No one is going to rock up and tell you! How a hidden blend of family capitals facilitates access to and success in structured instrumental music education in Ireland

While the dominant orthodoxy within the field of educational research tends to document educational inequalities, it often fails to name the key drivers of advantage. By reflecting on core concepts of Bourdieu this article seeks to name the complex blend of parental capitals that enable access to and success in structured, extra-curricular activities (ECA) such as instrumental and vocal music education (IME). Besides the intrinsic benefits of IME, the article points to a particular extrinsic benefit that is unique to Ireland, in that performance is one of the essential activities on the Leaving Certificate (LC) music syllabus. This is important as it has implications for universal equality of access and opportunity. The research draws data from selected interviews conducted with mothers whose children were engaged in structured IME. In highlighting the often hidden and taken for granted capitals needed for IME access, the research also raises the issue of intra-class differences which can and do impact on outcome when navigating the structured IME market in Ireland. It also seeks to operate as a springboard for a set of broader theoretical arguments and highlights the role of institutional demands and material forces when considering the power of family capitals in this context.