Social Stratification Benchmark
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SOC436Topic3SocialStratificationPartIClass.docxSOC 436 WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT
SOC 436 WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT 6
Essay: SOC 436 Week 3 Assignment
Professor Lane
Jeanete Freesene
Soc 436
01/15/2021
Introduction
Sociologist believe that people in America belong to different class structure. Most believe in a three-class model consisting of upper class, middle class and lower class. Each class inhabitants, possess a unique social economic status which is characterized by wealth, education, social network, and income. Hence, they possess the ability to impact different social institutions such as Education (Psychology Association, 2018). This essay describes the class stratification in get education, the inequality and its effects on the people from different socioeconomic status (SES) and some measures to limit the adverse effects of social class in education.
Social status, roles and position impact on education institution
Education attainment required the society the individuals to pass through different stages such as High schools, colleges, graduate degree etc. It is possible that the class stratifications reflects disparity and inequality in education attainment. People from higher or upper class have a more educational advantage.
As the individuals pass from the high school to the higher studies, class difference becomes more prominent. Students from the privileged status get a more access to the prestigious institutions that preserves their status whereas the underprivileged and low-SES youth get admitted to a less reputable institution (Alon, 2009).
Since the early 1980s, Parents from middle and upper class adapt to the bourgeois family principles to preserve the kinship and the family status to the off spring (Alon, 2009). They ensure that their child eligibility in the admission process and invest in their academic activities and convey to them, the expectation and preparation to meet the post-secondary class based landscape. People belonging to the privileged class, have the access to expensive tools for testing and the tutor facilities. As compared to the half of student in low-SES bracket, 70% enroll in the different testing preparation activities (Alon, 2009). As a result, they are more prepared to boost their admission test scores to enter the privileged institution.
Students from high-SES are more debt tolerant to choose the universities for further studies. Moreover, due their good financial conditions and status they have support social support from their family, friends and teachers.Yet, research shows that the students from low background, debt play a decisive role in their further education attainment. Many of them struggle to get the social support from their family and peers (COOKE *, BARKHAM, AUDIN & BRADLEY, 2004). Often, the student from the low social backgrounds face culture. For example, a teacher called his student ‘snob’ for applying at Cambridge University for a course (Alon, 2009).
Class inequality affecting social behaviors
Students who are first generation in their family in education experience more difficulties that other students having one of their parents graduated. Following psychological barriers are the result of inequalities that influence social behavior.
Emotion experiences
The first generation students are under more emotion distress and as compared to continuing generation. Hence, they constitute large number of depression reports (Jury, Smeding, Stephens, Nelson, Aelenei, Darnon, 2017). Their negative experiences are greater with few opportunities to share and cope with the arising situations as compared to the other students from high SES.
Identity management
Higher education is a new environment from people coming from low SES. They are in minority and find difficulties in adjusting to the environment that is different from their social background perspective. They feel underrepresented due to class differences and are often exhibit impostor syndrome (feeling of not belonging to the place).
Self-Perception
Low SES students have to confront with negative views and stereotyping from opposing class. High SES students perceive them as incompetent. This affects their self-perception, intelligence, emotions and performance in their studies (Jury, Smeding, Stephens, Nelson, Aelenei, Darnon, 2017). This continuous criticism promotes negative behaviors, attitudes and thwarting the low SES students to reach their potential and disregarding their self-esteem.
Steps to alleviate class inequality is education institutions
To reduce the social-class disparity arising due to prevailing structure in the education, following reforms and measures are helpful.
1. Using Self-affirmation technique, students should be involved in a writing exercise. Both new and the first year students should enlist their values that are important to them. Then, they will brief about their importance to them, to other class members. This exercise brings individuals from lower SES to express themselves, embrace their integrity and self-esteem irrespective of their background. The method implemented in a biology class shows improvement in the GPA of the students involved in the affirmation as compared to those who didn’t (Jury, Smeding, Stephens, Nelson, Aelenei, Darnon, 2017).
2. Difference education is another approach to reduce the social class effect in education. New students should be involved in 1-hour discussions with the elder students. They will share their experience in the college and stories based on their SES. This would help the newcomer for all backgrounds to get comfortable about their backgrounds. Survey shows (Jury, Smeding, Stephens, Nelson, Aelenei, Darnon, 2017) that the students who participated in the discussion, observed improvement in their grades.-
3. Goal Re framing can be applied to reform education testing and selection method to reduce class inequality. (Jury, Smeding, Stephens, Nelson, Aelenei, Darnon, 2017). By redesigning the exam and tests as a learning tool to provide support to students in their long term learning in lieu of as a selection tool, the Low SES students performed equivalents to the students from high SES. Therefore, it is important to work on exams as a learning outcome rather than a selection tool.
Conclusion
References
Psychology Association, A. (2018). Education and Socioeconomic Status Factsheet. Retrieved from www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education.aspx
Alon, S. (2009). The evolution of class inequality in higher education: Competition, exclusion, and adaptation. American Sociological Review, 74(5), 731-755.
Jury, M., Smeding, A., Stephens, N. M., Nelson, J. E., Aelenei, C., & Darnon, C. (2017). The experience of low‐SES students in higher education: Psychological barriers to success and interventions to reduce social‐class inequality. Journal of Social Issues, 73(1), 23-41.
COOKE *, R., BARKHAM, M., AUDIN, K., & BR ADLEY, M. (2004). How Social Class Differences Affect Students' Experience of University. Journal of Further And Higher Education, 28(4), 407-421.
