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Introduction: In the digital era, the role of family in education is increasingly prominent. While cultural capital theory offers a framework for understanding educational inequality, the dynamic conversion of new forms of family cultural capital, such as digital resources, into student learning engagement remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining the mediating role of parental educational involvement in this process, providing a nuanced understanding of how family resources translate into academic advantages. Methods: This study utilized a questionnaire survey method, collecting data from 610 parents of primary and middle school students in Eastern China. The scales for Family Cultural Capital (FCC), Parental Educational Involvement (PEI), and Student Learning Engagement (LE) demonstrated good reliability and validity. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, the Bootstrap method for mediation testing, latent profile analysis (LPA), and multi-group analysis. Findings: < 0.001). (2) Parental educational involvement partially mediates this relationship, with the mediating effect accounting for 45.1% of the total effect. (3) Latent profile analysis identified three distinct family profiles: "Resource-Poor," "Digital Emerging," and "All-Round." (4) The relationship between variables is moderated by urban-rural differences and grade level. Specifically, the conversion of cultural capital into parental involvement is more efficient in urban families, while the impact of parental involvement on learning engagement is stronger in rural families. For lower-grade students, the effect of cultural capital is primarily mediated by parental involvement, whereas for higher-grade students, the direct influence of cultural capital becomes more prominent. Discussion: The findings extend Bourdieu's cultural capital theory by incorporating digital capital and revealing the dynamic, context-dependent nature of its influence. The study underscores the critical role of active parental involvement as a mechanism for resource conversion and highlights how this process varies across different social contexts and developmental stages. These insights offer valuable guidance for parents, schools, and policymakers aiming to foster educational equity.
Zang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.