Who are the Students of the UNAM’s Master in Education?: Influence of Cultural Capital and Habitus in the Academic Development on a Graduate Program

Abstract

This article analyzes cultural capital and habitus that students have when entering to the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s Master in Education. The analysis was done in terms of three groups: capital heirs, those groups whose family contributes or inherits cultural and class capital; those coming from a “declining” class, whose family have not achieved academic degrees but inherit some cultural capital; and those who are the first in their family group having studied higher education. Such classification allows to know the students academic background, and to envision from such data, several possibilities of their academic integration to the program. This paper identifies certain groups with small academic cultural capital and habitus, who would have serious incorporation and academic development difficulties from the beginning. The data was obtained from their life experience, their institutional documents and curriculum vitae.