Gollnick/Chin Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 9e © 2013, by Pearson Education,...

Gollnick/ChinMulticultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 9e © 2013, byPearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Chapter 3:

Class & Socioeconomic Status

Donna M. Gollnick and Philip C. Chinn

Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society,9th Edition

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Class Structure

Two Views of Class

View One View Two

• One can be socially mobile and can move to higher class with education and hard work.

• There are distinct class divisions.

• Those not achieving middle class status are inferior.

• Privileged upper class, managerial elite, middle and working classes, unemployed/sporadically employed

• It’s the individual’s fault for not achieving (blaming the victim).


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Class Identity

Most people identify themselves by class, such as middle class or working class.

Historically, dominant cultural values and belief systems held individuals personally responsible for their class position, including retaining a job.


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Social Stratification

Social stratification ranks individuals and families on the basis of their income, education, occupation, wealth, and power in society.

Many people receive high or low rankings in the social stratification system on the basis of characteristics over which they have no control.


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Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status (SES) acts as a composite of the economic status of a family or individuals on the basis of occupation, educational attainment, and income.

Wealth and power are related factors that help determine a person’s SES.


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Five Determinants of Socioeconomic Status


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Income

Income is the total amount of money that one earns in wages or salary in a year.

Income sets limits on the general lifestyle of a family and controls their consumption patterns.


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WealthThe net worth of a family includes savings accounts, insurance, corporate stock ownership, and property.

Forty percent of all families have zero or negative net worth.

Wealth provides comfort, security, and often power or access to power.


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Occupation

Occupation generally determines income.

White-collar workers are those that do office work and typically supervise others.

Blue-collar workers are those that typically do manual labor and work under the supervision of others.

One’s occupation is generally an indication of one’s education and degree of authority and responsibility over others.


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Education

Education is viewed as a way to enhance SES.

Higher family SES means a greater likelihood of entering and completing college.

Educational credentials are more likely to be achieved as a result of family background rather than other factors.

SES has a substantial influence on the amount and type of schooling students receive and the type of job they will obtain.


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Power

People at the upper SES levels exert more power than those at any other level.

Persons with higher incomes are more likely to participate in national and local politics.

Power relationships also exist between teachers and students, as curriculum is controlled by teachers, school boards, and national standards.


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Class Differences

Although many Americans identify themselves with the middle class, most people in the United States are not affluent by U.S. standards.

A medium budget that allows a family of four to meet basic requirements would be above $44,100. In 2008, over one of three U.S. families earned less than $44,100.


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Unemployed and Homeless

Includes the long-term poor as well as those who are temporarily in poverty due to illness or job loss.

Reasons for homelessness include poverty, lack of jobs, lack of affordable housing, and domestic violence.

Between 500,000 and 1.5 million children and youth are homeless during a year .

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act requires public schools to provide educational rights and protections for homeless children and youth.


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The Working Class

The working class includes those involved in manual labor.

The working class often has less job security, work is more sporadic, and unemployment is unpredictably affected by the economy.

Almost 40% of the employed population are considered blue-collar workers.

Those at low end of pay scale are considered the “working poor.”


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The Middle Class

Occupations and incomes vary greatly (between $39,000 to $100,240).

Some middle-class members have comfortable incomes but little or no wealth, little savings, and no protection against catastrophic occurrences.

The middle class includes white-collar workers as well as professionals, managers, and administrators, who have more prestige than white-collar workers.


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The Upper Middle Class

This group includes the elite of middle class: judges, lawyers, professionals, managers, and administrators, and perhaps physicians, educators, and scientists.

Their professions usually require advanced degrees and credentials.

The income of some allows a lifestyle different from blue-collar and white-collar workers.


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The Upper Class

The upper class includes two groups:

• Individuals and families who control inherited wealth.

• High-level administrators, controlling stockholders of major corporations, and professionals.

Disparities in wealth between this class and members of other classes is a astounding—they earn about 260 times as much as the average worker.

They are typically a homogeneous group of well-educated, white, Protestant members born in the United States.


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Economic Inequality

Income inequality is higher in the United States than all other industrialized countries except Mexico and Turkey.

The United States has the highest poverty rates and social policies that limit opportunities for moving out of poverty.

Poverty is most likely to be a condition of the young, persons of color, women, full-time workers in low status jobs, and the illiterate.


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Race and Ethnic Inequality


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Gender Inequality

Women earn less and are more likely to suffer from poverty than any other group.

The reasons for gender inequality are based on institutional discrimination in a patriarchal society, in which women were expected to be mothers and wives, not part of the formal workforce.


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Age Inequality

The highest incidences of poverty are among youngest and the oldest population groups.

Children suffer from poverty rates higher than others.

Poverty impacts academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and reading skills.


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Teaching for Equality

The intended goal of increasing income equity and eliminating poverty through education has not been realized.

The social and economic conditions of students’ lives must be improved through higher wages and social policies that support low-income families.


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Teacher Expectations

To reverse inequalities, high expectations for all students are critical.

Teachers must work to resist classism and subtle and overt discrimination based on external characteristics of students.

Equality in the achievement of students could be increased by raising the level of instructional content and instructional discourse in all courses at all levels.


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Tracking

“Tracking” is the practice of assigning students to differential classes or school programs based on intellect or language or ability status.

Tracking is typically highly related to social class. A student with a high SES is more likely to be placed in the more advanced track.

Tracking perpetuates social and economic inequities.


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Curriculum for Equality

Curricula need to represent views and experiences of all students, not just those in power.

Schools must work to expand teaching about the types of diversity that exist in schools, in the labor force, and in the country as a whole.

They must also teach for democracy, equity, and social justice.


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Equitable Funding of Schools

Property taxes are the primary source of local funding for schools, which contributes to the disparities in education.

Higher per-pupil expenditures, better teacher salaries, more educated and experienced teachers, and smaller class and school sizes are strongly related to improved student learning.

Gollnick/Chin Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 9e © 2013, by Pearson Education,...

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