Visits to cultural learning places in the early childhood

Studies show the important role of the home learning environment in early childhood for later school success. This article focuses on a particular aspect of the home learning environment: visits to cultural learning places (e.g. museums) as a component of the quality of the home learning environment. Therefore the educational concept of educational quality in family settings and the sociological concept of cultural capital were combined. The question is how often parents visit cultural learning places with their children and what aspects influence this participation. Data are from the German longitudinal study BiKS-3-10 (N = 554 children and their families). Multivariate regression analyses show that parental educational beliefs and high cultural resources in the families are relevant factors for the visits to cultural learning places. Socioeconomic background variables are less important. The results are discussed with respect to practical and political issues.