Social Class Impact On Education

1475 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How social class effects education

How social class impacts education

In all the different social groups, class plays a key role in the attainment or success of children in education. In the educational system it is apparent that lower class children achieve lower attainment than those that come from a middle class background (Tzanakis, 2011: 79-86). It is believed or suggested that the educational system is biased and intended for the middle class children with no regard to the needs of the working class. Nonetheless, most researchers believe or think that the ‘range of ability’ in every social class is similar (Tzanakis, 2011: 79-86). This could mean that the educational achievement of the different classes are not due to intellectual level of the different classes, but more …show more content…

Certain parts of education are informal however the main parts are formal where the education takes place in schools, universities and colleges. Education is part of the development of socialisation and is a vital part of the social structure. Over a long period of time, several sociologists have studied youngsters’ attainment in education and established that gender, ethnicity, nor class can be accounted for as the only factor of affecting the educational attainment of learners (Siraj & Mayo: 24-36).

For the sociologist, Karl Marx, education is seen as a vital part of the superstructure of the society. It reproduces the social relations and inequalities of the creation of a capitalist society and it helps to legitimate those inequalities through the meritocracy myth (Siraj & Mayo: 24-36). Capitalism requires a motivated workforce and the education functions as the reproduction of labour/workforce power. This is provided through the concealed curriculum, which forms the next generation of labours by helping to produce an obedient workforce of passive, docile, and uncritical workers (Siraj & Mayo: …show more content…

Working-class failure occurs due to a faulty educational system and not the working-class culture (Siraj & Mayo: 24-36). The system is biased towards the dominant social class’s culture and devalues the skills and knowledge of the working-class (Siraj & Mayo: 24-36). The possession of the dominant culture is referred to as cultural capital since, through the educational system, this can be translated into power and wealth (Siraj & Mayo:

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Low Class In America By Gregory Mantsios

    955 Words  | 2 Pages

    (262). Dalton goes forth and argues no matter individuals are born into a gloomy social class; he or she can still can breack though and go up in class. Dalton’s idea could happen to anyone but, the possibility is very slim. It’s a hard reality a person in lower class doing proficient in school having the likely hood of attending a University and also a full ride. In reality, the group who has more resources has the greater opportunity than those with less assists.

    Read More

  • Class in Australia Today

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    (p1) Broadly speaking, class is about economic and social inequality… (p6) We have a tendency for groups of advanced people to congregate together, and groups of disadvantaged people to congregate so that inequalities persist from generation to generation.

    Read More

  • Jean Anyon Essay On Social Class

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    The work children are given in school is mostly based on the social class that the

    Read More

  • The Correlation between Education, Social Class and Success

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    Success. Society tends to correlate “success” with the obtainment of a higher education. But what leads to a higher education? What many are reluctant to admit is that the American dream has fallen. Class division has become nearly impossible to repair. From educations such as Stanford, Harvard, and UCLA to vocational, adult programs, and community, pertaining to one education solely relies on one’s social class. Social class surreptitiously defines your “success”, the hidden curriculum of what your socioeconomic education teaches you to stay with in that social class.

    Read More

  • The Dispossessed: What Is a Working Class?

    1174 Words  | 3 Pages

    but also that the members of this class have different values than that of the upper class and are

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social class should not be used to define a person. Every person has the ability to overcome the roadblocks that society has placed in their path, so long as they have the determination and motivation. In Gerald Graff’s article, “Hidden Intellectualism” , he explains how social class is irrelevant when it comes to education, despite what society will lead you to believe. He displays how everyone is intelligent in his or her own way.Lynda Barry during her article, “ The Sanctuary of School” spoke about the importance of education to her and many other students like her.Another writer, Mike Rose shows how despite the thoughts that society puts in our heads we can still be successful in his article “Blue Collar Brilliance”.Regardless of social

    Read More

  • Classism and Prejudice in Today´s Society

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s society people are viewed as being in different classes depending on how much money they bring in. The categorization of people is known as classism. Classism is simply the prejudice or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class. Classism is known as one of the largest social problems plaguing the world today. Classes are formed according to how the rules of the following institutions; government regulations and economic status. It is held in place by a system of beliefs and cultural attitudes that ranks people according to their; economic status, family lineage, job status, and level of education. There are three major classifications to which people are titled. They include upper or high class which includes the people with the most money. The middle class who includes the people that brings home the average income. Finally, the class titled the lower class that includes the people who have only one income coming in or none at all (“What Is Classism.”). In the classrooms these classes still remain and the students within each class have different ways in which they learn, and view schooling. We as educators have to look passed their ways and address each class the same.

    Read More

  • Cultural Capital and Social Reproduction

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jackson, B and Marsden, D (1966) Education and the working classes. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul plc.

    Read More

  • Willis Learning To Labour

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ‘lads’ placed themselves in the working- class group by rebelling against school. It is because of this that education is seen as a method of ‘working class reproduction’ for those students who appear to have accepted their fate of their

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination vs. Common Sense

    1814 Words  | 4 Pages

    Pierre B (1961) Culture Capital Cited, Taylor P ; Richardson Jr John; Yeo, A, (1995), The class structure and educational attainment, Sociology in Focus, pp.297, Ormskirk, Causeway Press.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement Many sociologists have tried to explore the link between social class and educational achievement, measuring the effects of one element upon the other. In order to maintain a definite correlation between the two, there are a number of views, explanations, social statistics and perspectives which must be taken into account. The initial idea would be to define the key terms which are associated with how "social class" affects "educational achievement." "Social class" is the identity of people, according to the work they do and the community in which they live in. "Educational achievement" is the tendency for some groups to do better or worse in terms of educational success.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Social Class on Educational Attainment

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s in the classroom for 1) the pupils to get used to me and 2)

    Read More

  • How Wealth Affects Education

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many different factors that affect education. One such factor is, socioeconomic status. Children who attend school in a wealthier community receive a better education than those students in poor communities. In poor communities, student’s education is not only affected by a lack of resources, but also from teaching methods and philosophies. Urban and poor schools’ students do not receive as equal of an education as their more affluent and suburban counterparts do.

    Read More

  • Socioeconomic Status And Education Essay

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    It can be argued that the academic performance of children has nothing to do with their socioeconomic status, because there have been many cases of children from very poor families who have excelled greatly in academics (APA, 2017). Furthermore, many predominantly high-end schools have posted poor results when compared to school with poorer backgrounds. This is despite the fact children from lower socioeconomic classes do not have access to the best forms of learning materials. The high performance of children from poor backgrounds is often attributed to the fact that they are not preoccupied with many activities which would otherwise hinder them from concentrating on their studies (Sacerdote, 2002). Therefore, some believe it is false to say that poor performance is associated with children who come from low socioeconomic classes. Rather, they believe academic achievement is genetic (Sacerdote, 2002).

    Read More

  • To What Extent Does Social Class Affect the Success and Experience of Young People in Education?

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    Social class has a major influence over the success and experience of young people in education; evidence suggests social class affects educational achievement, treatment by teachers and whether a young person is accepted into higher education. “34.6 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) achieved five or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs, compared to 62.0 per cent of all other pupils” (Attew, 2012). Pupils eligible for FSM are those whose families earn less than £16,000 a year (Shepherd, J. Sedghi, A. and Evans, L. 2012). Thus working-class young people are less likely to obtain good GCSE grades than middle-class and upper-class young people.

    Read More

More about Social Class Impact On Education

Open Document