Social Class, Stratification, Social Mobility And Inequality

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

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

Although many institutions host programs and initiatives that foster student interaction through academic and social support activities, much more can be done to enhance students’ awareness and acceptance of anti-classism attitudes and behavior. For institutions that serve large numbers of first-generation students, such as HBCUs, this imperative is especially urgent. An example of an innovative effort to better support first-generation and other underserved populations and to expose the campus to the class concept is Dartmouth’s as implementation of a program call Class Divide (Class Action, n. d.) to teach about class through the arts.

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.

‘Non-traditional’ students chose a post-1994 university because of its student body. They were attracted to the institution due to its mature students, the ethnic diversity, and the university was not considered as an elite institution. The existence of a significant number of other ‘non-traditional’ students did certainly give them a greater sense of belonging. However, the conception of ‘otherness’ still does not diminish when the students have participated in the university.

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.

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

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

This article could be found quite similar with the first one as it talks about social classes and its development in education, and looks at the ways in which experiences and constraints of social class were experienced and 'storied' by a group of non-traditional students in higher education. It starts out with reflections on the current status -- or rather absence -- of class as a key category of critical analysis in adult learning. Then, it examines briefly the question of class in the context of mass higher education.

Furthermore, even with cultural capital such as a disposable income, a lack of parental resources may leave students incompetent in navigating social institutions. I seek to understand how this constrain penetrates the student’s relationship with their parents and changes over time. Additionally, I am interested in how new cultural capital endowments affects this relationship. How do the upwardly mobile students identify with their parents while straddling social class and education identities? If a meritocratic ethos is a defining feature of the student’s and parent’s conceptualization of upward mobility, how is educational social stratification perceived? This relationship can be analyzed by considering the social structure of the institutions and how the micro level experiences are shaped by activated cultural capital and the possibility of attaining macro level

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.

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.

When new college students arrive on campus each year, they do not check their social class at the university gates; instead, students’ social class remains an important part of their identity and informs their experiences and interactions on campus (Barratt, 2011; Mullen, 2010). Hurst (2010) stated that the working-class students may experience a sense of culture shock as they encounter the middle-class culture of higher education. Related to this situation, Borrego (2001) stated that “students who come from a working-class or poor background often describe a sense of bewilderment about the educational environment, more often related to the social codes and norms than actual coursework” (p. 31). Little is known about the factors that may place working-class students at a heightened risk for attrition and noncompletion of their college degrees (Braxton, 2000; Soria, 2012, Stebleton, & Huesman, 2013-2014); therefore, the larger goal of this research is to learn more about the experiences of working-class students at a university. We aim to investigate the reasons why they are working, the advantages and disadvantages of working-class students, and what are the struggles they encounter. Furthermore, in

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.