Social Stratification and Educational inequalities, Slides of Social Theory

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Social Stratification and

Educational Inequalities

Tarek Mostafa

Contents

1 Stratification: a definition. 2 Theories of stratification. 3 Stratification and Education. 4 Educational Stratification: Empirical evidence. 5 Conclusions. 6 Policy implications.

• The word comes from the Latin ‘Stratum’

meaning layer.

• Stratification exists in every society.
• Stratification is reproduced from one generation

to another.

• Stratification does not only involve quantitative

differences (income, wealth, etc) but also in

qualitative ones (attitudes and beliefs).

• Stratification implies unequal access to valued goods: education, employment, housing, consumption, etc.
• The level of stratification depends on each society’s history and institutions.
• Stratification is determined by 3 factors:
• Social institutions which define certain goods as valuable.
• The rules of allocation of these goods (e.g welfare systems).
• Social mobility and the ability to move between strata. Open stratification systems are the one that allow mobility (opposed to closed stratification systems, like in caste based societies).

• Karl Marx: The relations of production which are at the base of stratification.
• The employee-employer relations.
• The division of labour.
• Property relations. These factors determine political and non-political institutions and even the prevalent ideologies in a society. Of course, power relations are different from one society to another and they have changed over time.

Max Weber: Three component theory of stratification. This differs from Marxian theory in a number of ways.

• Class: Economic position in society. (Corporate executives: they have economic power without owning their companies).
• Prestige: the respect with which a person is regarded by others. Writers, poets and musicians can social power without owning much capital.
• Power: the ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others. Legislators (e.g. MPs) have political power without necessarily having capital.

Social stratification can be characterised by a number

of dimensions:

• Economic: income, wealth.
• Social: occupation, education, gender, ethnic

group, race, and nationality.

In this session we are interested in educational

stratification.

Stratification

and Education

• Residential stratification: people live in

neighbourhoods they can afford => Schools

reflecting the wealth of the neighbourhood.=>

• Children go to schools with similar peers (similar

background).

• If funding is decentralized => school resources

will reflect the wealth of their geographical

location.

• If teacher hiring is decentralized => better

schools will attract wealthier students and better

teachers.

• Personal preferences => private, religious,

single-sex schools, schools with particular

pedagogy, etc. Preferences are also related to

social class.

The more the educational system is stratified the

more likely it will have larger inequalities.

Finland

• Highly egalitarian system (homogenous schools).
• Lutheran traditions => universal literacy and state controlled education.
• Social structure: large class of farmers and small bourgeoisie.
• Late selection: 9 to 10 years of all-through comprehensive education.
• Small private sector, and low population density => limited school choice.
• Highly qualified teachers (Masters level).
• Absence of grade repetition

Germany

• Early selection (around age 11 or 12)

 exacerbates the impact of social background.

• Federal political system => national reforms are

hard to implement => persistence of early

selection.

• Important apprenticeship systems oriented towards

the labour market.

• Labour market having a high level of coordination

allowing for the provision of training at a low cost.

United Kingdom

• Incomplete comprehensivisation due to Introduction of competition under Thatcher.
• Large disparities within countries, between states and between school districts.
• Availability of school choice between different types of schools.
• Elitist private sector.
• School autonomy and differences in curricula, school management, and in streaming practices (setting).

Japan

• Comprehensive compulsory education up to the end of lower secondary schooling.
• Highly stratified (by ability) upper secondary system. 94% of student continue at upper secondary.
• Most teachers have four year degrees.
• Limited autonomy in developing curricula or choosing textbooks.
• Upper secondary => general academic stream and vocational one
• 10% attend private schools up to lower sec, then 29% of student go to private high schools.