Cultural Capital, Gradation of Taste and Identity: An Empirical Study Based on Art Education in China

Based on Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital, this study deeply analyzes the accumulation process of cultural capital, the phenomenon of taste stratification, the internal relationship between individual identity and its operational logic in the field of art education with the help of structural equation model. By analyzing the questionnaire data of 363 art graduate students and practitioners, it is found that: (1) family background will significantly affect the accumulation of cultural capital (Cohen's d = -0.344, p = 0.011)); (2) Cultural capital significantly shaped the grade of taste (β = 0.688, p < 0.001), which explained the variance of 43.9%; (3) Grade of taste strengthened identity (β = 0.731, p < 0.001), which explained 56.6% variance; (4) Grade of taste plays a significant part in mediating between cultural capital and identity, and the mediating effect accounts for 49.7% of the total effect. Sobel test (Z = 9.838, p < 0.001) and Bootstrap method (95% CI = [0.266,0.438]) verified the robustness of mediation effect. Digital cultural capital significantly shapes individual identity and has a significant impact on identity (β = 0.646, p < 0.001). This study verifies the applicability of Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital in China's art education, and the grading of taste as the key mechanism of cultural capital transformation. This discovery provides empirical support for understanding social stratification and identity construction in contemporary art field.