Although families had a variety of basic materials to support literacy in their home such as pens, pencils, dictionaries and books, often these were not readily accessible to the children or were limited. Even scrap paper was found to be scarce in these homes, although Andrea was able to compromise for her children by offering them her envelopes for writing and drawing pictures.

Insufficient finances also limits access to educational resources including modern technology, such as purchasing a home computer or household resources like books and newspapers (Roscigno & Ainsworth–Darnell, 1999). These are considered to be the educational tools that are commonplace in school. When compared to the middle class, those from low–income situations have no or only limited access outside of school and often no experience with them prior to school entry. This exposure to "other worlds of possibility" (Key, 1998, p.10), is a way of increasing their cultural capital.

Another factor for low–income families is transportation restrictions. They may lack a personal vehicle and the public transportation system is limited and inadequate for their needs. Thus, it is difficult to explore the world beyond their neighbourhood and the families rely on their children being able to attend events sponsored by the church or the youth club because these groups offer transportation from their neighbourhood. The number and variety of events offered, however, were described to be limited.

Bourdieu and Passeron (1979) elaborate upon the interaction between culture and education, stating that cultural capital contributes to social reproduction in education. In our society, cultural attributes and practices such as trips to the museums, music or art classes and dance lessons are highly valued and are considered important for enhancing academic skills. These activities, however, are either too costly for the low–income families or not available in the neigbourhood of these children, so are inaccessible to them.