Evidence of inequalities social class

Question 1

Mac an Ghail

Answer 1

working class workplace disadvantage

States that deindustrialisation has lead to a ‘Crisis of masculinity’ amongst working class males – They face unemployment.

Question 2

Willis

Answer 2

working class workplace 
disadvantage 

Working class males see their futures as working in basic manual labour jobs like their fathers therefore they do not aspire for more.

Question 3

McKenzie

Answer 3

Working class workplace 
disadvantage 

Once they’d been made redundant from their steel works job the men in his study felt a loss of identity from their tight knit communities associated with their job. Their loss of role as a breadwinner led to them feeling a loss of status and identity.

Question 4

Scott

Answer 4

upper class workplace advantage

The social closure exercised by the upper class ensures they have the highest concentration of wealth. E.g. intermarriage, high culture and the old boy network.

Question 5

Milburn

Answer 5

upper class workplace advantage

‘Cosy club‘ UK’s top jobs remain “disproportionately held by people from a narrow range of backgrounds”.

Question 6

Rowlingson and Mullineux (2013)

Answer 6

upper class workplace advantage

Wealthy people can become insulated from the lives of others (social closure), they have more political influence and this can be a threat to the democratic process. Those on higher incomes are also more likely to receive an inheritance of high value.

Question 7

Waldfogel and Washbrook (2008)

Answer 7

upper class workplace advantage

Children from higher income backgrounds do significantly better on a range of early years outcomes in education.

Question 8

Willis ED

Answer 8

working class education disadvantage

Working class males see their futures as working in basic manual labour jobs like their fathers therefore they do not aspire for more - This means that they create anti-school subcultures and are negatively labelled by teachers.
Working class ‘lads’ were fatalistic about their manual labour futures - They were negatively labelled by teachers as a result and did not work hard as they did not see the value of education in relation to their future in unskilled work.

Question 9

Jackson

Answer 9

working class education disadvantage

Working class ladettes are generally working class and adopt anti-school attitudes – They adopt an assertive femininity around smoking and arguing with teachers - As a result they were negatlively labelled by their teachers.

Question 10

Bourdieu ED W

Answer 10

working class education disadvantage

Education system is biased towards the culture of the dominant classes and it devalues the knowledge and skills of the working class through the ‘hidden curriculum’. Furthermore, he argues that the main function of education is social reproduction and education discriminates against the working class because they lack the cultural capital to succeed.

Question 11

Mac an Ghail ED

Answer 11

working class education disadvantage

Explains that due to working class males facing a crisis of masculinity due to deindustrialisation – Their children are often ‘anti-school’ as they imitate their role model fathers and see their futures based on unemployment.

Question 12

Scott ED

Answer 12

upper class education advantage

The upper class pay for their children to attend private schools where a culture of privilege is instilled. Their hidden curriculum teaches values such as superiority, conservatism and acceptance of authority. These justify their privilege in terms of public service and common good. They also gain connections with others during this time - Known as ‘the old boy network’ that can later be used to gain ‘top jobs’.

Question 13

Bourdieu ED U

Answer 13

upper class education advantage

Suggests that education helps to socialise students into middle class identities - He states that the whole environment of school is similar to aspects of their home lives. Bourdieu suggests that the middle classes better ‘cultural capital’ meaning they have a wealth of knowledge and leisure interests and also have a comprehensive level of language which serves to advantage them children in the education system. This also explains why the working class do not achieve as highly in education - This is passed on through social reproduction of inequalities

Question 14

Kenway

Answer 14

upper class education advantage

at girls’ private schools, the girls were encouraged to develop high levels of self esteem by devaluing those girls who went to state schools.

Question 15

Becker

Answer 15

upper class education advantage

Argues that middle class pupils are labelled as the ‘ideal pupil’ based on having smart uniforms, articulating themselves and having good knowledge they can use within lessons, therefore teachers label them more positively than working class students leading to their higher attainment in education.

Question 16

Helsper

Answer 16

media working class disadvantage

points out that the government plans to make public services ‘digital by default’ meaning that these individuals will be unable to access them.  They also found out that children from poorer homes are becoming victims of a "digital divide" because their parents lack the skills to help them use the internet as effectively as their middle-class counterparts, says research. Children from better-off backgrounds not only had greater access to the world wide web at home but were more likely to exploit its array of resources.
The ‘digital underclass’ refers to the cohort of people who cannot afford digital communication devices. This lack of devices can lead to disadvantages and inequalities in contemporary society and can mean that they face less social capital as a result.

Question 17

Price

Answer 17

media 
working class disadvantage

developed the concept of ‘poverty porn’ to describe programmes such as Channel 4’s Benefit Street. Price found this led to the underclass being exploited by the media to shock and entertain audiences. This encourages the underclass to be condemned by the hard working middle and upper classes.

Question 18

Jones

Answer 18

media working class disadvantage

discusses the use of the word chav (council housed and violent) and explains this has become a way of describing working class culture and people. He developed the concept of ‘chavtainment’ to describe shows that portray a negative view of the working class as ‘bigoted, slothful and aggressive’, This has changed the views from working class being described as ‘salt of the earth’ to ‘scum of the earth.’

Question 19

Miliband

Answer 19

media working class disadvantage

tates that the media is the new “opium of the people” in that it distracts us as the working class masses from real social issues faced in a capitalist society. Miliband states that in a capitalist society inequality is inevitable, justifiable and effective for the ruling class to control the masses - The media is just another way we are controlled.

Question 20

Cornford and Robins

Answer 20

upper advantage media

‘The continuation of power being held in the hands of the few’ – the people who own and control the media are capitalists who want to make profit and ideologically control the masses.

Question 21

Boyle

Answer 21

upper advantage media

Media convergence – one device accesses different media / power of advertising causes capitalist ideals to be spread.

Question 22

The Snowden Report

Answer 22

upper advantage media

In 2013 the US National Security Agency (NSA) specialist Edward Snowden revealed widespread misuse of surveillance in digital forms of communication. The US and British government had been accessing personal information in the name of ‘national security’.

Question 23

Graham Bowling

Answer 23

middle class crime advantage

Middle class children are just as likely to be involved in crime but state it’s a case of ‘who you know’ which helps people get out of trouble.

Question 24

Messerschmidt

Answer 24

middle class crime advantage

Middle class males are more likely to commit white collar or corporate crimes, rather than ‘serious’ crimes e.g. assault.

Question 25

Walmsley et al

Answer 25

working class crime disadvantages

41% of prisoners are from the lowest social classes. But only 19% of the overall population.

Question 26

Harding

Answer 26

working class crime disadvantages

Working class youths in London face deprivation and turn to crime for income – Harding calls this a ‘Street Casino’ as they turn to crime and gamble with t

Question 27

Jacobson et al

Answer 27

working class crime disadvantages

Found that children and young people in custody - three quarters have absent fathers, half had to live in a deprived household, half had run away, from care – “Complex backgrounds”.