Social Class Influence on Sports Participation

1155 Words3 Pages

Literature has shown there is a constructive correlation between an individuals socioeconomic status (SES) and their participation in sporting activities. This piece of writing will be defining the impact social class division has on the opportunities for an individual to participate in sport and leisure activities. Also the key aspects of the social class system within the United Kingdom, from the traditional methods of social stratification, to the modern 7 class system released in 2013 by the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC). The term 'Social Class' or 'Socioeconomic Groups' , refer to an individuals status within society. There are various factors which determine an individual's status, such as; income, family background and educational experiences. This socioeconomic status can be seen as a status hierarchy in which three main common social classes are informally accepted in the majority of societies: Upper Class, Middle Class and Working Class (Wesson et al, 2000). Torkildsen (2011) stated that the nature and definition of 'social class' is generally regarded as being problematic, as class not only relates to income or occupation but also upbringing and family background. "social class is often regarded as grouping on the basis of occupation, which is 'socioeconomic class' rather than social class" (Torkildsen, 2011 p.49). divine In modern society these 3 traditional social classifications, working, middle and upper class are outdated, fitting less than 40 percent of the United Kingdom's population. In April 2013 the British Broadcast Corporation introduced a new model for social classification, within the United Kingdom. Social class and socioeconomic groups traditionally have been defined by income, occupation and ed... ... middle of paper ... ...port. As it now stands, they are as good as disenfranchised- a vast number of the taxpaying public who will never set foot inside these stadiums and arenas” (as cited in Jarvie, 2012). Works Cited BBC. (2013). Huge survey reveals seven social classes in UK. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22007058. Last accessed 20 Oct 2013 Jarvie, G. (2012). Sport, Social Division and Social Inequality. Sport Science Review. 20 (1-2), 95–109. Torkildsen, G (2011). Sport and Leisure Management. 6th ed. Oxon: Routledge. 49. Wesson, K., Wiggins, N., Thompson, G & Hartigan, S (2000) Sport and PE: a complete guide to advance level study, second addition, London: Hodder & Stoughton. Wikipedia. (2001). United Kingdom Census 2001. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2001. Last accessed 20 Oct 2013.

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