SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Stratification

WEEK 3: STRATIFICATION & MOBILITY IN EDUCATION

Melanie Tannenbaum, M.A. Sociology 463/663 Spring 2015

New York Times, June 12, 2013

THE BIG QUESTION

Is education the great equalizer?

!

or…

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Does education create & replicate existing patterns of inequality?

SOME IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

Status: The level of an occupation in the stratification hierarchy

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Social Mobility: A change in level in the stratification hierarchy

THEORIES OF STRATIFICATION

Marx: Reproduction of power/class inequalities through education.

Weber: Three hierarchical dimensions.

Class: Economic position of individuals/groups.

Status: Groups of shared values & lifestyles.

Party: Groups of shared political interests & actions.

STATUS ATTAINMENT

Correlation between parents and children’s educational attainments: r = .40

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Correlation between educational attainment and occupational status: r = .60

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How does stratification and “sorting” of individuals into strata take place?

STATUS ATTAINMENT MODEL BLAU & DUNCAN (1967)

Educational attainment (2)

Family Social Status (1)

Status of first job (3)

Status of later job (4)






Three Basic Propositions






Proposition #1






Proposition #2






Proposition #3






Fundamental idea of a process of status attainment.






Social psychology? Mediating variables?

STATUS ATTAINMENT MODEL

How and why does SES/social status/social class translate into…

Different levels of academic achievement?

Different levels of educational attainment?

SES of origin

Family Structure

Ability

Educational Attainment

Academic Performance

Influence of significant others

Educational Ambition

WISCONSIN MODEL SEWELL & HAUSER, 1980

The degree to which significant others encourage a young person varies according to family social status and child’s demonstrated ability.

SES of origin

Family Structure

Ability






SES of origin

Family Structure

Ability





Lareau


SES of origin

Family Structure

Ability






Significant Others: Parents, Teachers, and Peers

SES of origin

Family Structure

Ability






Social Psychological Variables: Significant others’ influence & ambition

SES of origin

Family Structure

Ability






Strengths: Focused on the dynamics of educational attainment and viewed the process as based on motivation and interpersonal influences.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Significant-Other Influence & Ambition

Significant others help shape ambitions

Many individuals have goals that correspond to social position

Many individuals have corresponding expectations

Alternative interpretations of “educational ambition”

Useful for explaining outcome differences in disadvantaged groups

BUT…no explicit disadvantaging process in the model

Organizational Dynamics

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Inductive Control

More often used in higher-status an smaller families

Persuasive methods that seek child’s voluntary compliance

Based on explanation & reasoning, not coercion

Remember back to the Lareau article!

BUT…

Wisconsin Model more effective in explaining the attainments of white men than African-American men or white women.

!

Why would it differ based on race & gender?

NATURE VS. NURTURE?

What’s the basis of ability?

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Intelligence?

Hard work?

Upbringing?

GENETICS?

“Genetic”≠“deterministic.”

What does heritability mean?

“Intelligence is 70% genes, 30% environment” doesn’t make sense.

Contribution of environment and genes always varies based on the context.

NATURE VS. NURTURE

Society in which ALL people are genetically identical

All differences MUST be caused by the environment

Society in which ALL people live in the same environment

All differences MUST because by genes

The contribution of genes is dependent on the contribution of the environment, and vice versa.

NATURE VS. NURTURE

Degree of influence of genes on intelligence !

No genetic influence at low SES !

Substantial genetic influence at high SES

Turkheimer et al., 2003

NATURE VS. NURTURE

Degree of influence of environment on

intelligence !

Strong environmental influence at low SES

!Substantial genetic

influence at high SES


NATURE VS. NURTURE

Degree of influence of environment on

intelligence !

Strong environmental influence at low SES

!Weak environmental influence at high SES


NATURE THROUGH NURTURE

Gene expression dependent on environment

Same Genes + Different Environments → Different Outcomes

Gene expression only occurs in the presence of environmental stimulation

OTHER ISSUES WITH STATUS ATTAINMENT MODELS

Horan (1978)

“Status attainment rests on a functionalist conception of social structure in which social positions are conceived of as levels of performance which are

differentially evaluated and rewarded within a competitive market situation…

…the assumption of fully open and competitive allocation of individuals to jobs (i.e., market homogeneity) provides a source of justification for restricting

attention to the individual characteristics of jobholders.”


Is it really about motivation?

!

Initial Assumption: The association between adolescent ambition & later achievement is an indication that the motivation to excel affects achievement.

Alternative Explanation: People recognize probable outcomes for themselves given what they know about societal constraints on social mobility, and people who know they have a low likelihood of moving “up the ladder” are more likely to say they expect to achieve less. (Measure is of what you expect, not what you want.)


Evidence

1. The higher the SES of the student body, the higher a student’s goals and levels of educational attainment.

BUT…

2. The higher the average ability level of the student body, the lower the goals and levels of educational attainment.

BACK TO TRACKING ISSUES…

Entwisle & Hayduk (1988)

!

“Not only does a high level of performance in one year facilitate a high level in the next, but a ‘paper person’ is created that follows the child from grade to grade. Cumulative records that follow children through

school could support the children’s high [or low] performance in the later grades by affecting subsequent teachers’ expectations.”

SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Stratification

Education

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