricular expansion. Second, sociological theory and research have directed our attention to how students experience schooling, and to the ways in which culture intersects with other forms of capital to shape educational outcomes. Thus sociological investigations have produced more positive interpretations of the effects of cultural differences and moved toward a more precise account of the role of culture in educational achievement.
