Download Unequal Childhoods: Social Class and Its Impact on Educational Success - Prof. Cynthia Tai and more Study notes History of Education in PDF only on Docsity! Introduction to Social Class Agree/Disagree • Most successful or wealthy people have gotten where they are because of hard work and effort Agree/Disagree • Wealthy children and poor children have the same chances to succeed in school Agree/Disagree • Schools make it harder for poor children to be educationally successful Overview of Unequal Childhoods Argument • A person’s social class is very influential to their life chances • Advantages are transmitted across generations • Unequal Childhoods attempts to explain WHY & HOW a family’s social class background becomes so important for the children’s success Social Class Groups • Are there separate social class groups? – How distinct are social class groups (higher, middle lower)? – How separate are these social class groups from one another? Social Class Groups • Definition of social structure: Groups that have different norms “coalesce” into separate positions in society and hold different amounts of power; forms the building blocks of a stratified social system (see Lareau 2003, p. 15) Social Class Groups • Social structural location (or social class location): – Context (neighborhood, institutions) – Culture (group norms) – Resources (education, income) • Unequal Childhoods author Lareau argues that we have distinct and separate social classes • How true is this, for your own lives? How much did your family interact with people who were richer or poorer than you? Building the Argument: Unequal Childhoods • Home setting – Parenting style • Middle class--Concerted Cultivation – Purpose: – Organization of daily life: – Language use: • Working Class & Poor--Natural Growth – Purpose: – Organization of daily life: – Language use: Building the Argument: Unequal Childhoods • Home Setting – Children’s daily life • Middle class/concerted cultivation: • Working class and poor/natural growth: Building the Argument: Unequal Childhoods • School Setting – Institutional standard of concerted cultivation: • Bureaucratic standards • School culture • Definition of and expectations for parental involvement Building the Argument: Unequal Childhoods • School Setting – Students’ Social Skills & Sense of Control (Given institutional preference for concerted cultivation) • Middle class students/Concerted Cultivation » Higher Social Capital » Sense of Entitlement • Working class, poor students/Natural Growth » Lower Social Capital » Sense of Constraint Building the Argument: Unequal Childhoods • School Setting – School/Institutional Response to Families and Students • Recognize and reward middle class- Concerted Cultivation style – Respect middle class parents’ interventions and accommodate requests – Respect middle class students’ social skills and experiences and accommodate requests – Examples: • Leads to educational advantages Building the Argument: Unequal Childhoods • School Setting – School/Institutional Response to Families and Students • Disapprove of working class, poor-- Natural Growth style – Critique of working class, poor parents for not being more involved – Do not recognize/approve of working class, poor children’s social skills and experience – Examples: • Leads to educational disadvantages
