Social Class, Stratification, Social Mobility And Inequality

In his work entitled “The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts”, journalist and author Alfred Lubrano poses the question of how receiving education can lead to a harsh reality. Lubrano explains that as a child works toward a higher education, there are certain aspects of life they are forced to leave behind as they enter into a new existence. According to Lubrano’s statement, “At night, at home, the differences in the Columbia experiences my father and I were having was becoming more evident” (532). Additionally, Lubrano states, “We talked about general stuff, and I learned to self-censor. I’d seen how ideas could be upsetting, especially when wielded by a smarmy freshman who barely knew what he was talking about” (533). In answering this question, Lubrano must explore the types of conversations that occurred with other family members, the disconnection from his peers, and how segregating himself from his family

In the novel, Zeitoun, Kathy tried many times to convince Zeitoun into evacuating, when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Unfortunately she was unsuccessful, and therefore he stayed in the city through the hurricane. The novel, explains Zeitoun’s obstinate refusal to evacuate from New Orleans with his wife and children during the hurricane. “[Zeitoun's] grandmother had stayed put during countless storms in her home on Arwad Island, and he planned to do the same. A home was worth fighting for.”(Zeitoun, 70, Eggers). Despite the fact that a house is may seem replaceable, this is actually symbolic of assimilation in the United States, just like Zeitoun’s grandmother refused to leave her house during many storms on Award Island, Zeitoun's has now settled in New Orleans and he is not planning on leaving.

The definition of courage according to the Canadian Dictionary is “the strength of mind to control fear and act firmly in the face of danger or difficulties. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, courage represents a different definition. It is said by the character Atticus Finch that courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what” (ch. 11 pg. 128). Courage shines throughout the character's Aunt Alexandra, Arthur (Boo) Radley, and Atticus Finch. These three characters show the most courage because even through hard times they keep their ground and do not show any source of anger or fear.

In this country, a college education is still vital. For many first generation students it makes the difference between continued poverty or the means of a much improved life. Yet once these students reach the campus of the typical Historically Black Colleges and Universities they are likely to be faced with what might seem like an impenetrable wall of resistance in the form of classist practices commonly found at must universities. As Fulwood (2012) suggests that in order to counteract classism, changes must be made in the systems which perpetuate it. Some of these systems mentioned earlier are the media, “White Privilege”, the economic system, government, and education institutions themselves. We must look at those policies,

Pierre Bourdieu (1997:314) argued that the success of an individual depended on their Cultural Capital. Bourdieu argued that working class pupils lack cultural capital to achieve success in the education system. Bourdieu claims that a major role of the education system is the social function of elimination. Material resources alone are not acceptable enough in attaining academic success; the right amount of cultural capital will help us gain our qualifications. Children who were already equipped with this leading

Recent statistics highlight the strong relationships between parental social class and educational achievement at GCSE level, in addition to the likelihood of pupils eligible for free school meals to be less successful at GCSE level and Level 3 qualifications than those not eligible (DfE, 2011; Lupton & Thompson, 2015; DfE, 2016a). Furthermore, the link between levels of social class and participation in higher education is well documented, with those individuals from lower class backgrounds less likely to access higher education (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2015; DfE, 2016b; Bathmaker, et al., 2013). Moreover, research conducted by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission (2013) found that 70% of people surveyed agreed that a good education was key to getting a good job, yet almost half thought it remained unlikely for most children from lower income families, with 65% of those surveyed regarding ‘who you know’ as more important than ‘what you know’. In short, the dominant power within an educational setting is held by those in higher social class positions.

Although the family is the primary field in which a child gains cultural capital, Bourdieu claimed that this becomes institutionalized in the education system. When evaluating educational capital, he explains that it is not simply a result of schooling, but states that “academic capital is in fact the guaranteed product of the combined effects of cultural transmission by the family ad cultural transmission by the school (the efficiency of which depends on the amount of cultural capital directly inherited from the family).” (Bourdieu, 1996, p. 23). In addition, Bourdieu pointed out that although schools claim to be meritocratic institutions that judge based on individual aptitudes, they are actually duplicating social stratification by basing rewards on cultural capital and hereditary privileges. In this way, the education system is unfair because it duplicates existing social

Schools are also the sites were individuals are able to exchange cultural capital inherited from their family to another form of capital: academic capital (which is typically measured in the duration of school received). To elaborate, the types of cultural capital that is valued by educational institutions are almost second nature to dominant class children, who are inculcated with that cultural capital both at home and in the classroom. This leads to greater educational success and cumulates to greater advantage. However, children of lower classes are less likely to have the elite forms of cultural capital and thus will have lower rates of success in educational settings. So, while dominant class children are able to transfer their cultural

Individuals within a society are grouped into certain rankings that is based on their wealth, income, race and education known as the social stratification. Sociologist use this to determine the social standings of individuals within a society. Social stratification can also appear in much smaller groups. These groups such as the work place, schools, and businesses can “take the form of a distribution of power and authority down the ranks”. (Cole, 2017) The Caste system is also another form of stratification that one does not get a choice in. They are born into it and regardless of their talents will hold positions that are given to them their whole life. Social mobility is the ability for individuals to move about their social standings.

The societal class that college attendees belong to has always had the stigma of being the “haves” of society. In recent years; however, many who attend college come from

50). According to other researchers, the challenges that working class students face may be the direct result of their social class and cultural backgrounds, which include weak academic preparation and personal values and behaviors that both positively and negatively affect their ability to navigate educational institutions, achieve as learners, and persist in their educational pursuits (Kohn, 1977; Lareau,

Race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, citizenship status, phenotype, language, ability status, etc. are all things that generate certain privileges and/or disadvantages for educational access and opportunity. Race/ethnicity, gender, etc. also shape our human, cultural, and social capital. Human capital is the education, training, health, and investments we have. Social capital is the social networks we have at our disposal. Cultural capital is an accumulation of cultural knowledge, skills, and abilities that are possessed and passed on by privileged groups in society (2017). In my situation, my ethnicity, gender, citizenship status, and language have shaped my human, cultural and social capital.

Capital is defined by sociologists as the resources that people have that makes them more valuable in various settings. There is a potent thrust toward social reproduction that is represented by the quality and quantity of capital available to different classes that replicates their location in the social class system. A person’s college experience is affected by four types of capital: financial, social, human, and cultural, having it or lacking it can make or break one’s experience.

A new study found that 38 of America’s most elite colleges contain more students in the top 1% compared to the lower 60% of the income scale (Aisch). The relationship between Socioeconomic Class and higher education choice has a correlation one might miss. To know the effect class has on education and certain standings in society, one must know what this type of class is. Collegiate educational choices are influenced by Socioeconomic Class and class factors.

Is the correlation between social class and educational success truly acknowledged in America?  When Mantsios, in “Class in America,” asks, the question, “Which of these gifts might a high school graduate in your family receive, a corsage, a savings bond or a BMW” (304), he makes the point that definite socio-economic separations exist in our society. This separation has a direct effect on our educational success. He proves this by presenting myths and facts about the United States social classes. One study concludes that fewer than one in five people move out of their socio-economic status in which they are born (316). This is in direct relationship to the education they receive.