Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to explore how family resources affect academic achievement of arts school students from a viewpoint of sociology. Adapted Self-made questionnaire and collected data from two arts schools, the only two arts schools in Taiwan, 575 effective samples were used in the research. Cultural capital, social capital, and the parents’ socioeconomic status are used to explore academic and practical achievement of arts school students.

Through multiple regression statistical analysis, the study found that parental socioeconomic status and cultural capital have different effects for their children's academic achievement and the effects are very limited; the social capital outside the family has no affect on academic achievement of their children. Social capital in family has more significant impacts on children’s academic achievement, particularly in educational expectation and assistance. For educational expectation, mothers have negative influences on children’s academic achievement. But children’s self-expectations have positive effects on children’s academic achievement. In addition, supplementary education has more influences to children’s academic achievement in education assistance. But the above influences are totally different in academic and practical achievement of arts school students.Overall, our results showed that there were different effects from arts school to senior and vocation high school. According to the results, we offer some suggestions for future arts educational research.