Social class/education with focus on inequalties

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20th December 2016
Sociological Class Inequality Perspectives
Introduction
The concept of social class in the society distinctly identifies a series of conflict among the people and their ways of life. The social inequality has been a controversial issue whereby several scholars have scholarly conducted studies on the causes of social class difference in the society (Holborn, Martin et al. 20). Social class is a group of people socially stratified and organized hierarchically with similarities regarding levels of wealth, education, status and their influences in society. The social classes identifiable in the society consist of the lower, working, middle and upper classes (Giddens 38). Education, on the other hand, is an important societal tool which aids in different functions’ fulfillment and giving opportunities to diverse learners (Giddens 488). It also helps in teaching the students their national history, their national languages, different skills to work as well as ethical conducts and religion. In general, education plays some important roles in the students’ lives by shaping them to being better people in the society in the future. It also opens them up to the many opportunities in the community (Giddens 491). However, the education capacity in the contemporary world introduces to us the concept of social inequalities in the society.
Considering the different social, societal occurrences, sociologists have come up with distinct theories giving various perspectives of the social world.

Several scholars have justified these methodologies through the interrelated principles and concepts explaining how different phenomena occur. Currently, there are many different sociological theories which explain the human social life and the profound strata indicators. Some of them include the Pierre Bourdieu’s theory and Karl Marx theory.
Pierre Bourdieu’s central theory concerns the societal ways of power transfer and social order maintenance. According to Bourdieu, all individuals occupy positions in the social world and should not be defined by their social classes, but by every capital, one can acquire through their social interactions (Lisahunter et al. 23). Furthermore, he comes up with the social stratification theory which claims that how one chooses his or her social space to the world depicts one’s social life and distances them from the lower groups. He further states that appreciation and preferences on educational values translate on class fractions regarding cultural, social and economic capital. Early cultural capital dominance will cause differences between different categories since people inherit choices made on everyday existences. The French sociologist in this concept uses educational capital and capacity in identifying culture and symbolic social status in the society, thus leading to the academic capital where an individual’s level of education is used to higher positions in the society.
Bourdieu uses the French school system in translating the social preferences and cultural communication to students’ educational capacity. In his argument, he says that the examination form that was then dominating in the French education system favored the ones who had acquired a familiarity with them as well as the practices of culture in their homes; in this case for the bourgeois children (Lisahunter et al. 27). The system of education did so by giving high marks to those who could demonstrate less effort in societal attitude appreciation in preference to those whose ability to analyze influential works were evidently scholarly and acquired. Bourdieu empirical analysis indicates that education system for the children from the low-class social strata alongside the middle class do not possess the motivational gift on accessing the academic ladder. Under several cases, these children drop out of the education system and do not gain adequate knowledge in the curriculum of learning institutions. The social class, according to Bourdieu, diversely translates into the education sector and further influences the social lifestyle of the people from one generation to another.
Douglas conducted a study on social class and institution in Britain to determine the social class effects in the country (as qtd. in Price, Douglas and Gary 33). From his research, he divided the students into different social classes, and their educational achievements varied significantly between the students who had same academic capabilities but belonged to different social classes. The highly capable group most of the low-class students had dropped out or left school before their coursework completion year with very few dropouts in the middle and upper-class students. The parents in these different social classes may have different attitudes towards their children’s education; the low-class parents rarely show interest or have time to check their children’s homework as opposed to the middle and upper-class parents who even attend school meetings concerning their children’s education (Price, Douglas and Gary 39). Interests of the parents majorly play a role in educational inequality because the low-class and working class parents get so held up with their jobs so as to make ends meet for their families forgetting about their children’s progress in school. Their living environment too; in which they raise their children; are poor and with less positive experiences available for their children compared to the parents in middle and high classes.
Marxism concern, on the other hand, addresses the working class and powerless in the society whereby the rich controls media and education in the social set up of the people. He introduces the functionalism concept and elaborates on the division of the society through the cultural practices (Giddens, 283; Holborn, Martin et al. 12). From Marx context ideology, the community is made up of share values integrated from one society to the other. He explains that the society shifts with the natural order of those controlling of property and those working as employees. It describes the cultural deprivation and the achievements of the societal, cultural practices.
Antonio Gramsci, an Italian politician, supported Marxism in defining cultural values as an essential instrument of the people whereby the ruling class and the working class accept this ideology. He stated that inequality exists due to the cultural belief by the people as an inevitable thing in the society (Giddens 298). Furthermore, cultural practices transform to the education curriculum whereby the children from the wealthy class receives a comprehensive education. The working class continues to suffer from low standards of living and low standards of education (Giddens 510). Louis Althusser connoted that the Marxist theory identifies education system, religion, and media as factors to create a just society. From this case, the culture of the people exists due to the accepted societal inequalities in these factors forming the community.
As children from low-class grow up, cultural beliefs deprive them of all experience of life leading to the differences in the social status. Exposure to advance cultural preference that supports education will help children in their learning capacity (Holborn, Martin et al. 460). From this aspect, the French school system from the upper class has supportive cultural on educational capitalism as opposed to the low-class. Therefore, this makes the lower class students perform differently as opposed to their middle and upper-class peers who are more exposed to different environments that build them intellectually (Giddens 522). The culture of the low-class students disadvantages them since their environment provides them with less experience and skills to boost and back up their educational experiences in school. The low-class students at times are forced to drop out of school and look for jobs to earn a living. It opposes their peers from the middle and upper class who finish up their education and later depend on their grades and success to get highly paid jobs with good positions and earn their living the easiest way.
On the contrast to Bourdieu, cultural deprivation is the materiality deprivation in the society supporting Karl Marx theory of resources availability. Students do not get proper materials required for their educational attainment. The materials include the basic needs, neighborhood, health care and balanced nutrition. For students in low-class who belong to the working class families, there are inadequate resources since their parents earn little purposely meant to sustain them and their families. Their priorities in their homes are mostly food and shelter as opposed to buying school resources such as books, pens, and uniforms. They normally have less study space because of the small houses they live in, and some even live in a house where there is no electric power and are forced to use lamps which can affect their health regarding sight and respiratory systems. The students in these low-class and working classes in most cases seek afterschool jobs so that they can be able to chip in and add to whatever their parents earn. They have to find time to both do the part-time work and as well finish up their homework and study. It is opposed to their peers in middle and upper classes who access almost all the materials they need to study and do not need to look for afterschool jobs since their parents’ earnings are enough to sustain them and even have extra for leisure.
Due to having enough materials and resources required for studying, most middle and upper-class students, under several instances, continue with their studies to higher institutions as opposed to their peers in low-class. Consequently, students from upper-class families have enough money to spend on education unlike the ones in the low-class whose parents have low income and are not able to continue with education. It creates differences between these students regarding school and life achievements.
Moreover, the issue of culture translates into the gender issue whereby the quality of education varies depending on the cultural value of the male sex as opposed to the female counterparts (Maddox, Bryan et al. 577). In some communities education to the male differs from the female counterparts whereby the male sex receives high standards of education. The cultural aspect of several communities varies on the value of female gender as oppose to the male counterpart. Several communities value the male education and value technical professional academics, unlike the female counterparts (Maddox, Bryan et al. 579). According to Price, Douglas and Gary male sex undertake technical courses such as Engineering and Sciences and record high number unlike the female sex (46). The concept of culture deprivation translates to the value of male sex in the society than the female counterparts. The overall concept for this case is the patriarchy ideology whereby this concept portrays treasure on the male sex and ignores the female potentials in the society.
Conclusion
The school is one of the social strata that consist of values transmission and knowledge correspondence on the principal societal difference. Students from different social classes attain various educational achievements depending on their class levels creating inequality within the society. If the school funding and resources were similar throughout the community, the students from low-class families that embrace education would continue to study and learn from their peers in middle and upper-class families and thus have equal attainment. It ensures good occupational achievement for all students regardless of their social class and backgrounds. Education inequality, therefore, comes from the different experiences on experience and results measured regarding grades, drop out and school completion rate. The disparities in education continue to perpetuate the economic and social inequalities. However, the society has tried to curb the indifference; sociologist has significantly drawn several ideologists that create the difference and use it in settling the issue. Schools majorly downplay students’ social backgrounds by evaluating their achievements and performances. Bright, wealthy students, are encouraged to take up the technical course while their peers with lesser performances are motivated to join the courses that well suit them.

Work Cited
Gottesman, Isaac. “Socialist Revolution: Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, and the Emergence of Marxist Thought in the Field of Education.” Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association. 49.1 (2013): 5-31. Print
Giddens, Anthony. Sociology. 1st ed., Cambridge, Polity, 2001,
Holborn, Martin et al. Sociology Themes And Perspectives. 8th ed., London, Collins Educational, 2014,
Lisahunter et al. Pierre Bourdieu And Physical Culture. 1st ed., New York, Routledge, 2015.Maddox, Bryan et al. “Literacy Inequalities And Social Justice”. International Journal Of Educational Development, 2011, Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2011.04.003.
Price, T.Douglas and Gary M Feinman. Foundations Of Social Inequality. 1st ed.,.