Viennas2006InternationalConferenceonCulturalEconomics.docVIP

Vienna’s 2006 International Conference on Cultural Economics Jean Yves Leroux Université Montpellier III, Cemi, Route de Mende 34199 Montpellier Cedex 5 France Jean-yves.leroux3@wanadoo.fr Nathalie Moureau Université Montpellier III, Cemi, Route de Mende 34199 Montpellier Cedex 5 France et Université de Montpellier I Lameta Nathalie.moureau@univ-montp3.fr Cultural Education at School and Theatre Attendance An Evaluation of a French Theatre Workshop Summary Following Becker-Stiglers and Bourdieus research, the impact of human and cultural capital on cultural consumption and practices has become well known (Becker G. Stigler G., 1977 ; Bourdieu P., 1969). Although cultural capital may convey various meanings in economics (Throsby, 1999), it is used in this work in a narrow sense and is linked with individual experience and the “habitus” concept. Even if empirical testing of these ideas is prevalent, it remains confined to two areas. The first shows how past consumption affects the present (see for example Levy-Garboua L., Montmarquette C., 1994). The second stresses the role of sociological variables (for example Towse R., 1994). Only a few works analyse the role played by the academic system. The main purpose of our study is to observe to what extent theatre taught in school has lead children to have a higher theatre attendance than before. This study is based upon a French program called “Lectures en scènes.” This aims to familiarize young people with theatre, regardless of their social status, through theory and practice. We conducted a statistical survey among French pupils in the south of France in 2004. The survey was distributed to 22 classes (550 pupils). We show that among children who were involved in a theatre program only 13.8% have changed their attendance and there is an impact from their parents’ own attendance. 1) Introduction The numerous audience surveys that exist on cultural services consumption underline the link existing between a high