The Relationship Between Social Class And Education

The Relationship Between Social Class and Education

Schooling affects both education and income since most of the better paying jobs require a college degree or other advanced study. Jobs that offer lower income and social prestige demand less schooling. Most people consider schooling crucial to personal success. Just as students are treated differently within schools, schools themselves differ in fundamental ways.

In the United States, for education purposes, we believe that the more affluent the community, the better the schools. Suburban school districts offer better schooling than the less-well-funded systems in central cities. To advance educational equality some communities have initiated busing, so that students will receive a greater social mix. However, some feel that busing advocates claim that minority children in poor neighborhoods will have quality schools only if white children from richer neighborhoods attend them. It was determined that money alone does not magically bolster academic quality. Even more important are the cooperative efforts and enthusiasm of teachers, parents, and students themselves. Basically this is saying that if school funding was the same everywhere, the students whose families value and encourage education would still learn more than others. Schools alone cannot be expected to overcome the effects of marked social inequality.

We have been trained to typically expect the children coming form upper class families to have an edge on those coming from the middle or lower classes. We expect these children to be somewhat above average, and they will hold this status throughout their educational career. Children whose roots fall in the middle class are expected to only be average, below those from the upper class and slightly above those from the lower class. Lower class children are those that we expect not to succeed in their educational career. These students are below average and need extra help in order to stay in tune with what is going on. I feel that these beliefs are very unjust, but are held by many people.

In industrial societies, higher education is the key path to occupational achievement. While most parents endorse the idea of sending their children to college, only a small percentage actually attends college after graduating high school. The most crucial factor affecting those who will attend college is money. Children from the upper class are expected to attend college and be successful, whereas those from the middle class may attend but not be successful, and students from the lower class will never attend. Generally, those from the middle class must balance a job while attending college, whereas those from the upper class are not required to work while in school. Students from the lower class families are usually required to go straight to work after graduating high school because their families need the money.

Formal education helps young people assume culturally approved statuses and perform roles that contribute to the ongoing life of society. Ideally schools evaluate students' performance in terms of achievement alone while downplaying their social background. Teachers are taught to encourage the best and the brightest to pursue the most challenging and advanced studies, while guiding students of more ordinary abilities into educational programs well suited