Integration of ethnic minorities into society is often operationalized as participation in various societal institutions. Examples are cultural, political and labour participation. On the basis of the theoretical concepts of social and cultural capital as proposed by sociologists Bourdieu and Coleman, it is often hypothesized that greater parental participation in society will generally lead to a better educational position for the children of such parents. To test this hypothesis, descriptive and multi-level analyses were conducted using data from the Dutch cohort study Primary Education. The sample included information on nearly 11,000 kindergarten students (6-year-olds) from almost 600 primary schools. In the analyses, ethnic minority parents and their children were compared to native Dutch parents and their children. After controlling for parental socio-economic and ethnic background, the results showed an effect of cultural participation only on language and mathematics skills. No effects on non-cognitive outcomes, such as social position, individual well-being or self-confidence, were found.