This article was downloaded by: [University of Nebraska, Lincoln]

On: 09 April 2015, At: 16:03

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

The Journal of Educational Research

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjer20

Boarding Schools and Capital Benefits: Implications for

Urban School Reform
a
Lisa R. Bass
a
North Carolina State University
Published online: 26 Jul 2013.

Click for updates

To cite this article: Lisa R. Bass (2014) Boarding Schools and Capital Benefits: Implications for Urban School Reform, The
Journal of Educational Research, 107:1, 16-35, DOI: 10.1080/00220671.2012.753855

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2012.753855

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the
Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and
are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and
should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for
any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of
the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
 The Journal of Educational Research, 107:16–35, 2014
Copyright 
C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0022-0671 print / 1940-0675 online
DOI:10.1080/00220671.2012.753855
Boarding Schools and Capital Benefits:
Implications for Urban School Reform
LISA R. BASS
North Carolina State University
ABSTRACT. The author discusses the boarding school
model as a schooling alternative to improve life chances for
disadvantaged youth, particularly African American youth,
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
by positively meeting their social and educational needs.
Bourdieu, Coleman, and other social scientists purported that
these needs can be better met by exposing students to social
and cultural capital. In this qualitative study, the environ-
ment of a boarding school is studied to determine to what
extent they increase students’ exposure to social, cultural,
and education capital (Bourdieu, 1977, 1993, 1996). Find-
ings indicate that the boarding school model is successful
at increasing students’ exposure to social, cultural, and edu-
cation capital. Implications include implementing successful
practices from boarding schools into traditional day schools.
Keywords: African American students, boarding schools,
Bourdieu’s capitals (social capital, cultural capital, education
capital), disadvantaged student, residential schools, urban ed-
ucation, urban school reform
Being here has definitely helped keep me from becoming
another statistic as one of a Black male being shot or ending
up in jail. Douglas has definitely changed my life.
—Urban African American male boarding school student
T he issue of why a disproportionate number of stu-
dents of color1 and students from lower socioeco-
nomic backgrounds continue to be underachievers
in school settings at a staggering and increasing rate has trou-
bled and perplexed educators and educational researchers for
decades (Bailey & Paisley, 2004; Jackson & Moore, 2008;
Moore & Herndon, 2003; Ogbu, 1992, 1994; Ogbu & Wil-
son, 1990; Somers, Owens, & Piliawsky, 2008; Varlas, 2005).
This cycle of underachievement is especially true in high
poverty and urban contexts. Consequently, many concerned
scholars have focused their research agendas toward closing
the achievement gap between advantaged groups and un-
derachieving students of color and poor students.
Despite incessant research efforts, discussions, and liter-
ature on the subject of low academic achievement, there
have been no large-scale, systemic efforts that have suc-
ceeded in significantly closing the achievement gap. In fact,
it can be argued that this issue poses a state of emergency
in educational research. If circumstances are not improved
for underperforming student groups, then we risk continu-
ing our downward spiral of social reproduction in the U.S.
system of education.
Research has uncovered several possible explanations for
the underachievement of students of color and students from
high poverty backgrounds. Common factors in these expla-
nations are race and economics. Race and economics are
believed to set in play a domino effect due to lowered
expectations and fewer resources (Bourdieu, 1986), ulti-
mately leading to lowered achievement (Gutman, McLoyd,
& Tokoyawa, 2005; Reed, 1990). Bourdieu linked financial
capital to power, and power to exposure to other forms of
capital (social and cultural), and influence. Research has un-
covered numerous factors that contribute to lower achieve-
ment among disenfranchised students.
Ogbu (1990) noted that students from lower socioeco-
nomic backgrounds perform less well in academic environ-
ments when there is a lack of parental involvement in their
child’s educative process (cf. Slaughter & Epps, 1987). Ad-
ditionally, test bias (Hilliard, 1990), peer pressure (Ogbu,
2004), lower self-esteem, and lower teacher expectations
(Winston, Eccles, Senior, & Vida, 1997), also contribute to
the lower achievement levels of African American students
and students living in poverty. Moreover, because social
economic status is linked to social, cultural, and education
capital (Bourdieu, 1986; see Figure 1), poorer students do
not benefit from the capital benefits that their middle- and
upper-class counterparts receive by virtue of their habitus
and parents’ socioeconomic standing.
Purpose of Study
According to Weatherford (2000), boarding schools are
making a comeback in addressing the needs of struggling
students. This assertion was observed 13 years ago. Since
Weatherford’s work, there has been a decline in the popular-
ity of boarding schools as well as the momentum of boarding
school research. Therefore, it less likely that students who
need effective alternatives to public days schools will find
Address correspondence to Lisa R. Bass, Department of Leadership,
Policy, Adult and Higher Education, North Carolina State University,
Poe Hall, Room 608J, Raleigh, NC 27695-7801, USA. (E-mail:
lrbass@ncsu.edu)
 The Journal of Educational Research
CC
SC
SC CC
EC
EC
CC SC
EC
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
FIGURE 1. Spiral capital model. Economic capital
would be in the center (demonstrating that economic
capital is generally necessary to start building other
forms of capital), other capital (social, cultural capital,
education) would be on the lines that spin off from the
middle and would be written repeatedly. The model is to
show how the various capitals (social, cultural, and
education) are connected, and how the capitals build off
of each other to create the spiral model. The widening of
the spiral is also representative of the point emphasized
by Bourdieu (1986) in that capital is accumulative.
themselves in boarding schools. This is disturbing given the
success of boarding schools in educating disenfranchised stu-
dents. A goal of mine is to contribute updated information
for parents, educational leaders, and policymakers to have
at their disposal when identifying and considering the ben-
efits and drawbacks of boarding schools for children; par-
ticularly disenfranchised students from high-poverty back-
grounds. This study is important to the field of education
because it contributes to the existing knowledge base on
the potential value of the boarding school structure in ex-
posing students to social, cultural, and education capital.
Further, it embeds implications for both individual decision
making and broader policy making in education. This infor-
mation may also assist parents in the consideration of dif-
ferent options concerning their children’s education. More
specifically, the results of this study may lead to education
policies that would generate a wider range of schooling op-
tions for parents and students, or promote the establishment
of policies or programs that would facilitate students attend-
ing existing boarding schools, or toward the establishment
of public boarding schools2 as viable alternatives to the tra-
ditional public day schools for students who lack access to
beneficial social, cultural, and/or education capital. In this
study, I interrogate the question of whether or not students
who attend boarding schools experience greater exposure to
social, cultural, and education capital as a result of being ed-
ucated in the boarding school environment by analyzing the
17
experiences of students who attend boarding school. Next,
capital benefits are discussed for their relationship to ed-
ucational achievement. Finally, I explore the boarding or
residential school3 for their potential to aid disenfranchised
students in thriving as a result of their increased exposure to
capital benefits.
Boarding School Environment
For purposes of this study, the boarding school environ-
ment is defined as the following: a controlled residential
educational program in which students are assigned to struc-
tured educational, social, and physical activities from morn-
ing until the end of the day. These activities include classes,
meal times, study times, intramural sports, clubs, tutorials,
extracurricular activities, and social time with peers and
dorm parents. This environment is generally universal to all
boarding schools, and can be viewed a dimension of boarding
school culture. Though usually very similar, the exact sched-
ules, routines, and cultures of individual boarding schools
vary due to school missions, tradition and history, and the
individual leadership styles of the current administration.
Based on a review of the literature, I believed that a 24-hr
structured environment, unique to boarding schools, would
have a positive impact on students’ academic experience.
A Review of Related Literature
Most educational researchers and other social scientists
recognize that the problems associated with low-achieving
disenfranchised students are rooted in greater societal ills
(Banks, 2003; Bass & Gerstl-Pepin, 2011; Clark, 1965;
Coleman, 1966, 1988; Delpit, 2006; Heath, 1983; Ladson-
Billings, 2007). However, as educators, we cannot afford to
wait for society to acquiesce and accept responsibility for
the appropriate educating of students of color, the poor, or
any other population suffering from lower academic achieve-
ment (Bass & Gerstl-Pepin, 2011). According to Bailey and
Paisley (2004), the best chance of changing negative trends
for students of color and students lacking adequate resources
lies within the school environment, and will require inno-
vative strategies if this trend is to be reversed, and quality
common schools are to be available and equitable for all
students (cf. Ascher, 1991; Johnson, 1980).
Equality and equity in school quality is important to
student outcomes because the school is the only common
ground for students in this country, and the only ground
that educators and education policymakers have control over
(Bass & Gerstl-Pepin, 2011; Spring, 2003, 2007). Therefore,
school is the logical place to start as we navigate our jour-
ney toward equality and equity in education. As such, gaps in
school quality correlates with the achievement gap. We must
be willing to employ innovative and radical strategies to im-
prove the quality of schooling for disenfranchised students
if we expect to see real change in their academic outcomes.
The boarding school concept is one such schooling structure
 18
that has merit and that deserves further consideration as part
of a revolutionary, comprehensive, school reform package.
The structure of boarding or residential schools provides
the opportunity for schools to exercise control over a larger
portion of the student’s day than traditionally formatted day
schools, allowing schools to more fully implement practices
proven successful. When schools have access to children
during evening hours, they can be sure that students are
receiving the structure they need to ensure their best op-
portunity for success. They are also positioned to receive
the help they need, and are given mandatory quiet time
dedicated solely toward study and completing assignments.
Another benefit of students living on campus is that they are
under the protection of the school until their parents sign
them out. Not only do residential schools have the potential
to shelter students from negative outside influences, such as
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
drugs and gang culture (as Bailey & Paisley [2004] suggested
is necessary for change), but they also provide an opportu-
nity for all students to have access to social, cultural, and
education capital, which poorer students are often denied
both at home as well as in educational settings (Bourdieu,
1983; Coleman, 1988). When students are together 24 hr
a day, 7 days a week, they share an increased number of
common experiences, shrinking what we currently view as
unavoidable experience gaps; equating to a lower capital
benefits deficit between privileged and disenfranchised stu-
dents (Bourdieu, 1983, 1986; Coleman, 1988; Fryer, 2003;
Sullivan, 2001).
Boarding School Background
Since their inception, boarding schools have been used as
a transformative tool. Residential schools were developed to
take children as they were received and to make calculated
capital deposits into them in order to transform the children
into the young adults that school planners and visionaries in-
tended. Their goal was to develop children into young adults
that would realize their full potential. Though many of the
early educational visionaries had the same basic goals, they
had different target groups and different strategies for reach-
ing their respective targets. Some of the different groups of
children targeted for boarding schools included wealthy chil-
dren who were groomed for prestigious college prep schools
and colleges; Native Americans, who were taught to speak
English, to work and assimilate into mainstream society, or
to go to college; and African Americans, who were educated
to work, prepared for college, or to become skilled in trades.
There were also schools developed specifically for orphans
and troubled youth. I readily acknowledge that boarding
schools were unfortunately also used negatively as tools to
transform and or to socialize Native Americans (and possibly
others) against their will; however, this analysis focuses on
the possibility of the boarding school environment as part
of a revolutionary school reform package for contemporary
times, which has the potential to impact the educational out-
comes of students from high-poverty backgrounds, including
African American students and other students of color.
The Journal of Educational Research
Historic and Contemporary Boarding School Models
for African American and Urban Youth
As noted, boarding schools were used to accomplish sev-
eral purposes, including missionaries and visionaries efforts
to provide African American students with an opportunity
to receive an education. Their commitment to providing a
quality education, including opportunities to acquire social
and cultural capital, may explain their success.
Black boarding schools were first developed for African
American students in the 1800s and 1900s when schools
were still segregated. Piney Woods in Mississippi is an ex-
ample of one of such schools. Dr. Charles Beady Jr., former
president of Piney Woods, stated, “The schools that became
boarding schools were the only places in a particular commu-
nity where Blacks could be educated” (Roach, 2003, p. 19).
Though the onset of desegregation marked the demise of
most of the traditionally Black boarding schools, they were
extremely successful at providing a quality education while
they were operational.
Dr. Lucy Reuben, provost of North Carolina Central Uni-
versity, who attended a Black boarding school known as
Mather School in Beaufort, South Carolina, stated, “It was
an excellent educational option, and it is the kind of option
I wish we had available today” (Roach, 2003, p. 19). Ac-
cording to their alumni, these schools played a significant
role for African Americans in the 1800s and 1900s.
The level of achievement of well-known alumni, cou-
pled with the reactions of others to their boarding school
experiences, speaks well of the potential of the boarding
school model in educating disenfranchised students, partic-
ularly African Americans. Gilbert Academy, located in New
Orleans, Louisiana, was a private boarding school for African
Americans and boasts of its successful alumni that include
former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young; noted
writer Tom Dent, author of the critically acclaimed 1996
civil rights movement retrospective, Southern Journey; jazz
pianist Ellis Marsalis, father of Grammy and Pulitzer prize-
winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis; and Mickey Patterson,
a track star and the first African American woman to win
an Olympic medal (Lomax, 2003). Dr. Rosa Payne Epps,
graduate of an African American boarding school, Palmer
Memorial Institute in Sedalia, North Carolina, said of her
boarding school experience, “It was a wonderful education.
It was culturally enriching and a great education” (Roach,
2003, p. 18). Epps, who went to school as a 12-year-old
ninth-grade student, along with her brother, recalled hav-
ing the time of her life as a student. Similarly, Delphine
Patton Sneed, who served as an arts instructor at the Uni-
versity of Maryland Baltimore County, graduated in 1968
from Palmer. Sneed stated, “It was a wonderful experience
. . . it was culturally enriching and a great education . . . it
was the best thing my parents did for me . . . it was really
a life-altering experience” (Roach, 2003, p. 20). Sneed said
she was a shy awkward teenage girl who had grown up in
the South Bronx before her mother sent her off as a 10th-
grade student. She further noted that the school provided a
 The Journal of Educational Research
transforming experience that helped her develop into what
she describes as quite a socially aware young lady. These
testimonials represent a few of the many success stories that
have come from former students of boarding schools for mi-
norities; however, the schools praised in this analysis are
no longer viable options for youth from high poverty back-
grounds, African American, or other youth of color, pursuing
alternative schooling options (Roach, 2003).
Dozens of private Black boarding schools were in opera-
tion in the 1800s and 1900s. For the first half of the 20th
century, Black boarding schools, which consistently num-
bered between 80 and 100, were a safe place from racial
strife during the Jim Crow segregation years. However, the
number of schools still left from that era has dropped to just
four schools: The Laurinburg Institute, North Carolina; Pine
Forge Academy, Pennsylvania; Piney Woods, Mississippi;
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
and Redemption Christian Academy, New York (Hawkins,
1997; Roach, 2003). In her article, Hawkins (1997) quoted
Joan Ratteray, president and founder of the Washington,
DC–based Institute for Independent Education: “This model
for education is working, but like other independent schools,
it isn’t taken seriously by the mainstream education commu-
nity” (p. 20). Former president of Piney Woods and urban
education and motivation expert, Charles Beady, blamed a
lack of support for the decline of Black boarding schools. In
his interview, Beady noted the effect that integration had
on Black boarding schools. He explained, “Integration led
to the feeling that because we were free to attend schools
of our choice, those schools that supported us when we had
no choice were no longer needed. Most ceased to exist [sic]”
(Hawkins, 1997, p. 20). Reports from The Association of
Boarding Schools in Washington, DC, stated, “While Black
boarding schools are struggling to bolster the number of
students on campus, the number of students of color enter-
ing traditionally White residential schools has tripled since
1985” (Hawkins, 1997, p. 20). Hence, as Black boarding
closed, students of color began to consider other public and
private boarding schools.
Present-Day Residential Schools and Attempts at
Implementation of the Boarding School Concept
as a Public School
The first charter boarding school, Schools for Educational
Evolution and Development (SEED) opened in Washing-
ton, DC, in 1998. It was started by two Ivy League gradu-
ates, Rajiv Vinnakota and Eric Adler, each who had con-
ceived the idea of a charter boarding school separately be-
fore they met. They believed that students are more likely to
achieve if they are placed in a nurturing environment where
all their basic needs are met. Vinnakota and Adler further
believed that the structure of public boarding schools had
the potential to provide such an environment (CBS News,
2010). Adler asserted, “There are so many considerations
that can jeopardize academic instruction such as stability
of the child’s home, health issues, truancy . . . the list goes
on” (Harman, 2004, p. 1). Further, Vinnakota believed that
19
although boarding school is not for everyone, the discipline
and structure boarding schools provide can work for many
(Harman, 2004).
The SEED reported, “SEED provides an intensive college
preparatory education for urban children whose challenging
circumstances might otherwise prevent them from fulfilling
their potential” (Harman, 2004, p. 1). The school’s student
body was 100% students of color (98% African American,
2% Hispanic), from Grades 7 to 12. Ninety-three percent
of the students had no family member who has attended
college. Their attendance at SEED is important because it
helps to end the cycle of poor education in their family
(CBS News, 2010). Every member of SEED’s first graduating
class, the class of 2004, went on to attend college. Students
were accepted at prestigious colleges and universities such as
Boston University, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown,
Howard, Princeton, Spelman, Stanford, Trinity, and many
others (Bacon, 2004). Since the successful opening in Wash-
ington, DC, schools have opened in Maryland in 2008, and
a third is also scheduled to open in Cincinnati in 2014.
The current college entrance rate is 94% for graduates of
the Washington, DC, and Maryland SEED schools (SEED,
2012a, 2012b). Because the students in SEED are selected
by lottery rather than academic records, Jung states, “[t]his
shows that any student, given the right tools, can go on to
college” (Wingert, 2004, p. 1).
Adler and Vinnakota target students (urban) who they
believe would do better in a structured environment and
provides them with structure and other necessities to ensure
their academic success. Adler stated, “If students are going
to succeed in school, they need to have a good night’s sleep,
a good meal, have taken a shower, be in clean clothes, and
have done their homework to prepare for the day” (Har-
man, 2004, p. 1). In addition to basic needs, students have
the benefit of attending a school where academic achieve-
ment is supported by students, staff, and a school structure
that encourages academic achievement. Class sizes are small
(14 students per class), courses are rigorous, the campus is
spirited and growing, and the faculty is committed (CBS
News, 2010). A demanding daily schedule keeps the stu-
dents focused and from getting into trouble. Bacon (2004)
noted the daily schedule at SEED: Classes begin at 8:00 a.m.
and last until 4:00 p.m. The late-afternoon hours are filled
with extracurricular activities that range from choir to flag
football. After dinner, the students go back to their dorms
for an hour-long study hall, followed by a half hour of quiet
time before going to bed. As noted previously, there are most
boarding schools follow similar schedules. Though miles and
a world apart, the daily routines at a boarding school in rural
Mitchell, Oregon, mirror those at SEED.
The Mitchell Boarding School
The Mitchell, Oregon, boarding school was developed
in an effort to provide students from urban and suburban
schools a quiet atmosphere where they could revitalize their
dismal academic records (Bushweller, 1996). The school,
 20
part of the public school system, is located in a small, isolated
town that lacks such distractions as shopping malls, video
arcades, or fast food restaurants. Bushweller (1996) believed
that these factors would make the town a nightmare by many
teenagers’ accounts. The secluded location of Mitchell sup-
ports the recovery of many of the students who themselves
believe they would otherwise be failing or tied into the ju-
venile system.
Tiah, a former student at Mitchell, earned mostly Cs and
Ds and did not participate in any extracurricular activities in
the large suburban school she attended prior to Mitchell. At
Mitchell, her class size has dropped from 30 to 20 students,
and she was able to complete school with a 3.0 grade point
average. Additionally, she participated in extracurricular ac-
tivities as a member of the volleyball, basketball, and track
teams. Her roommate Angela was earning Ds and Fs and
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
also graduated with a solid B average. Angela too became
active in extracurricular sports. In his article, Bushweller
(1996) detailed the success stories of 11 other Mitchell stu-
dents who were on the edge of giving up, joining a gang,
or running away from home. Students credited smaller class
sizes, teachers who cared, and a structured environment for
their success (Bushweller, 1996). These students benefited
from receiving quality social capital directed toward them
as a result of participating in smaller classes in a caring and
nurturing environment, and away from lower quality social
capital that acts to provide negative influences.
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
A residential magnet school in North Carolina provides
a boarding school opportunity for students based upon
merit and racial balance, The North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics opened in 1980 in Durham,
North Carolina, as the first publicly financed residential
high school in the United States devoted to mathematics
and science. Although this school is also public, it is
different from the other schools discussed above because
it is selective based on test scores, primarily serving gifted
students. In addition to test scores, students who attend
the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
are selected based on involvement in academic and
extracurricular activities, written essays, personal inter-
views, and recommendations from their home schools.
Though the academic aptitude of the students is high,
committee members are careful to pay attention to racial
and gender percentages, as well as geographic balance in
selecting a class. According to the school’s public profile,
(http://www.ncssm.edu/academics/docs/2011–2012%20NC
SSM%20Profile.pdf), 53% of the students were male,
53.8% were White, 25.4% were Asian or Pacific Islander,
15% were Black, 3% were other, 1.8% were two or more
races, and 0.9% were Native America Alaska Native. The
students and they come from 85 of the state’s 100 counties.
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics is
The Journal of Educational Research
an ideal way to serve gifted children, including students of
color, in an academically rich boarding school setting.
Policymakers in several major districts who believe in
the efficacy of the boarding school structure have attempted
boarding school initiatives. Their goals included providing
a safer life for their students. Funding, however, posed an in-
surmountable obstacle for districts such as Chicago, Detroit,
and the Bronx. Each of these districts proposed opening pub-
lic boarding schools, but was unsuccessful at either opening
or maintaining their boarding schools.
Chicago Cluster Initiative
Public school officials in Chicago looked to the board-
ing school concept as a way to keep inner-city students away
from drugs, gangs, and other lures of the streets. The Chicago
Cluster Initiative, a nonprofit school reform group, sought
to convert the well known and the nation’s largest public-
housing development, Robert Taylor homes, into a residen-
tial extended day school by fall of 1995. Miller (1995) cited
Donna Williams as stating the goal of the school as the cre-
ation of a safe environment for the students. Their goal was
to have 50 to 60 boarding students the first year and then to
add on each year until the school reaches its full capacity of
540 students. The dream of the residential initiative was cut
short due to shortages in funding.
Detroit Paul Robeson Academy
The Paul Robeson Academy was planned as an initia-
tive for students in Grades K–5 to provide urban youth
with learning opportunities comparable to those with greater
means. As in Chicago, this Detroit residential initiative was
short lived as well due to limitations in funding.
New York Bronx Regional High School
The New York Bronx Regional High School also tried
the boarding concept when the administrators purchased
and prepared housing for its neediest students. Again, the
residential initiative failed here as well due to a lack of
resources.
The North Carolina School of Science and Technology
and SEED in Washington, DC, and Baltimore are two public
residential school systems that have succeeded due to large
grants and gifts from the government and local businesses.
Contributing businesses not only receive a tax deduction,
but also believe they will benefit in the long run by having
future access to the students of these schools.
Residential Schools: A Viable Large-Scale Option
for Disenfranchised Students Today?
Residential schools are a less common, though a highly
effective alternative to traditional public schools, however,
 The Journal of Educational Research
several barriers exist that must be overcome before they are
more commonplace in this country. One such barrier is the
challenge of seeing schooling beyond our current tradition
of day school and preconceived notions of what schools
should be like. Unlike the United Kingdom where board-
ing schools are more widely accepted, most families in the
United States do not think of sending their children away
to school before college (Levine, 1980). Further, because we
are dealing with a vulnerable population within the confines
of a bureaucratic system, it is difficult for policymakers and
educators in this country to implement radically different
ideas. Cost is another major barrier to implementing the res-
idential school structure for students who would benefit from
them. Unfortunately, the cost to house, feed, supervise, and
otherwise care for students 24 hr a day is considerably more
than the cost of traditional day school formats. However,
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
despite the drastic financial restructuring that would have to
occur for districts to build or convert schools into residen-
tial facilities, the cost would be well worth the investment
for the brighter futures of students whose destinies would be
positively changed by the experience of living and going to
school in a positive environment.
Bourdieu’s Capitals: A Theoretical Framework
Historically, most societies have been, and still remain,
segregated and stratified according to race, ethnicity, reli-
gion, and other distinguishing characteristics found through-
out communities. This is generally the nature of every society
in which there is diversity among constituents. In most cases,
the advantaged class adopts and institutionalizes strategies
to set themselves apart so that they maintain their power
and positional advantage (Brantlinger, 2003). One way that
those of a higher social economic status distinguish and se-
cure the future of their posterity is to provide their children a
higher quality of education. Unfortunately, this also secures
the phenomenon of social reproduction. People of higher
social economic status know the power of knowledge and
education, and thus provide it to their children. These par-
ents are, in a sense, insuring their future by endowing their
children with human and education capital. I will use the
term education capital in this study since human capital en-
compasses not only education, but also all forms of training
and development.
Education capital. As described, education capital is a di-
mension of human capital. Through education, human cap-
ital is created by changes in persons that bring about skills
and capabilities that make them able to act in new ways
(Coleman, 1988). It represents educational attainment and
academic achievement acquired in school. Education capital
is clearly a benefit, most accessible to those of higher eco-
nomic status (Bourdieu, 1977; DiMaggio, 1982; Fryer, 2003;
Sullivan, 2001). Though it is the policy of most countries
to educate their youth, the quality of education received by
21
children most often correlates directly and positively with
their socioeconomic status. Additionally, parents of means
are careful to expose their children to other children who are
in their social and economic class through education, cul-
tural, and athletic activities, giving way to social and cultural
capital as discussed below.
Middle-class and upper-class families have several advan-
tages over poor families in the pursuit of educational capital
(Bourdieu, 1986, 1987). As stated previously, Bourdieu made
the connection between the capitals and power. Parents
from middle- and upper-class backgrounds understand the
system and language of education, they know how to monitor
their children’s progress, they usually have the ability to ac-
cess a repertoire of ways to help their children when needed,
and they have the power to enact necessary changes and/or
interventions to ensure their children’s academic success.
In short, they are usually empowered to be more involved
in their children’s education in positive ways, while always
maintaining a bird’s-eye view of their children’s educational
status. This positional authority affords them more influence
in helping their children to succeed. As will be discussed in
the section below on cultural capital, economic capital usu-
ally precedes cultural capital. Bourdieu (1983) continued to
weave connections between social, capital, and education
capital, as he connected cultural and education capital in
his statement that education, or academic qualification was
the institutionalized form of cultural capital. He stated,
More precisely, cultural capital, whose diffuse, continuous
transmission within the family escapes observation and con-
trol (so that the educational system, i.e., converted into a
capital of qualifications), is subject to a more disguised but
more risky transmission than economic capital. As educa-
tional qualifications becomes the condition for legitimate
access to a growing number of positions, particularly the
dominant ones, the educational system tends to increasingly
dispossess the domestic group of the monopoly of the trans-
mission of power and privileges—and among other things,
of the choice of its legitimate heirs from among children of
different sex and birth ranks. (Bourdieu, 1983, p. 254)
Sandra Kerka (2003) believed that social capital and
education capital are possibly linked together through
children’s intergenerational learning experiences in their
families, which she believed are children’s first learning
experiences. This confirms Bourdieu’s notion that capital
is accumulative. In cases where capital exists, it accumu-
lates and can be passed down from generation to generation.
Kerka stated, “Two dimensions of social capital development
bear resemblance to intergenerational programs” (p. 2). In
her discussion, Kerka noted research by Loewen (1996),
Granville, (2002), and Kaplan (2001), which stated that
“intergenerational learning fulfills age-appropriate develop-
mental needs of youth and adults, is relational and reciprocal,
and creates a community in which learning results through
collective engagement in authentic activities” (Kerka, 2003,
p. 2). If students are not from home environments where stu-
dents can take advantage of intergenerational capital, they
are at a disadvantage. This disadvantage can be mitigated
 22
for in the boarding school environment with strategic hir-
ing. The fullness of the processes and actions surrounding
this, as well as the previous concepts, are encapsulated in
Bourdieu’s (1977) concept of social capital.
A key dimension of social capital is attained partially
through having access to education capital. Ideally, it is first
experienced in the home; however, some children’s circum-
stances limit the quantity and quality of family and intergen-
erational learning. As such, some children are introduced to
and obtain the majority of their education capital in schools
or other structured educational settings. Individuals gain ac-
cess to other educated people throughout the educative pro-
cess, or a direct result of being educated. Having a variety
of educated peers with their varying skills and their own
connections can increase the quantity and quality of human
and physical resources available to individuals in order to
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
accomplish their goals. According to Coleman (1988), the
functions of education [human] capital and social capital are
similar. He states, “Just as physical capital and education
[human] capital facilitate productive activity, social capi-
tal does as well” (p. 101). Again, this speaks to Bourdieu’s
notion that the capitals overlap and are accumulative.
Social capital. Social capital represents the social networks
of friends, associates, and connections that an individual
can benefit from having. According to Astone, Nathanson,
Schoen, and Kim (1999), the concept of social capital orig-
inated in sociology is being widely incorporated into much
current social science. Bourdieu (1993) defined social capital
as
[t]he aggregate of the actual or potential resources which
are linked to possession of a durable network of more or
less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance
and recognition—or in other words to membership in a
group—which provides each of its members with the back-
ing of the collectivity—owned capital a “credential” which
entitles them to credit, in the various senses of the word.
(p. 249)
Examples of ways that social capital is built through the
education process, attending social affairs, membership in
clubs and organizations, and through attending exclusive
cultural events.
According to Bourdieu (1993), “[t]he amount of social
capital possessed by a given gent thus depends on the size
of the network of connections he can effectively mobilize
and on the volume of the capital posses in his own right
by each of those to whom he is connected” (p. 249). The
benefits of having social capital are clear. The more friends
and connections one has in the right places, the easier it is
for an individual to accomplish in academic, professional,
and social arenas. Having friends and associates in places
of influence greatly enhances one’s chances for a variety
of opportunities. Individuals with broader spanning social
networks have opportunities to be included in beneficial
offerings such as programs, schools, employment, and even
the attainment of information to which many others will
The Journal of Educational Research
not be privy. The more exclusive events, which are generally
reserved for those who are most socially mobile, contribute
to an individual’s cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1983).
Cultural capital. Cultural capital is defined as “a form of
value associated with culturally authorized tastes, consump-
tion patterns, attributes, skills, and awards” (Webb, Shirato,
& Danaher, 2002, p. x). According to Bourdieu (1993), cul-
tural capital can exist in three forms:
Cultural capital exists in the embodied state, i.e., in the form
of long-lasting dispositions of the mind and body; in the ob-
jectified state, in the form of cultural goods (pictures, books,
dictionaries, instruments, machines, etc.), which are the trace
realization of theories or critiques of these theories, problem-
atic, etc.; and in the institutionalized state, a form of objec-
tification which must be set apart because, as will be seen in
the case of educational qualifications, it confers entirely orig-
inal properties on the cultural capital which it is presumed to
guarantee. (p. 243)
As the definition suggests, cultural capital encompasses the
cultural choices that an individual makes based on his or
her resources and value system, which act to determine the
degree of cultural capital a person will be able to take ad-
vantage of. As with any other investment, one must first
see value in the activity or the cultural object that he/she
chooses to enjoy. Education and/or repeated exposure to
cultural capital are required in order for individual investors
to be able to appreciate the value of investing in cultural
capital. People are trained to recognize elements of culture
such as music, books, theater, varieties of performing arts,
art, and athletic activities that contribute to cultural capital.
This training takes place both in the home and in schools
as children are introduced to various cultural elements, and
as they are explained to them. This allows the individual to
make meaning of his or her experience. If the activity occurs
without prior education, then the child or person is not able
to assign meaning or value to it, thus, not allowing him or
her to appreciate it, or to gain the full benefit of cultural
capital.
The more cultural capital an individual possesses, the
more likely he or she is to attend events and activities that
provide exposure to other individuals in their same privi-
leged category. However, because of the monetary expense
associated with amassing cultural capital, such as traveling
or attending many cultural events and activities, often cul-
tural capital is one of many markers that separate those with
economic capital from those without. Cultural activities are
sometimes cost prohibitive, causing them to be monopo-
lized by the wealthy. Certain events such as the opera, ballet
performances, and international vacations have set such ac-
tivities accessible only to those in a higher income bracket,
apart from the poor for years. Regardless of income, however,
Bourdieu (1993) noted cultural capital cannot be attained
overnight. It is acquired over time depending on the time
frame, society, and social class; which again, emphasizes the
fact that capital is accumulative.
 The Journal of Educational Research
Capital benefits in sum. Factors present in the lives of more
affluent families include social, cultural, and education cap-
ital (Bourdieu, 1977, 1983, 1986; DiMaggio, 1982; Fryer,
2003; Sullivan, 2001). Middle-class families know the value
of networking and exposing their children to other children
of well-connected parents. Thus, these children are likely
to have more exposure to opportunities, which often results
in an increased number of life chances. Middle-class fami-
lies are also more likely to expose their children to cultural
events and experiences that otherwise enhance their lives,
increase their conceptual understanding of school subjects,
and ultimately their chances of success in school and later in
their careers. Children who lack financial resources also of-
ten lack the financial capital necessary to generate the other
important capital(s), leaving them susceptible to a life of
continued poverty because of the seeming inescapable cycle
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
of social reproduction.
Just as it takes money (capital) to make money, it also
takes capital to increase the same, or to generate other types
of capital. Educational, social, and cultural capitals build on
each other and there is a positive, correlative, and an accu-
mulative relationship between these three types of capital
(Bourdieu, 1977, 1993, 1996; Dimaggio, 1982). As explained
previously in the relationship between education and social
capital, attaining education presents opportunity for the de-
velopment of worthwhile and beneficial social relationships.
Further, the attainment of cultural capital provides a valu-
able type of education, as many cultural activities comple-
ment and add meaning to structured classroom education.
Connections made through these social relationships fre-
quently present opportunities for enhanced career opportu-
nities, which further increase social capital. Social, cultural,
and education capital work together to open the doors of
opportunity. For example, social capital can lead to invita-
tions to cultural events for the attainment of cultural capital.
This can also act in reverse, as attending cultural events may
lead to opportunities for amassing social capital, when atten-
dees take advantage of meeting new colleagues. Education
capital can also tie in two ways, as cultural events are of-
ten part of school programming, extracurricular, or evening
activities. Even when not related to school events, cultural
events are often educational and have the potential to in-
directly improve the academic performance of those who
attend. Further, expensive cultural events can be afforded
through economic capital, education capital, or social cap-
ital; all earned as a result of attaining a quality and conclu-
sive education—thus demonstrating how the benefits earned
through social, cultural, and education capital multiply and
reproduce.
The capital model (see Figure 1) is like a spiraling sphere.
To enter the spiral, an individual must start with one form of
capital, usually education capital. From this, the other forms
of capital build and spiral outward as the capital circle turns.
The relationship between these capitals is such that they
build and grow one another. In their operationalization of
Bourdieu’s capitals, Silva and Edwards (2003) discussed the
23
role of economic capital in the production of other capitals.
As such, they stated,
Bourdieu (1977) himself appears to place economic capital
at the root of other capitals, although he regards each form
of capital as possessing its own dynamic, as well as varied
possibilities of packaging different levels and types of capitals.
(p. 2)
Silva and Edwards further noted John Goldthorpe’s (1996)
similar opinion. They discussed the fact that he also sees eco-
nomic capital as central, extrapolating from his work: “Par-
ticipation in culture depends on economic position rather
than on taste and judgment, within a framework that views
economic capital as more significant than cultural capital
in allowing individuals to mobilize more resources” (Silva
& Edwards, 2003, p. 2). According to Sullivan (2001),
“[c]ultural capital is associated with social class, and is trans-
mitted from parents to children” (p. 911). The capital spiral
model demonstrates why it is difficult for children from poor
households to generate capital. The child not born into a
family with the resources that qualify them for at least a
working or middle-class family will need outside investors or
some type of intervention to position him or her with the
necessary capital to start building capital(s) on his or her
own. Outside investors or intervention for children like this
often come in the form of a benevolent mentor or through
superior schooling. The boarding school alternative is at the
center of this analysis. I selected a boarding school called
the Douglas School to conduct the study. I describe the
school using Bourdieu’s capital framework theories, utilizing
the qualitative framework described subsequently.
Method
Qualitative Considerations
I determined that the most thorough and efficient way to
obtain the desired data was to conduct qualitative inquiry in
the study participants’ natural environment (Patton, 2008).
As such I observed participants in their classrooms, dor-
mitories, cafeteria, and extracurricular environments. Dur-
ing interviews, I asked appropriate questions regarding their
boarding school related experiences, and to question aspects
that remained unclear after subsequent observations and in-
terviews. I further thought it beneficial to interview teachers
and administrators to garner their perspectives as well. A to-
tal of 32 questionnaires were received by students (equal
number of male and female respondents), and 19 interviews
were conducted at with students. I also interviewed five
teachers, two counselors, and five administrators. Observa-
tions, interviews, and questionnaires informed the study.
I observed the atmosphere of the school including its size
and demographic characteristics. I noted elements that make
up school culture such as symbols and rituals, seating and
behavior in the cafeteria, and student attitude and behav-
ior during extracurricular activities. I also noted student-
to-student as well as teacher-to-student interactions and
 24
perceived relationships. I further noted the size of classes
and student attitude in, and regarding their classes.
Questionnaires were administered to a larger group of stu-
dents who volunteered to participate prior to the individual
interviews being conducted. After the questionnaires were
reviewed, interview questions were refined. A total of 32
questionnaires were received from students (equal number
of male and female respondents), and 19 interviews were
conducted at Douglas with students. I also interviewed five
teachers, two counselors, and five administrators.
Students were selected for interview based on the
recommendation of the faculty and staff members of the
institutions. School administrators and faculty members
recommended students who they believed to be mature,
representative of the diversity of the school, and who would
be able to articulate their ideas effectively. I also selected
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
additional students for observation and interview based
upon her interest in interviewing students specifically from
urban and poor backgrounds. Although not all students
were not in the target interest group, I found it beneficial
to gain a general understanding of what it was like to be
a student at Douglas from the majority perspective as well
as the perception of peer relationships from majority and
minority perspectives. This understanding was necessary in
order to more accurately assess social capital.
Douglas is located in the Northeast United States and
serves Grades 9–12. Data collection took place in three parts:
observations of the school environment, student question-
naires, and interviews with student and faculty members.
The population of the school was about 120 students. The
student population of Douglas was majority (70%) White
and the remainder of the students were Black, Asian, or
international exchange students. Though only 32 students
completed the questionnaire, the students completing ques-
tionnaires proportionately represented the make up of the
student body, racially, age-/grade-wise, and geographically.
Also, they represented just over a quarter of the total student
body.
Ironically, the selection of Douglas was based on my so-
cial capital. It is very difficult to gain access and entry into
a boarding school for research purposes; however, I was a
colleague of a former teacher at Douglas. The involvement
of the colleague and former Douglas teacher ended with an
introduction to the school administrator. Despite the rela-
tionship that facilitated in my obtaining access, the school
embodied characteristics I desired to investigate.
Douglas’ Background and History
Douglas is a small boarding school of about 120 students,
and serves Grades 9–12. Though it was opened in 1932 as a
boys-only school, it has since become co-ed, with 53% boys
and 47% girls. The school is on the original Shaker village
site of Mt. Lebanon. Douglas is the only school in the United
States located on the site of a historic Shaker village. The
spirit of the Shaker (religious) tradition permeates the spirit
of the school.
The Journal of Educational Research
The mission of Douglas has changed since its inception.
The population served is reflected in the mission of the
school. In addition to serving traditional students, Douglas
now serves students with learning disabilities, a small num-
ber of Second Chance students (students who have formerly
had drug and/or alcohol problems), a small number of tal-
ented at-risk urban youth (∼15%), and students who do not
cope well in larger classes and schools. Further, while the
student population has historically been all White, Dou-
glas now also comprises African American, Asian, Latino
students, multirace students, and also hosts several Interna-
tional students. Douglas continues to serve students in need,
while also promoting academic excellence. The diversity at
Douglas, as represented in the subgroups listed previously,
is between 25% and 30%. The school administrators were
not very forthcoming with exact numbers or permitted to
identify which students fell into at risk categories; however,
some groups were more apparent than others. During inter-
views, it was clear that the administrators at Douglas are
striving to elevate the image of the school in order to attract
high-caliber students.
The Douglas (Shaker) Ethos Demonstrated
The Shaker values, including integrity, industry, and sim-
plicity, continue to be observable at Douglas through several
of the school’s traditions. One way the Shaker heritage is
still honored is through the hands-to-work program, which
makes students jointly responsible for maintaining school
property. With this program, students each take jobs either
inside or outside the school that contributes to the upkeep of
the physical plant. During observations at the school, I was
surprised to see students so cooperative in performing man-
ual labor for the beautification of their school. I witnessed
the hands-to-work program during three of my four visits,
and never once heard a student or teacher complain about
the work that he or she had to do—even those working
outside during the winter season.
Another way the Shaker tradition can be observed is in
the weekly town meetings. Fluid communication is impor-
tant to the Shaker way of life and thus has become a part
of the Douglas school culture. The purpose of these meetings
is to give students a safe opportunity to speak their mind pub-
licly to other students and/or teachers. During these meet-
ings, only students speak. Students can use this forum to
voice any school-wide or personal concerns, share poetry
or other work, or speak on behalf of other students. These
conversations not only contribute to a sense of community,
confidence, and leadership, but also to the development of
public speaking skills and social and cultural capital.
Close Relationships Apparent
Social capital is the result of intimate connections as
a result of quality social networks. The general classroom
structure at Douglas is constructed in support of this no-
tion. The classes that I visited were all small, as are all of the
 The Journal of Educational Research
classes at Douglas. The average class size at Douglas is a mere
nine students. The smaller class sizes appeared to promote a
higher quality interaction from student to student and from
teacher to student, creating the potential for denser social
networks. During classroom observations, I noted that stu-
dents were not afraid to speak out and that teachers likewise
spoke to the students in a very candid and personal manner.
The mathematics teachers I observed appeared to be able to
sense which students had done the homework by students’
participation (without having seen their assignments) and
were able to assign problems according to difficulty without
insulting or embarrassing any of the students. In addition to
this, students could receive extra tutorials, if and when they
needed even more individualized attention. After observing
a geometry class and an algebra class, I felt that my own
feelings toward mathematics might have been more posi-
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
tive if I had received such personalized attention in my own
mathematics classes. Throughout my time at Douglas, the
question arose as to whether this same dynamic could be
reproduced in a quality day school environment. This would
be the question that I would ponder throughout the data
collection. Is the difference the boarding environment, or
are there other contributing, reproducible factors?
During my second visit to Douglas, I stayed in the home
of a teacher. During this visit, I participated in the in-
home meal. The meal observed was dinner. The students
are divided and assigned to different teachers’ homes each
semester for several meals. Although it was dinnertime, the
meal that I attended consisted of omelets and homemade
crepes. The choice of menu allowed for the active partici-
pation of all students present. Some students cut up ingre-
dients, while others cooked the omelets. Another group of
students mixed the crepe batter, while another group flipped
the crepes. The students also cleaned up after their adven-
tures in cooking. I felt that the evening was positive and
productive in that students had an opportunity to enjoy a
home-cooked meal outside of the cafeteria that they helped
to prepare, as well as being placed with other students and
a teacher with whom they may not have otherwise chosen
to share intimate time. As might be expected, there was a
fair amount of horseplay and joking throughout the evening,
followed by an opportunity to sit and watch a movie with
the teacher. I noted that this social capital–building activity
promoted a level of closeness between students and faculty
members that would be much less likely to occur to this de-
gree in the day school environment. Day school students do
not usually have the opportunity to make and share dinner
with their teachers and fellow students, nor do they usually
spend time in their teachers’ homes. In fact, this type of ac-
tivity would likely be viewed as suspect or even taboo within
the context of today’s public day schools.
Observing students in the cafeteria and in other public
venues, I could not help but notice the family-type affinity
the students seemed to have with each other. The accuracy
of this observation was validated when the questionnaires
also bore witness to this fact. The overwhelming majority
25
of students reported having positive feelings about being a
student at Douglas. Most reported that it was because of
their social networks and the close friendships that they had
established in their small, close-knit community.
During one cafeteria dinner, some African American stu-
dents opened up to me with regard to the way they felt about
race on campus. The topic was fresh for the students because
several were members of Douglas’ Students of Diversity As-
sociation and had just returned from a diversity conference.
The students were not angry or bitter, but clearly wanted
to discuss these issues they pondered with an adult African
American. Douglas had no African American employees, so
the students flocked to me. The African American students
at the table all said that they had friends outside their race
that they often spent time with, but still found that there was
a degree of racial separatism at Douglas. I was both surprised
and impressed that the students were familiar with and re-
ferred to Beverly Tatum’s (2003) work, Why Do All the Black
Kids Sit Together in the Cafeteria?, concerning the psycho-
logical need for some racial separation during the formation
racial identity development. After the meal, the students
invited me to a Douglas Students of Diversity meeting.
During the Students of Diversity meeting, students rep-
resenting all of Douglas’ cultures came together to discuss
ways in which all students of all races could unite to an
even greater degree (in order to maximize the amount of so-
cial capital that students would experience at Douglas). The
Students of Diversity was a multicultural group of students,
including White students, whose objective was to facilitate
cultural understanding between racial groups, and to better
knit the student body together. The meeting was differ-
ent from what I anticipated. Similar to many student-led
clubs and meetings, I thought the students would be some-
what disorganized and use the organization as an excuse to
come together for social purposes. However, the students
were focused and came together with a clear and focused
agenda. Though students were under the instructional guid-
ance of a faculty mentor, they effectively ran the meeting on
their own. I was impressed at the student’s leadership skills,
their maturity, students’ insights, and their ability to articu-
late their thoughts concerning the benefits of diversity and
tolerance.
Data Analysis
Once observational and interview data were collected, I
looked for signs of evidence of Bourdieu’s (1986) capitals
in the answers from the questionnaire and my observation
notes, as well as interview notes and verbatim transcripts.
When analyzing the data, I linked similarly themed stories,
interviews, and questionnaires together to seek out patterns
of behavior through the answers. To this end, Yin (2002) sug-
gested using some of Miles and Huberman’s (1994) strategies
such as putting information into different arrays, creating a
matrices of categories, and placing evidence with the created
categories, creating data displays, tabulating the frequency
 26
of different events, and putting information in chronological
order or using some other temporal scheme. For this study,
I found that creating graphs of the interview from the data
discovered in the questionnaires was the clearest mode of
displaying and analyzing the data. This allowed me to see
patterns in the responses. Finally, the knowledge that was
obtained in the data analysis chapter was synthesized.
Results
The Boarding School Environment Promotes Social Capital
in Students’ School Experience
• The boarding environment clearly promoted social cap-
ital in the Douglas school. Social ties were closer due to
the smaller size of the schools and the fact that a higher
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
percentage of the students were boarding.
• Students reported greater comfort level in communicat-
ing with and lower degrees of intimidation while dealing
with adults. After time, most students learned to see adults
as friends; more human.
• Social capital gained in school often means social capi-
tal lost at home due to less interaction with family and
neighbors.
In their interviews, Douglas students reported the following
regarding social capital: “Back home, I didn’t have many
friends, so it’s like getting a lot of new friends. I have very
vast friendships with a lot of people here.”
A Korean exchange student said, when I asked about his
favorite thing about Douglas, “The people are nice . . . it’s
easier to get close to people.”
When asked what they enjoyed most about their school
environments, Doulas students most often listed sports and
other social activities as their favorite aspect of going to the
school. I believe that sports were the favorite activity for
both girls and boys because it gave students an opportunity
to exert energy, socialize, and demonstrate school spirit.
The Boarding School Environment Provides Increased
Opportunities for Cultural Capital when Compared to the Day
School Structure
As noted previously, cultural capital is the benefit gained
when students are exposed to different cultural experiences
that enlighten them and add to their personal development.
These cultural elements take the form of activities, sports,
trips, music, or art in most schools. According to Bourdieu’s
(1983) theory, exposure to cultural capital allows access into
higher social circles; and entry into higher social circles
opens the door to opportunities. Disadvantaged students do
not usually have access to the cultural activities and op-
portunities to which middle-class and wealthier students are
frequently exposed, as lines of separation are clearly drawn in
society. For this study, I was interested in whether the activ-
The Journal of Educational Research
ities provided in boarding school would allow disadvantaged
children access to higher levels of cultural capital.
• Boarding schools, including the study school, offer a wide
variety of cultural activities to all students.
• Students are required to participate in an activity.
Students reported the following:
I have a lot of sports commitments. I never played sports
before I came to Douglas, and now I play sports all the time.
There’s hands to work that I enjoy. Up until this semester I
played soccer. I did mountain biking this year, snowboarding,
and lacrosse. I’m also in chorus and I do some stuff for theatre.
When I asked this student if he would be involved in those
activities if he were at his old day school, he replied, “No,
I’d be too shy.”
If I were in day school, I wouldn’t do—I wouldn’t do sports
and I wouldn’t have done the cultural activities.
Students of Douglas are clearly exposed to cultural capital
on a daily basis. They are exposed through the breadth and
depth of their course choices, a wide variety of extracurric-
ular activities and club offerings, opportunities to travel, a
culturally and geographically diverse student body, exposure
to the wisdom and knowledge they gain from having closer
relationships with their teachers, and an enhanced aware-
ness and knowledge of their environment through the open
forums and hands to work program. All of these exposures
work together to increase the amount of cultural capital to
which Douglas’s students are exposed.
I asked students during their interviews which activi-
ties they participated in. An economically disadvantaged
African American female responded,
I have a lot of sports commitments. I never played sports
before I came to Douglas, and now I play sports all the time. So
I have games on the week-ends, practice in the afternoon . . .
I’m the junior class president, so I sit on student government.
Then I have core leadership meetings as well as the diversity
club.
After careful review of observation notes and interview tran-
scripts, I concluded that most students observed developed
a genuine interest in their extracurricular activities, though
a small minority appeared not to be excited about anything.
Lack of engagement was observed through a lower moral
and by students only participating in the required activi-
ties as dictated by Douglas administration. Overall higher
levels of student engagement in their activities may be due
to their freedom to select the activities they participate in
for themselves. Students were free to choose their required
physical activity or sport, which either took place directly
after school, or later in the evening or on Saturdays.
 The Journal of Educational Research
The Boarding School Environment Increases Opportunities
for Students to Amass Education Capital During Their
Schooling Experience
Education capital is a dimension of human capital, which
is the overall value of a person’s contribution. It is the ele-
ment of human capital that speaks to the degree to which
education adds to the value to a person’s total package. It is
often a direct result of the education he or she has received.
Education capital is used to describe a person’s worth in
reference to a job or a career. It is important in this study
because the level and quality of education a person has is
considered before they are hired for most jobs. I thought it
important to include education capital because the amount
of education capital attained in high school sets the stage
for what students can and will attain in college, which ulti-
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
mately is a major determinant of overall success and a major
factor to determine the quality of lifestyles students will lead
for the rest of his or her life. A Korean student said, testifying
to the importance of small class sizes,
I get more help with my studies because there are too many
students in Korea. But here you [often] have only 10 people
maximum, so it’s really nice.
In addition to the extra attention they receive as a result
of being students in smaller classes, students also reported
in their questionnaires that they receive extra help during
their prep and tutoring periods. Though students complained
about the heightened level of teacher supervision and strict-
ness of the school, the extra attention students receive at
Douglas likely results in greater degrees of education capital
obtained by students.
During interviews with Douglas teachers, they indicated
that with the freedom they had at Douglas, they were free to
teach more deeply. They do not have to adhere to No Child
Left Behind mandates and Douglas does not have Advanced
Placement courses. This freed the teachers to teach at the
pace of their students’ learning, both when it was ahead
of the pace of state mandates, or temporarily behind these
mandates.
The most impressive aspect of academics at Douglas is
a deep commitment on the part of the administration and
teachers toward providing each student with the help they
need to succeed. Students with emotional issues or learning
disabilities are all catered to individually and are worked
with until faculty and staff figure out how best to help non-
traditional students. These children do not slip through the
cracks and are not castoffs, as is sometimes the case in larger
public schools—especially urban schools overwhelmed with
the volume of students with problems. Most students noted
in their questionnaires that they felt the academics at Dou-
glas was what set it apart from the day schools they had
attended, and nearly 100% of students completing inter-
views and questionnaires are college bound. No more than
two students were unsure. Most of them also attributed their
success to attending Douglas. On the surveys, many students
27
indicated that their grades were historically average or poor,
but had improved while at Douglas. A majority also said they
were better off academically as a result of attending Douglas.
• Students have mandatory, supervised study time in the
evenings.
• Students have adults and other students available to help
them when they need it.
Students reported the following:
Douglas specializes in the way teachers present material. Like
if you don’t understand something, you can see a teacher after
class and be like you know I don’t get this. Can you explain
this to me? I really like that about Douglas and it’s not like we
only teach one way like in my previous school . . . like they
humiliate you if you don’t understand . . . Here at Douglas
okay we’re going to take it step by step like to make you
understand.
I get more help as a boarder. When it’s homework time, there
will be a teacher or a upperclassman that will be at prep so
probably every time you need help you just ask whereas at
home, there’s nobody to ask; you’re just alone.
• The boarding school structure serves as a buffer of inter-
vention for troubled or disenfranchised students.
Douglas clearly serves students who needed intervention.
Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act and other protective regulations, I was not permitted to
have ready access to these students or to any files regarding
their issues. I was able to ascertain through interviews that
students considered to be troubled were either economically
disadvantaged, and others because of the students’ own psy-
chological or emotional problems, and addictions to drugs
or alcohol. The number of students in this latter category is
much lower than the reasons that students were financially
disadvantaged. The school sought to help these students
with the aid of counselors and strict structure and discipline.
School faculty and staff members kept a close watch on their
students in need of heightened measures of intervention.
Douglas has the benefit of its smaller size, enabling school
personnel to intervene quicker when students need it. When
a school is smaller, odd behaviors are noticed quicker than in
larger environments. When I asked the principal of Douglas
how she saw at-risk students benefiting from the boarding
environment, she noted,
Mostly because of our, our close oversight of them and ability
to interact with them in different roles. And so they don’t
slip through the cracks, you know there’s no back row in the
classroom. There’s no way that you’re going to sit alone in
your room in your dorm and not have somebody observe and
try to pull you in.
Any school, especially boarding schools, have procedures
and buddy systems to monitor student behavior, but larger
schools have more hiding spaces (both literal and figurative),
which enables students to hide problems and for longer peri-
ods of time. Teachers are also more likely to notice problems
more quickly at Douglas because every dorm is staffed with
 28
an adult teacher, and most teachers live on campus with the
students and eat and interact with them on a daily basis.
Another way that the teachers of Douglas get to know their
students more intimately is that all students are assigned an
advisor, and each student also has a one-on-one tutorial ses-
sion several times a week. Teachers have the opportunity
to detect a lot by spending quality one on one time with
their students. Another factor is the youthfulness of Dou-
glas’s teachers and the more casual relationships observable
between the Douglas’s students and their teachers.
• Boarding schools can be an appropriate remedy for some
students.
The answer to the question of whether boarding schools
are a remedy is embedded in the previous discussions. This
question asks whether boarding schools are a remedy, mean-
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
ing one possible source of help—not the final answer (for
disenfranchised students from high-poverty and urban back-
grounds). This research suggests that boarding schools can
be a remedy for certain students who are motivated, but
who need to live in an environment that provides a cli-
mate where they can realize their desire to perform well in
school. Capable students who come from homes that are
unsupportive or not conducive for learning are ideal for the
boarding school environment. These homes may include
parents who are too active in their own personal careers or
pursuits to be attentive to their children’s learning needs,
parents who are unable to provide the necessary transporta-
tion to extracurricular activities, or homes where parents
are uninvolved in their children’s education for any variety
of reasons. Students who needed temporary separation from
their parents (for a variety of circumstances) were also ideal
candidates for boarding school. The other important factor
in determining whether or not boarding schools can serve
as a remedy is the quality of the boarding environment. The
boarding school must have a quality and positive learning
environment that offers a quality education, social outlets,
and a variety of meaningful social and cultural activities.
These factors are used in determining the fitness of a school
for serving as a remedy for students. In sum, I also learned
that although no academic environment is perfect for every
student, the boarding school environment presents benefits
for students whose personal situations characterize them as
favorable candidates for the boarding school environment.
• Boarding students have lots of reasons to love their school.
Students from Douglas were very fond of their choice for
a school. They did not always like everything about Dou-
glas, but generally had positive comments regarding their
experiences—especially as it relates to relationship build-
ing. An economically disadvantaged had this to say about
his school when asked how he felt about being a Douglas
student:
It has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages
thankfully outweigh the disadvantages, which is why I’m still
here, why I’m graduating as a senior. So yeah . . . I’ve met some
The Journal of Educational Research
really neat people and I’ve gotten to develop friendships here
that I don’t think I would have if I went to a day school in the
city or anywhere else. So that’s what I’m most grateful for.
A Korean exchange student responded this way to the
question:
It’s like felling love [for] each other . . . like its like living
in the dorm and it’s more like family living together and if
there’s faults we have to fix it . . . I like it.
• Boarding schools help students develop leadership skills.
After observing students at the Douglas School, I was amazed
at how the boarding school environment fostered the at-
tainment of leadership skills, in addition to social, cultural,
and education capital. This was especially true of the ur-
ban youth. Several seemed to have natural leadership abil-
ity, as evidenced through their leadership on appointed or
elected student leadership positions in student government,
in the student diversity group, and also in their taking initia-
tive to start clubs and activities, such as the hip-hop danc-
ing group. All students at Douglas have an opportunity to
lead because the school is small, accommodating of indi-
viduality, and always open to new ideas. Any student at
any time can propose starting a new club, or mobilize stu-
dents to promote charitable causes, and even to start small
business enterprises. For example, one of the students pro-
posed starting an Internet radio station, which received seed
financing by the kitchen staff when they learned of his de-
sire. I saw students start clubs, run club meetings, and ar-
range and run special programs for the entire school. I also
observed students who spoke out in public arenas for causes
that they believed in and wanted to support. Additionally, I
saw shy students take the lead in classes because of the free-
dom afforded by the smaller class sizes. This was particularly
impressive because so many of these students mentioned in
their interviews how they were shy and lost in their large
public day schools. These student leaders are gaining confi-
dence and valuable leadership skills that will likely go with
them when they reach college campuses and throughout the
rest of their lives. In short, the level of responsibility held
by student leaders gives them great confidence and prepares
them for leadership positions in the future.
Discussion
After observing at the Douglas School on four separate
visits that spanned from between 3 and 5 days, conducting
interviews, and collecting questionnaires, it was clear that
the boarding environment of Douglas fosters social, cultural,
and education capital (Bourdieu, 1986, 1987). The school
holds high standards, provides an intimate and safe learning
environment, and empowers students to become leaders.
The social activities, the opportunities for students to de-
velop as leaders, the outside cultural activities that students
participate in that they may not have otherwise considered
in the day environment, and the intensive care that the
 The Journal of Educational Research
Douglas students receive due to its small size and focus on
individualized teaching all provide capital benefits to stu-
dents there.
The social capital benefits I saw were found in the close-
knit relationships I witnessed being while observing the stu-
dents, and also seen their questionnaires. Almost all of the
students enjoyed their friendships and said that they were
committed to staying in touch with their friends even af-
ter leaving Douglas. Cultural capital benefits can be seen in
the wide variety of activities offered at Douglas. Students
have access to and most often do participate in a variety of
clubs, sports, and cultural activities. Additionally, Douglas
has active music, drama, and visual arts departments for in-
terested students. And, finally, education capital could be
seen in the small class sizes and the quality teaching that
was offered at Douglas. Their mission is different from that
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
of many other independent schools, but their aim is still
excellence in serving the individual needs of the students
in their charge. Taken together, these capital benefits can
assist students in achieving greater academic success.
Conclusions
In the beginning of this study, I sought answers to sev-
eral primary questions. The first and overarching ques-
tions were whether the boarding school environment
promoted Bourdieu’s capitals (social, cultural, and educa-
tional) and whether the presence of these capital benefits
could positively impact students’ educational experiences—
particularly the experiences of poor and other disenfran-
chised students. A more central question, having even
greater implications, focused on trying to determine the
type(s) of student(s) who would benefit most from the board-
ing environment. As I sought the answers to these questions,
I began to realize that there were no quick or easy answers.
In my quest, I uncovered a string of student experiences that
would allow for meaning. Further, I could see that the an-
swers lay in a multiplicity of circumstances which working
together would frame various scenarios to determine student
fitness for the boarding environment.
In Figure 1, I illustrated the interconnectedness of Bour-
dieu’s capitals and linked them to economic capital. The
point made with this figure was that the capitals were not
only interconnected, but that they also built on each other.
This is also supported by Bourdieu’s theory, as he noted that
capital is based on the effect of accumulation. This was rein-
forced as I conducted the study. I saw that certain activities
could qualify as two or more of the capitals. For example, an
activity such as field trip to a historically based play could
provide a student with cultural, social, and education cap-
ital. The same can be said for participation in chess club.
To complicate the issue and further the point, I also realized
that two students could attend the same event, but not de-
rive the same benefits. One student may gain social capital
relating to his or her social interactions during an event,
while another may sit alone and have little social discourse.
29
The amount of cultural capital the student is able to ben-
efit from would depend largely on his or her accumulated
capital or personal background, prior knowledge, and ability
to process the particular cultural or educational experience.
This overlap in capitals was noticed throughout the study,
making exact measurements of how much students benefited
from each form of capital impossible.
Factors Mitigating the Likelihood of Student Success
in the Boarding School Environment
Even before conducting this study, it was clear to me that
there is no one school or school structure perfect for all stu-
dents. Students bring with them a variety of intelligences,
dispositions, learning styles, cultures, religions, home/family
backgrounds, and personal tastes and preferences. Diversity
in school structures is necessary for dealing with the diver-
sity of needs represented by the students. Knowing this going
into the study, I knew that I would not be making a recom-
mendation for all students to be sent to boarding schools.
I believed, however, that after analyzing the data collected
in this study, students with certain characteristics would
emerge as being ones who would benefit from the boarding
school environment.
After interviewing students, administrators, and teach-
ers, the data indicated that the student’s home environment
is the most significant factor in determining the degree to
which he or she benefits from the boarding school environ-
ment. One of the main reasons that parents send their chil-
dren to boarding school is so that they can benefit from the
culture of discipline and structure offered in many board-
ing environments. Though reasons for attending boarding
schools varied from case to case, parents sent their children
to boarding school because they felt that they would benefit
more from the environment provided by the school than
they would if they lived in their own homes and went to
local day schools.
Students’ home lives. When students come from support-
ive, culturally rich, and stable home lives, there is little
more the boarding school environment can add to their ed-
ucational experience. Students may benefit from the social
capital and learning to function in diverse environments af-
forded by forging strong relationships by living with their
peers, but these students will not necessarily benefit from
other aspects of living at their school because their needs
were already being met at home. On the other hand, students
who come from unsupportive, unstructured homes have the
potential to benefit much more from the added structure,
support, and social and cultural activities. This is not to say
that these students do not have caring parents, but parents
who are not able to provide a living environment that meet
their educational needs.
The main reason students gave for choosing to attend
Douglas was that they were not receiving the support they
needed in their traditional public day school in order to reach
 30
their potential academically. Most students had considered a
variety of alternatives to their day schools before deciding on
coming to Douglas. Further, many Douglas students fall into
one of several broad categories: average and above average
students who are able to afford the tuition, gifted to average
students who do not find a fit into traditional public schools
because of learning differences and difficulties or issues with
their emotions and/or social skills, and minority gifted and
talented scholarship students who attended Douglas through
a New York City feeder program. Students from this latter
group would have otherwise been more likely to fall victim to
various temptations such as drugs, alcohol, dangerous street
life, negative peer pressure, and large inner city urban schools
had they not attended Douglas. A male student and a female
African American student, both from New York, confessed
that although they were on the gifted track in their old
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
schools, they had begun to slip into the negative temptations
presented in their home environments. They both believed
that Douglas, though boring, kept them out of trouble and
provided a safe and welcoming space for them to develop and
hone their leadership skills. They both also reported taking
part in activities and organizations that they probably would
not have if they had not come to Douglas.
The male student stated the following during his inter-
view,
Being here has definitely helped me from becoming another
statistic as one of a Black male being shot or ending up in jail.
Douglas has definitely changed my life.
This student went on to be accepted to Boston College and
John’s Hopkins University. He selected, and now attends,
John’s Hopkins University.
Another category of students who tend to select boarding
schools is students who have parents with demanding sched-
ules and find it most convenient to place their children in a
boarding situation. Many of these parents travel extensively
or move frequently for work or other reason, creating an
unstable environment for family life, as well as instability
in schooling as students are forced to move from school to
school as they move with their parents. One student fitting
this description said the following when I asked him where
he was from:
Well, I was born in Missouri. My parents lived in New York
City, then Pennsylvania. When I older I lived in Washington
State on an island off the Coast for 10 years. After that, I
moved to California for less than a year. Went to a boarding
school in Arizona 7th grade. Then after that it was Kansas,
Lawrence, Kansas. And then Texas three years.
Movement such as this was echoed in several interviews that
I did with students.
A last, smaller category of students who attend the Dou-
glas School include students who have mild dependency,
psychological, or emotional problems. The school provides
great supervision and counseling support and programs for
these students. This support comes through the counseling
office, through individual and group support meetings, and
The Journal of Educational Research
also by formal and informal monitoring. As noted previ-
ously, the smallness of the school makes it easier to address
students’ special needs.
Many of the students interviewed were talented, but found
themselves lost and unhappy in their larger day schools,
found security in Douglas’s smaller family-like atmosphere.
At Douglas, they were able to assume leadership positions
and to participate on sports teams that they would have
never been successful in at their large day school environ-
ments. Although these students were generally people of fi-
nancial means, they lacked the social wherewithal to thrive
in larger day environments. Several students who fell into
this category informed me that they were left unfulfilled by
the day school environment. They felt lost in the crowded
classes of 30+ students. The students I interviewed who fell
into this category were particularly satisfied with the less
populated learning opportunities that Douglas had to offer.
School quality. In addition to leaving the home environ-
ment to attend boarding school, the quality of the boarding
environment is a second factor influencing whether a board-
ing environment would be beneficial for a student. Though
a quality and healthy environment is imperative to produc-
ing students who are academically sound, their own attitude
and motivation can be seen as a greater predictor of their
success. A substandard boarding arrangement does little to
stimulate student attitude or to motivate them.
Student attitude and motivation. Student attitude toward
school and their motivation to succeed cannot be over-
looked or underestimated in determining student success.
Social networks, cultural enrichment, and quality educa-
tional opportunities are all important, but if a student is
not motivated, then no learning environment—including
a quality boarding environment—will increase his or her
levels of academic achievement. As both a teacher and as
a researcher in this dissertation, I have witnessed talented
students who were set up to succeed by their parents and
their school environment, yet chose to underperform due to
their lack of initiative and motivation. One student made
the following point:
Yes, we can easily fall asleep . . . it’s really up to you. I mean
in prep (homework time), you can have a book open, and just
draw pictures or just stare at the wall or just read a book or
whatever. So it’s all up to you and if you want to learn or not.
At the same time, I witnessed students who had excelled with
all visible odds stacked against them. These students were
highly motivated, and would likely succeed in most any type
of learning environment. The students who most benefitted
from the boarding school environment are children who are
motivated, but who need stability of a structured evening
environment, and other forms of support not offered in the
traditional day school environment.
The sum of my experience at Douglas Boarding School
helped me to conclude that although I believe that the
 The Journal of Educational Research
boarding environment can enhance students’ access to
social, cultural, and education capital, the ultimate degree
of impact on student academic experience depends on the
quality of the environment that a student is leaving behind
at home, the quality of the school and boarding program he
or she attends, the needs of the student, and the attitude and
motivation of the student toward learning.
Implications and Recommendations
I conducted this study on an alternative to the traditional
school structure because neither public nor private school
structures or environments have changed much since their
inception. One of the main reasons for conducting this study
is because I believe that school districts and administrators
should consider other alternatives for students who do not
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
succeed in the regular day school environment, as well as
for parents and students who are seeking other schooling
alternatives. Boarding schools are proposed as just one such
option.
After doing this study, my recommendations to school
district administrators and parents would be to consider cre-
ating the boarding school environment for students who
are not succeeding in the traditional day school environ-
ment. I would especially recommend a quality boarding en-
vironment for students whose home situations do not pro-
vide healthy environments for the student’s physical, social,
emotional, or educational well-being, for students who need
more structure and discipline, students who need to develop
a sense of independence, and students who desire ongoing
opportunities for social interaction and activity. Students
fitting these descriptions have been successful at Douglas.
Most of the implications of attending boarding school
are positive; however, there is one negative that should be
noted. When students come away from their home cultures
and backgrounds, especially when they leave a home life
far different than that of the schools they attend, they risk
losing some of their old culture for their boarding school ex-
perience. When students are acculturated into the boarding
school environment, they risk no longer blending into their
families and friendships they formerly held, which may cause
their foundational relationships to suffer.
Implication for Urban Youth
As noted in the previous research and in the review of
literature, boarding schools pose an excellent alternative to
for urban students who come from culturally poor and unsta-
ble homes. The structure of the boarding school is designed
to provide students with capital benefits that they would
not otherwise benefit from unless there is some form of in-
tervention. These capital benefits may not only serve as an
equalizer, but also protect urban students from becoming
part of negative statistics—as indicated by the urban youth
whose quote begins this analysis. Even still, most youth will
never choose to go away to boarding institutions.
31
Separation from home culture may pose an insurmount-
able obstacle for some urban African American students or
other students from high poverty populations. The focus on
the relational dimension of in the African American culture
or the culture of poverty may prevent students and their fam-
ilies from choosing boarding schools as an option. They may
view students who attend boarding school as being willing to
trade home and family for education. People in this category
are sometimes referred to race traitors or sell-outs—neither
of which is a badge of honor. For some African Ameri-
can urban youth, remaining uneducated is a more palatable
option than being viewed as a traitor to the race and no
longer fitting in. Therefore, the boarding school environ-
ment may not be the most appropriate alternative for every
child; however, programs that seek to emulate the elements
of the boarding school environment that makes Douglas and
other schools successful may produce similar results. Simi-
larly, parents can also be called on to reproduce elements
of the boarding school environment that promote success as
well.
Another option less costly than program implementation,
creative scheduling, or changes in curriculum is to manip-
ulate the home environment variable. Parents overwhelm-
ingly want the best for their children, but sometimes fall
short in knowing how to deliver it in matters of education.
This is especially true of parents who are less educated or
who were themselves unsuccessful in school, or who grew up
in a home that was not supportive of academic achievement.
Parent education classes may be effective in such cases. In
these classes, parents could learn the importance of structure
and scheduling in the home, a quiet time and place desig-
nated for homework, support structures such as tutors or an
older brother or sister in place where necessary, the need
for their children to become involved in extracurricular ac-
tivities, productive ways to spend the summer, information
on free or low-cost activities and services offered by the lo-
cal school district and community, transportation options to
these activities, and the need for proper rest and a healthy
diet. It is also important to explain to parents that such op-
portunities for their children may lead to opportunities for
their children to befriend children who can add to the qual-
ity of their social network. If parents are willing and able
to provide these things for their children, they would enjoy
the advantage of experiencing many of the aspects of the
boarding school structure that disadvantaged children have
been unable to benefit from.
NOTES
1. I refer to African American, Native American, Pacific Islander, and
Hispanic students in this analysis when discussing underachieving students
of color throughout this article.
2. Public boarding schools can be started as charter schools and receive
district funding, donations, and grants to cover the additional expenses
such as housing, staffing, and food related to the boarding school structure.
3. Boarding and residential schools may be used interchangeably to
discuss schools that provide housing for students. Students who attend
boarding or residential schools live on the school’s campus in a situation
 32
similar to living on a college campus. The difference is that students have
less freedom in K–12 residential schools.
REFERENCES
Ascher, C. (1991). School programs for African American male students.
Equity and Choice, 8(1), 25–29.
Astone, N. M., Nathanson, C. A., Schoen, R., & Kim, Y. J. (1999). Family
demography, social theory, and investment in social capital. Population
and Development Review, 25(1), 1–31.
Bacon, P., Jr. (2004, January 12). Urban preppies. Time, pp.
61–62. Retrieved from http://www.seedfoundation.com/wp-content/
uploads/2004/01/Time-1-12-042.pdf
Bailey, D., & Paisley, P. (2004). Developing and nurturing excellence in
African American male adolescents. Journal of Counseling and Develop-
ment, 82, 11–17. Retrieved from ERIC Database. (EJ698323)
Banks, J. A. (2003). Multicultural education: Historical development, di-
mensions, and practices. In J. A. Banks & C. M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook
of research in multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 3–29), San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
Bass, L., & Gerstl-Pepin, C. (2011). Declaring bankruptcy on educational
inequity. Educational Policy, 25, 908–934.
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge, MA: Cam-
bridge College Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1983). The field of cultural production, or: The economic
world reversed. Poetics, 12, 311–356.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. C. Richardson (Ed.), Hand-
book of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258).
New York, NY: Greenwood Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1987). What makes a social class? On the theoretical
and practical existence of groups. Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 32, 1–
17.
Brantlinger, E. (2003). Dividing classes: how the middle class negotiates and
rationalizes school advantage. New York, NY: Routledge/Falmer.
Bushweller, K. (1996). International comparisons: How do U.S. schools
stack up? And are world rankings really fair and accurate? Retrieved from
http://www.asbj.com/achievement/aa/aa2.html
CBS News (Producer). (2010, September 5). How the SEED school
is changing lives [Television news segment and transcript]. In
60 Minutes. New York, NY: CBS Interactive. Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560 162-6506911.html
Clark, K. B. (1965). Dark ghetto: Dilemmas of social power. Hanover, NH:
Wesleyan Press.
Coleman, J. S. (1966). Equal schools or equal students? The Public Interest,
4(2), 70–75.
Coleman, J. C. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital.
American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120.
Delpit, L. (2006). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom.
New York, NY: New Press.
DiMaggio, P. (1982). Cultural capital and school success: The impact of
status culture participation on the grades of U.S. high school students.
American Sociological Review, 47, 189–201.
Fryer, R. G. (2003). An economic approach to cultural capital. Unpublished
manuscript, University of Chicago.
Goldthorpe, J. H. (1996). Class analysis and the reorientation of class
theory: The case of persisting differentials in educational attainment.
British Journal of Sociology, 47, 481–512.
Granville, G. (2002). A review of intergenerational practice in the UK. Stoke-
on-Trent, UK: Centre for Intergenerational Practice, Beth Johnson
Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.centreforip.org.uk/research.htm
Gutman, L., McLoyd, V. C., & Tokoyawa, T. (2005). Financial strain,
neighborhood stress, parenting behaviors, and adolescent adjustment in
urban African American families. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15,
425–449.
Harman, D. (2004, June 15). The little class that could. Christian Science
Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com
Hawkins, B. D. (1997). Bloom & board: Black school helps students blossom
away from home. Black Issues in Higher Education, 14(14), 18–20.
Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life and work in communities
and classrooms. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hilliard, A. G., III. (1990). Limitations of current academic achieve-
ment measures. In Going to school: The African-American experience
(pp. 135–142). Albany: State University of New York Press.
The Journal of Educational Research
Jackson, J. F. L., & Moore, J. L., III. (2008). Introduction: The African
American male crisis in education: A popular media infatuation or
needed public policy response? [Electronic version]. American Behavioral
Scientist, 51, 847–853.
Johnson, M. (1980). Inservice education: Priority for the ‘80s. Syracuse,
NY: National Dissemination Center. Retrieved from ERIC database.
(ED191839).
Kaplan, M. S. (2001). School-based intergenerational programs. Ham-
burg, Germany: UNESCO Institute for Education. Retrieved from
http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/pdf/schoolbasedip.pdf
Kerka, S. (2003). Intergenerational learning and social capital. Retrieved
from ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education.
(ED478947).
Ladson-Billings, G. (2007). Third annual Brown lecture in educa-
tion research- the flat earth and education: How America’s commit-
ment to equity will determine our future. Educational Researcher, 36,
318–334.
Levine, S. B. (1980). The rise of American boarding schools and the de-
velopment of a national upper class. Social Problems, 28(1), 63–94.
Loewen, J. (1996). Intergenerational learning: What if schools were places
where adults and children learned together? Retrieved from ERIC Database.
(ED404014).
Lomax, M. L. (2003). A letter: Keeping a legacy alive [Letter to the editor].
Black Issues in Higher Education, 20(16), 5.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An
expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Miller, L. (1995). Chicago plans boarding school as safe alter-
native. Education Week, 14(11). Retrieved from www.edweek.org/
ew/articles/1994/11/1611board.h14.html
Moore, J. L. III, & Herndon, M. K. (Eds.). (2003). African-American men
in the academy. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 12, 1–2.
Ogbu, J. (1992). Adaptation to minority status and impact on school suc-
cess. Theory into Practice, 31, 287–295.
Ogbu, J. (1994). Racial stratification and education in the United States:
Why inequality persists. Teachers College Record, 96, 264–298.
Ogbu, J. (2004). Collective identity and the burden of “acting white”
in black history, community, and education. The Urban Review, 36,
1–35.
Ogbu, J., & Wilson, J., Jr. (1990). Mentoring minority youth: A framework.
New York, NY: Columbia University. Retrieved from ERIC database.
(ED354293)
Patton, M. Q. (2008). Utilization-focused evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Reed, W. L. (Ed.). (1990). Assessment of the status of African-Americans:
Vol. 4. Social, political and economic issues in Black America. Boston, MA:
William Monroe Trotter Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston.
Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED415312)
Roach, R. (2003). A rich but disappearing legacy: Remembering black
boarding schools. Black Issues in Higher Education, 20(13), 19–23.
Schools for Educational Evolution and Development (SEED). (2012a, Jan-
uary 20). WLWT/Newschannel 5 Cincinnati: Foundation would help
fund CPS boarding school [Press release]. Retreived from
Schools for Educational Evolution and Development (SEED). (2012b,
February 2). Cincinnati Enquirer: New boarding school outlines
Cincinnati plan [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.seed
foundation.com/index.php/cincinnati-enquirer-new-boarding-school-
outlines-cincinnati-plan
Silva, E., & Edwards, R. (2003, October). Operationalizing Bourdieu on capi-
tals: A discussion on the construction of the object. Paper presented at Open
University and the University of Manchester.
Slaughter, D., & Epps, E. (1987). The home environment and academic
achievement of Black American children and youth: An overview. Jour-
nal of Negro Education, 56(1), 3–20.
Somers, C., Owens, D., & Piliawsky, M. (2008). Individual and social factors
related to urban African American adolescents’ school performance. High
School Journal, 91(3), 1–11.
Spring, J. (2003). American education (11th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill.
Spring, J. (2007). American education (13th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill.
Sullivan, A. (2001). Cultural capital and educational attainment. Sociology,
35, 893–912.
Tatum, B. D. (2003). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?:
And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books.
 The Journal of Educational Research 33

Varlas, L. (2005). Bridging the widest gap. Education Update, 47(8). Yin, R. K. (2002). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thou-
Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.c97770c sand Oaks, CA: Sage.
239d90bdeb85516f762108a0c/
Weatherford, C. B. (2000). An overnight solution. Education Week,
19(26). Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2000/03/08/
26weatherford.h19.html AUTHOR NOTE
Webb, J., Shirato, T., & Danaher, G. (2002). Understanding Bourdieu. Lon-
don, UK: Sage. Lisa R. Bass is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Wingert, P. (2004, May 31). Charter school: One hundred percent success.
Newsweek, p. 10. Leadership, Policy and Adult and Higher Education at North
Winston, C., Eccles, J., Senior, A., & Vida, M. (1997). The utility of Carolina State University. Her research interests include
expectancy/value and disidentification models for understanding ethnic alternative urban school reform, ethics, equity, poverty,
group differences in academic performance and self-esteem. Zeitschrift
für Pädagogische Psychologie/German Journal of Educational Psychology, 11, and school climate variables as relates to educational
177–186. leadership.
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015
 34 The Journal of Educational Research

APPENDIX A
Student Survey and Interview Questions

Questions will address: bkgd = background, cultural capital = cult cap, edu cap = education capital, soc cap = social
capital. Each is indicated in parenthesis after the question.
1. Where are you from? (bkgd)
2. How did select this school? (bkgd)
3. How do you feel about being a student of this school? (bkgd)
4. What is your favorite part about being here? Why? (bkgd, or soc, cult, and/or edu)
5. What do you like least? Why? (bkgd)
6. Do you feel that you are better off here than at a regular day school? Why? (bkgd, or soc, cult, and/or edu)
7. Besides sleeping away from home, what is the biggest difference between this school and day schools that you have
gone to? (bkgd, or soc, cult, and/or edu)
8. What is different about how you spend your time outside of classes here and if you were in day school? (cult cap, soc
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015

cap, edu cap)

9. What types of outside/extra-curricular activities do you participate in here? Would you have participated in the same
number of activities at your regular day school? (cult cap)
10. Do you feel like you get more help here than at your day school? What type of extra help do you get? (edu cap)
11. How is your relationship with your teachers? Staff members? Dorm parents? Other students? Does the boarding
environment impact this? (soc cap)
12. Do you feel that you have a role model or mentor here? (soc cap)
13. Do you think you will go to college? Which one? Do you think you would have gone if you would have attended
regular day school? (edu cap)
14. What do you want to be when you grow up? (cul/edu cap)
15. How were your grades before coming to this school? How are they now? (edu cap)
16. Do you feel that the work is harder here? (edu cap)

APPENDIX B
Interview Questions for Teachers

Questions will address: bkgd = background, cultural capital = cult cap, edu cap = education capital, soc cap = social
capital. Each is indicated in parenthesis after the question.
1. How many years of teaching experience do you have in teaching? Have you taught in day schools before? (bkgd)
2. How do you feel about teaching in a boarding school? Why did you select this? (bkgd)
3. Did you attend boarding schools? (bkgd)
4. Describe your duties other than teaching? Describe your typical work week. (cult cap, soc cap, edu cap)
5. Do you feel the extra evening duties make a difference in the lives of your students? (cult cap, soc cap, edu cap)
6. Do you feel closer to the kids than if you had your students only in day school? (soc cap)
7. How do you see your at-risk students growing and changing as a direct result of being in the boarding school? Can you
cite specific examples?
8. Describe the characteristics of the student do you believe benefits most from the structure of boarding schools? (cult
cap, soc cap, edu cap)
9. How do you believe the school could be improved? (bkgd)
 The Journal of Educational Research 35

APPENDIX C
Interview or Questionnaire Questions for Administrators

Questions will address: bkgd = background, cultural capital = cult cap, edu cap = education capital, soc cap = social
capital. Each is indicated in parenthesis after the question.
1. What brought you to this school? (bkgd)
2. Have you worked in other institutions? Other boarding or day schools? (bkgd)
3. Describe your job responsibilities. (bkgd, cult cap, soc cap, edu cap)
4. What do you see as the major strengths of the school? Weaknesses? (bkgd)
5. From what you know of boarding schools in this area, is this school typical? If not, what sets this school apart? (bkgd)
6. Do you chart the progress of your students from when they enter until they leave? (edu cap)
7. Besides grades, how is success measured? (bkgd, edu cap)
8. What percentage of your students go on to college after graduation? (edu cap)
9. What is your favorite aspect of working here? What are your least favorite aspects? (bkgd)
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 16:03 09 April 2015

10. How can things be improved at the school? (bkgd)

11. How are students expected to spend their time in the evenings, week-ends, or other free time? (cult cap, soc cap, edu
cap)
12. In your opinion, do students spend their time constructively? (cult cap, soc cap, edu cap)
13. What types of extra-curricular activities are offered to the students? How are they selected? (cult cap, soc cap, edu
cap)
14. What events or trips do you think students are able to enjoy being students here that they would probably not be
exposed to if they attended regular day school? (soc cap, edu cap)
15. How are staff/faculty relationships with students different here than at regular day schools? Can you cite some examples?
(soc cap)