Social Class and Education

Definitions and Assumptions

Classical definitions in sociology and economics locate social class in differences in income and, by extension, individuals' ownership of or control over the production and exchange of goods, or “capital.” In education and social science research, an individual's social class (often called socioeconomic status or SES) is typically determined by income levels, highest attained educational levels, and even the number of books in the home. Studies consider the social class of communities with aggregate measures such as per capita expenditures on education. Cultural and symbolic values associated with social class standing are often discussed in terms of social capital or cultural capital, as analogous or comparable to economic capital.

Conceptual and operational definitions of social class rest on several assumptions about the meaning, stability, and moral implications of class positioning. First, social class is a social construction, though a remarkably durable one. Class systems and the different statuses they confer on groups and individuals are not inherent or natural, but are created and reified by societies and individuals. Nothing is fixed about social class or one's location within a class system—but the existence of and boundaries between different social classes are “facts of life” that are generally accepted and hard to change.

Despite its omnipresence and durability, social class is not a static construct. Individuals may move from one social class to another; the social class of a community can rise or fall depending on housing patterns and changes in other resources. Globally, the meanings of social class and access to social class mobility have changed as the world economy becomes increasingly intertwined. Cultural symbols of social class status—and the degree to which people display status—differ by geographic location. Further, the experiences of social class may vary within a given class status, among people who differ by race, gender, ability, and age. For example, in the United States, working-class White women do not have the same social class mobility or income levels as their male counterparts, even with the same levels of educational attainment. In public schools, the academic outcomes of students may vary by racial identity for members of the same socioeconomic status. Thus, social class status lends differential access to material resources and to what some scholars call cultural or social capital, and the effects and significance of an individual's social class may be affected by multiple life factors.

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