Social class/SES and its link to inequality

and educational disadvantage

Some key terms
 Social stratification = a system by which a society ranks
categories of people in a hierarchy i.e. slavery, caste and
class systems

 Socio-economic status (SES) = usually based on occupation,

education, income/wealth and power.

 Class = ranking of people into upper (more privileged),

middle, working, lower (less privileged) rank

- Otherwise known as ‘social class’ which is the direct result of

access to resources, power and status (Tait, 2013, p.13).
 Socio-economic status (SES) or disadvantage
 People talk about areas in Australia or suburbs in large cities being
‘working class’ or ‘disadvantaged’

 Is Australia a meritocratic society? i.e. we like to believe that

social advancement is determined by ability, talent and hard work,
not by the wealth and status of parents

 Australian discourse (debate/belief) is that everyone has a ‘fair

go’ and a society which is a level playing field

 This discourse hides the inequalities and class differences in

Australia
Social & educational inequality is a very big problem

 “Statistically speaking, the best advice we can give to a

poor child keen to get ahead is to choose richer parents”
(Connell, 1993, p.22).

 Look at the ‘Index of community socio-educational

advantage (ICSEA)

 Look at the My school website www.myschool.edu.au

 Social class is a key factor in educational opportunity and

achievement!
Social Class refers to divisions in society based
on economic and social status.
People in the same social class typically share a
similar level of wealth, educational achievement,
type of job and income.

Typical terms: elite, upper class, middle class,

lower class, working class
The MySchool website was created to help families make better
choices about schools by providing several aspects of school
information, the main of which being data about how each school is
performing in comparison to others.
School performance is shown using National Assessment Program –
Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results. The theory behind
MySchool was that it would motivate schools to strive for better
results to attract more families to enrol.
Naplan scores used to attract students resulted in some school being
oversubscribed
 Perspectives on social class inequality
 Karl Marx (1919-1993)

- social class involves an ongoing struggle between those who have

power and those who do not i.e. the working class and the capitalist
class

- Hegemony = Elite groups control social, cultural, economic and

political institutions (i.e. schools, mass media) in ways that shape
society’s values under the ‘false consciousness’ or ideology of
meritocracy
 Access to Capital
 Bourdieu (1997) argues that different access to capital (or resources)
can reinforce inequity. There are 3 main forms of capital:

(Money, property) (Education, language, religion, (social networks/ connections

race/ethnicity, gender, ability, & supportive relationships)
sexuality, class/socio-economic
status)
 Relationship between social class & education
 Marxist view of schools: schools exist to socialise children into the
norms, values and beliefs of a capitalist economy

 Different levels and types of schools prepare students for different

jobs, thereby reinforcing social stratification i.e. white collar
works vs blue collar, elite class vs working class

 Max Weber also developed theories on social class and inequality:

- 4 classes: propertied, upper middle, lower middle and working class
- Life chances = opportunity for economic prosperity
- Social class, power and wealth influence life chances
 A ‘fair go for all’ in the ‘lucky

country’?
A common assumption is that

education is a class equaliser

because educational success

is based on individual ability

and effort (Tait, 2013).

 Reality check……..
 Despite popular belief: in 2014 Australia was ranked 22nd internationally
for income inequality (OECD, 2017). Almost half of our nation’s wealth is
enjoyed by only 10% of the population (Tait, 2013).

 Individual efforts and personal-bests are not necessarily rewarded by a

system that assumes all students have the same backgrounds, cultural
and social capital or resources and abilities.

 Educational opportunities and ‘choices’ are less accessible to some

students: Low SES students are more likely to attend state schools
(without fees). High SES students are more likely to attend Independent
schools (with fees) and are more likely to achieve higher exam results.
 High quality, low equity
 Australian students in the lowest socio-economic quartile perform much
worse on PISA than the rest and those in the highest quartile perform
significantly better (OECD).

 Difference = two and a half years of schooling

 Australian students in top socio-economic quartile are 3 times more

likely to attend a private school.

 Disadvantaged young people are more than 7 times more likely to

attend a disadvantaged school.

 Australian schools in high socio-economic areas are much more likely

to
have better quality educational resources.
 School Funding
Look at how Australian schools are funded – pre Gonski
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-30/school-funding-explained-without-
mentioning-gonski/8555276

“Increasingly, Australian secondary school students are turning to the non-government sector
for their education. In the government sector, the increase was entirely due to growth in
students at the primary level of education, with numbers of secondary students remaining
largely unchanged. In contract, non-government sector student numbers grew at both
primary and secondary levels. It will be interesting to follow these trends in the next few
years particularly with primary student numbers likely to increase considerably in this time
following the increase in births in Australia over the last decade” (Patrick Corr- ABS, 2015)
 Fighting for equity in Australian
schooling
 Australia has one of the most segregated school systems in the
OECD and the world. A report by UNICEF showed that Australia’s
education system is nearly the most unequal in the developed
world.

 Australia is one of very few OECD nations that use government

money to fund non-government schools. Gonski promised that
over-funded schools would not continue to be over-funded.
 Social reproduction
1960s onwards- many groups began to question the ‘traditional’ aims
and methods of education and believed ‘meritocracy’ masked the role
of education in the reproduction of social inequity (Wadman, Pudsey &
boyd, 2007).

 Social reproduction: “the continuance of social life and institutions in

an unchanged way” (Wadham et al., 2007, p.66)- usually to maintain
the privileges of the status quo. Experiences and expectations of
schooling passed on to the next generation.
 Refence:
‘Working-class children get less of everything in
education - including respect’ | Schools | The
Guardian
 Class Mobility
 The political-economic system ensures that most persons remain in
the class to which they are born.

 There are few persons who are truly socially and economically mobile
(for example, professional athletes, successful entertainers, and
movie stars).

 Is a university education the most reliable means for social mobility

from low income to middle class or higher?
 Implications for teachers and schools
 An education is perhaps the best insurance for having a living income, or is it?

 Schools must do everything possible to help students complete their education and, if
possible seek higher education opportunities

 Schools must also teach and instil in students the importance of issues of equity, so
they
will work toward this end as adults
 To reverse inequalities, high expectations for ALL students are critical

 Teachers must work to resist inequality and overt discrimination based on external characteristics
of students

 Instead of blaming individuals, they must also work to understand systemic and social conditions
that lead to lower SES for students and families

 Maximise student engagement through authentic and differentiated curriculum involving student
self-direction.
 Giving kids a fair go
A student’s socio-economic status has a significant effect on their performance
at school, with students from low-SES backgrounds achieving lower test scores
and having a higher drop-out rate.

Ensuring that low-SES students engage with the learning process is key to
addressing this educational disadvantage.

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future-makers/issue-one/making-the-classro
m-a-level-playing-field
 Websources to view and read.

ABS (2020). Schools Australia, 2020: Summary of findings. Retrieved from

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/schools/latest-release
How unequal is Australia? https://www.acoss.org.au/inequality/

The class divide in Australia: What it means to be rich or poor.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/the-class-divide-in-australia-what-it-means-to-be-rich-or-p
oor/news-story/a802ecd71716ef145a0bdcbd800b2f5f

The six-class system dispelling myths of an egalitarian Australia;

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-24/six-class-system-dispelling-myths-of-a-classless-australia/9339532

OECD (2018). Inequality. Retrieved from

https://www.oecd.org/social/inequality.htm

Educational inequality widening Australia’s rich‐poor gap, report finds

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/03/educational-inequality-widening-australias-rich-poor-gap-report
-finds

To reduce inequality in Australian schools, make them less socially segregated;

https://theconversation.com/to-reduce-inequality-in-australian-schools-make-them-less-socially-segregated-95034

Making the Classroom a Level Playing Field;

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future-makers/issue-one/making-the-classrom-a-level-playing-field
 Websites: you tube videos

Inequality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_AEBZK427I&t=66s

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-uyB5I6WnQ

The problem of education inequality | CNBC Reports; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-JVpKku5SI