Education Influencing Social Class

Education plays an important role in social classification. To understand how education plays a role, you must first know the levels of social class. Social classes are determined by the education you received, the job you hold, the money you have and the people you socialize with. Sociologist Max Weber introduced three factors that determined social class. They are class, which determines a persons place in society, power, defined as a person’s ability to get what they want, and status, the amount of prestige or social clout one may have. These were later divided into subclasses. They are the upper class, or the elite, the middle class, and the lower class which is basically poverty level.
The level of education that an individual receives

It is suggested that teachers and educational institutions judge pupils by characteristics that relate to their social class rather than their intelligence or ability to do the work. One study has shown that teachers report that after only eight (8) days they have a student in their class, they can predict the level of schooling and will “label” each student. It is the lower class students who feel demoralized and give up without even trying to succeed. With no support from family, most of these students start school unable to read, test poorly, and are absent a lot. You will find that there are programs in place to help the lower class achieve higher education, such as federal grants and loans, and are more advertised in poor populations. By the time these students are eligible, they are unmotivated or disadvantaged and unwilling to accept help. Some may have family obligations they are required to handle or have to work meaningless jobs to pay the bills. The amount of inequality in social class starts in elementary school and becomes broader as they move through the school system. At the high school level, you will find that most lower class students have dropped out leaving just the middle and upper class students