Education And Social Inequality

The inequality of education in the United States is a pressing societal issue that has been the main catalyst for the division between the social classes. Education is a public good, and thus if it used by one consumer then it will not reduce the availability to another consumer. Education can also be considered the largest single factor in determining a person’s success and quality of life in society today.

Outline and assess the view that the role of education system is to justify and reproduce social inequalities (50)

is through socioeconomic status. According to Sean Reardon, a main outcome of the widening income gap for families has been a widening gap in achievement among children, which he refers to as the income achievement gap (Reardon, 2011). Therefore, the children of the poor remain at an educational disadvantage when their parents’ income becomes as much of a predictor of their educational achievements, as their parents’ educational obtainment. To emphasize the results of the income achievement gap, Reardon states, “As the children of the rich do better in school, and those who do better in school are more likely to become rich, we risk producing an even more unequal and economically polarized society” (Reardon, 2011, p. 111). For example, as standardized testing shifted towards standardized achievement testing to determine a student’s academic achievement, parental investment in their children’s cognitive development began to increase. Educational disparities occur when affluent families can very easily afford tutoring outside of the classroom for their children to perform highly, while children being raised in impoverished homes are at a disadvantage, and at a lower chance of doing well on these exams. This becomes problematic when SAT reading, math, and writing scores increase with income as exemplified by the disproportionately small amount of minority students in higher education (Brand lecture,

Our culture is spoon fed the idea that education equals opportunity, yet the education available to the lower-class thwarts growth. On the other hand, education offered to the upper class is rich with freedom

People are told that getting an education will make them successful in life. That is not the case. Jean Anyon conducted a study on the four different schools in different social-class. In the article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” Jean Anyon states, “In the two working-class schools, work is following the steps of a procedure. The teacher rarely explains why the work is being assigned and how it might connect to other assignments” (2). Students are not taught to think for themselves. They are taught to follow their parent’s footsteps into the work force as very low skilled workers. Compared to the students in the capitalist class where they are taught to use their own knowledge and reason to solve problems. The students in the executive elite schools are given a better chance in succeeding in life.

While America continues to battle racial inequality, the education gap in our country continues to spike. The most influential growth has been the importance of education over the years. A high school diploma will not allow an individual to climb the ladder of success without attaining a Bachelor’s degree or some form of proper education. Education in America is considered to be valuable and an important dimension of one’s life. Researchers state that there is a definite link between the individual’s zip code and their chances of success (Ireland, 2016). Individuals are often ranked based on the kind of degree and education one possesses. In America, researchers have stated in order to be “accepted” as a member in a status group it requires certain credentials (Ireland, 2016). Several see education as a key to maintain status and prestige, because individuals believe by attaining an education allows them to advance in society. Researchers then state that attaining a proper education benefits the class structure by

Throughout the world, there have been continuous attempts to reform education at all levels. With different causes that are deeply rooted in history, society, and culture, this inequality is difficult to eradicate. Although difficult, education is vital to society’s movement forward. It promotes “citizenship, identity, equality of opportunity and social inclusion, social cohesion as well as economic growth and employment” and for these reasons, equality should be promoted (Shrivastava,67).

Education still remains the institution that indorses equality of opportunities in America society as the textbook explains. Even though education diminishes inequality among individuals with different backgrounds, inequality still exists in the sense that not everyone who graduates from high school has the same opportunity to attend college. Individuals born into wealthy family will have more opportunities in attending college compared to someone born to a poor family. Although, opportunities are more limited in America, having education will compensate those that do well in school by rewarding them with life opportunities. Social class, race, and gender play a major role for education success, experiences, and outcomes.

The achievement gap between rich and poor is extending. In the 1970’s, African Americans had nowhere near the amount of education opportunities as whites did. Thanks to desegregation, by 2012, there was a 50% decrease compared to 35 years ago. Why stop at 50% through? American society is dragged down by racial disputes, but race is no longer the main issue of education. Education is a necessity in society due to its application to one 's occupation. A surgeon must study human anatomy like a bus driver needs to be educated on driving in order to drive students to the schools. The choice of someone 's study and their level of education impacts the jobs they receive. A graduate in the field of psychology should result in a job as a psychologist. “And yet American higher education is increasingly the preserve of the elite” (Porter, 2015). Children of college graduates are twice as likely to attend college than a high school graduate, and seven times more likely than a high school drop-out’s child. The origination of the problem is not, however, in the academics of college and high school. According to “Too Many Children Left Behind” by Russell Sage, the day kindergarten begins, children from families of low socioeconomic status are generally a year behind the privileged individuals in subjects such as reading and writing. Even the children of the lower class who are extremely intellectual eventually fall

One way to see inequality is through capital. Education creates three types of capital: human, cultural, and social (Roy, lecture 10). Professor Roy explains that human capital is knowledge, cultural capital consists of a “hidden curriculum” like

The association between social class and education can only be denied by those willing to contest that civilization leaves its remnants to disparate communities. We as a society place standards and expectations to education that result in potential power, wealth, and intelligence. Due to this relationship, we pertain to a society who runs on tainted mechanisms and values today. No longer are institutions preoccupied with education, but with their own success and wealth. Money is highly regarded, those of the lower class are rejected, and children are left to deal with their grievances alone.

Education has undergone many rhetorical and definitional changes since its creation; the explicit purpose of teaching the masses, particularly in the framework of public schooling, has varied from culture to culture. At its core, though, the aim is simple: to efficiently construct productive members of a society. This effort has to encompass so much of the values of said societies that it becomes impossible for educational institutions to avoid the influence of larger institutions. Within these constraints comes the effect of social reproduction. This institutional byproduct of education rooted in societal values guarantees that students who come from lower income backgrounds are fated to experience this existence as adults, whereas students from higher income families have the advantages to follow in the footsteps of their parents. Without deeply studying and working to reverse social reproduction, our current educational system is the story of history repeating itself.

These legislation acts were intended to equalize the educational opportunity to all students, however, it fostered a social inequality. This educational institutions reinforces and continues social inequalities from differences in class, race and ethnicity. The self-fulfillment of one’s education is closely linked to their social class, meaning that if education is the social norm in the family or community, one is obligated to fill the tradition. On the other hand, if one’s socioeconomic status is low, making it difficult to afford the same opportunity as the individual of higher status, regardless of their unique academic ability or desire to learn. These barriers placed on higher educational institutions that does not merely undermine the

Education in America has been on the decline in comparison to that of other industrialized nations. The education system that children are a part of now does not compare to where their education should be. However, the value placed on education is also something that has changed dramatically. In the United States, education is made out to be very important, but because it is a given right to get an education, many individuals take this concept for granted. However, in other countries, especially those not as developed as the United States, education is the only way to succeed (Cook & Cook, 2009). Education in the United States is supposed to the social class equalizer. Children are all supposed to develop at a healthy intellectual rate because schooling is supposed to be equal for all. But the truth is vastly different. A well-rounded education in the United States is regionalized to certain areas, mostly those with the most financial resources. That is, children who are unfortunate enough to grow up in lower social class neighborhoods will not get the same caliber of education as those children growing up in rich neighborhoods (Cook & Cook, 2009).

In Samuel Bowel’s and Herbert Gintis’ Education and Inequality, Bowels and Gintis investigate how education in the United States is unequal, especially to those indivduals who are financially unstable. In today’s extremely judgmental society, many are at a disadvantage based solely on their class, race, sex, etc. The quality of one’s education is compromised for a number of unfair reasons having to do with artificial inequalities.