chapter 11 social class, race and school achievement

Chapter 11Social Class, Race

and School Achievement

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Elements of Socioeconomic Status

• Occupational Prestige• Education Level• Income• Housing Value


Categories of Social Class

• Upper Class• Middle Class

– Upper Middle – Lower Middle

• Working Class– Upper Working Class– Lower Working Class– Underclass


Social Class and School Success

• NAEP data show connection• School achievement correlates with type of

community• Concentrated poverty schools• Rural poverty• Effective schools


Race, Ethnicity, andSchool Success

• Status of minority groups• Data from studies of eighth graders• Gains by minorities• Dropout rates• Calls for improvement in college attendance

rates


Minority Status / Urban Poverty

• Segregated inner cities• Polarization among African Americans• Increasing concentration in urban poverty areas• Dysfunctional institutions• Rising social isolation• Problems for young black males


SES and the Home’s Contribution to School Readiness

Knowledge and Understandings

Middle class children come to school with wider knowledge of the world.

Cognitive and Verbal Skills

Middle class children are more familiar with elaborated, formal language.

Values and Attitudes

Middle class families stress independence and self-directed thinking.


Heredity versus Environment

Hereditarian View Intelligence and school success reflect inborn differences in ability.

Environmentalist View

Intelligence and school success depend on school and home environment.

Synthesizers’ View Both heredity and environment contribute to intelligence and school success


Classroom Obstaclesfor Low-Income Students

• Inappropriate curriculum and instruction

• Lack of previous success

• Too much low-level learning

• Conditions in working-class schools

• Teacher-student background differences

• Teacher perceptions of inadequacy

• Ineffective homogenous grouping

• Overloaded schools• Big classes• Teacher preparation

and inexperience• Negative peer

pressure


Views of U.S. Schools

Traditional View

The public schools provide opportunities for working class students to achieve social mobility.

Revisionist View

The education system perpetuates the current class structure.

Intermediate View

Although the schools provide some opportunities for working-class students, more can be done.

chapter 11 social class, race and school achievement

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