Social Stratification

Determinants of social status in a class

1. Wealth and Income

Possession of substantial amounts of wealth is the main characteristic distinguishing the upper class
from other class groups in society. Persons having more wealth and income generally have higher social
position and respect in society. Wealth and income (money), though necessary for the upper-class
status, yet one's class position is not directly proportional to his income.

A prostitute has less social status than a professor though her income is far higher than the professor.
Despite all its weaknesses, wealth and income are an essential determinant of social class, partly
because of the way of life it permits or enforces (a social class is a way of life), and somewhat because it
suggests about one's family life and way of life.

Upper-class children have a better chance, and for their grandchildren, a secure upper-class status is
practically assured. Wealth and income, over some time, usually gain upper-class status. In his analysis
of class divisions, Karl Marx argued that social class is based entirely on wealth.

2. Occupation:

Occupation is an exceedingly important aspect of social class, and as such, it is another determinant of
class status. It is a well-known fact that some kinds of work are more honorable than others, e.g.,
doctors, engineers, administrators, professors, and lawyers hold a higher position than a car mechanic
or manual worker.

The high-prestige occupations generally receive higher incomes, yet there are many excep tions. Trade is
also one of the best clues to one's way of life, and therefore to one's social class membership. It affects
many other facets of life (values, beliefs, marital relations) other than determining the social class.

3. Education

There is a close reciprocal relationship between social class and culture. To get a higher education, one
needs money plus motivation. Upper-class children already have money for the most excellent schools
and colleges. They also have family tradition and social encouragement. One's amount and kind of
Education affect the class rank he will secure. Thus, Education is one of the main levers of a man's social
class.

4. Prestige

It refers to the respect and admiration with which occupation is regarded by society. Prestige is
independent of the particular person who occupies a job. Sociologists have tried to assign prestige
rankings to various professions. Besides wealth, occupation, and Education, there are specific other
criteria which help a person to attain higher social status in society.

These are family background, kinship relations, location of residence, etc., but Education, occupation,
and expanded income are the most reasonably visible clues of social class. These are associated most of
the other behavior characteristics which make one 'belong.' Most of the social scientists have used these
three criteria in dividing people into social classes for research purposes.
Social Mobility

refers to the movement of individuals between different positions in the hierarchies of social
stratification in society. It may involve upward, or downward mobility that is moving up or down the
hierarchy, or it requires movement from one generation to the next.

1. Intergenerational mobility

refers to mobility between generations. This is measured by the achieved status of an individual when
compared to his /her family of origin, even though the position of the father is most often used.

2. Intragenerational mobility

refers to mobility within a single generation. It is measured by comparing the occupational status of an
individual at different points in his/her life (Giddens 2001). Mobility can only occur within an open social
stratification system where the individuals achieved status takes precedence over the individual's
ascribed status. Achieved status is a social position obtained through an individual's talent and ability.
Ascribed status is a social position that is fixed at birth and through life. (Barnard and Burgess)

Status Symbol

A status symbol is generally an object that means to signify its owners' high social and economic
standing. Although the objects that act as status symbols change over time, they are always linked to
the primary differences between the upper and lower classes within the society. In capitalistic societies,
status symbols are most often tied to monetary wealth. However, in places where warriors are
respected, for example, a bodily scar can represent honor or courage, and thus become a status
symbol. 

 The Uniform as Status Symbol

Another type of status symbol is a uniform that symbolizes membership in an organization, such as the
military or law enforcement. A uniform as a status symbol may also display additional insignia of rank,
specialty, tenure, and other details of the owner's status within the organization. A state may
confer decorations, medals, or badges that can show that the wearer has heroic or official status.

In many cultures around the world, dress codes may specify who ought to wear particular kinds or styles
of clothing, and when and where specific items of clothing are displayed. A modern example of this is in
the professional world, where certain brands of ties, suits, or shoes confer status on the wearer

 Status symbol Change according to cultural values

Culture and society are fickle, and the actual goods that become status symbols regularly change
according to taste, popularity, branding, psychology, and a host of other factors. Items that have
become status symbols range from jewelry and clothing to recreational vehicles and how many homes
one owns. Many have speculated that the earliest foods to be domesticated were luxury feast foods,
used to establish one's place in society as a rich person.

Status symbols can also change according to one's vocation or avocation. For example,
among intellectuals, an ivy league education, along with the ability to think intelligently, is a vital status
symbol regardless of the individual's material possessions. In academic circles, a long list of publications
and a securely tenured position at a prestigious university or research institute are marks of high status.

 Gilded Ages Spawn Various Status Symbols

Mark Twain dubbed the decades after the Civil War, the "Gilded Age." It was a period dominated by
political scandal and the "Robber Barons," the growth of railroads, the economization of oil and
electricity, and the development of America's first giant—national and even international—
corporations.

During the early Gilded Age, sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term "conspicuous consumption."
He was referring to rich people flaunting their wealth through wasteful spending. Why buy a $1,000 suit
when a $100 suit serves the same function? The answer, Veblen said, was power. The rich asserted their
dominance by showing how much money they could burn on things they didn't need. While radical at
the time, Veblen's observation seems obvious now.

 Numerous Gilded Ages

In the intervening decades, conspicuous consumption became deeply embedded in the texture of
American capitalism, and it seems that each decade has identified a new host of status symbols.

 The 1980's and 1990's

America's more recent gilded age of the 1980s and most of the 1990s, was all about flaunting excess, as
echoed in the movie "Wall Street" and television series like "Dallas" and "Dynasty." Back then one was
perceived to be rich if he or she had an income of around $100,000, but by 1989, American millionaires
had become quite common. 

 The "Power Scarf"

As more women entered the American business and finance, women's clothes and accessories became
status symbols. In the 1980s and '90s, the sea of men on Wall Street was dotted occasionally with
women sporting their power suits, but with that ubiquitous flash of color—the imperative silk square of
the designer "power scarf," which at the time ran for about $200 apiece.

 Your gym as a Status Symbol

Acquiring insanely expensive commodities isn't the only way that modern elites project power. More
recently, another form of the status symbol has emerged. In today's gilded age, identifying oneself as a
member of the upper class doesn't just require conspicuous consumption. It requires noticeable
production. If conspicuous consumption involves the worship of luxury, prominent production consists
of the cult of labor. It isn't about how much you spend. It's about how hard you work—which includes,
by the way, how hard you work out at the gym.
Role

In Sociology and Anthropology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of individuals into

social classes, castes, and divisions within a society. These hierarchies, which may be overtly or covertly
present, or not present at all in some organizations, are quite common in state-level communities.
Several studies are going on the relationship between Education and social stratification. Stratification is
patterned by social inequality. It can be open or closed based upon the interaction of various layers of
the society.

In our society, we rank people according to the scarce resources they control. Money and property are
limited resources in our community, and those who own a great deal of money and property,
wealthy people, can use this resource to gain power. It has been said that very respected people also
control another scarce resource – public respect and that they can use this resource to gain power. 

Political leaders are likewise influential because they can control the members of a political party. This
ranking of people according to their wealth, prestige, or party position is known as Social Stratification.
Stratification separates the rich from the poor, the powerful from the powerless. Those who possess
scarce resources have a high rank, and those who do not own them have a low level. 

Our place in the stratification system influences every part of our lives; where we live, go to school and
work; what we eat, how we vote, and whom we marry. Our sexual behavior, sports, hobbies, and health
are all affected by the rank society gives us. Therefore, social stratification is an area of great interest to
sociologists. 

A caste system comes by birth and is allocated to the individual. A class system is based upon people
falling into classes based on factors like wealth, income, Education, and occupation. A meritocracy is a
system of social stratification that confers standing based upon personal worth and rewarding efforts.
Most of these show how access to Education and educational achievements are related to
socioeconomic background. Though Education leads to the formation of various layers in society.
Knowledge helps individuals to develop their abilities and aptitudes. It has also consistently been a
means of equalization.

Effects of social stratification on learning

Universal Education will help reduce the disparities of wealth and power by providing able young people
with skills to enable them to find a valued place and position in society. All human beings are not born
with the same aptitudes, but an organization, if so wishes, can provide equal opportunities to all its
members for achieving goals and aspirations of their life. 
Literature in this area of sociology of education deals with broadly three issues:
1. Caste, Class, and Education.
2. Women in Education.
3. Education of the poor and slum-dwellers.
STRATIFICATION AND EQUALIZATION OF EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES:
Social stratification refers to differential access to resources, power, autonomy, and status across social
groups. Social stratification implies social inequality; if some groups have access to more resources than
others, the distribution of those resources is inherently unequal.
Societies can be stratified on any number of dimensions.

Even though social stratification is a multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional field of study, there is a

tendency to understand it mainly from the perspective of sociology. Further, most analysts perceive
Indian society as a series of antinomies such as caste/class, caste/power, structure/culture, and
structure/process. 

Equality is said to exist only when inequality has been removed. But the difference is not eliminated.
Whatever measures may be taken to ensure justice, the difference will exist to some degree. Thus, what
the programs of equality do or can do is to narrow down the inequalities. It means "elimination of that
level or type of Inequality which is considered undesirable or unacceptable within the society." So,
the purist of equality aims not at total balance in the philosophical sense, but an equitable distribution
of societal resources.

Modern society views Education as an essential societal resource and a means of achieving the goal of
Egalitarianism. Education is looked upon as a means of raising the social status of an individual in
various ways. It is accepted as a basic human need to have a desirable quality of life. Given the equal
opportunity for general, vocational, technical, and professional Education, most citizens have the same
status in society. Education is often considered as an equalizer.

Equality of educational opportunities means that an individual has equal access to Education. Equality of
educational opportunities is one of the goals of the ideology of Egalitarianism. However, inequality
of educational opportunities exists throughout the world and more so in India.

The Education Commission (1964-1966) has observed: The main social objectives of Education is to
equalize opportunity, enabling the backward or underprivileged classes and individuals to use Education
as a lever for the improvement of their condition. Every society that values social justice and is anxious
to improve a lot of the common man and cultivate all available talent must ensure progressive equality
of opportunity to all sections of the population.

DIFFERENTIAL STANDARD OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS:

Children from low-income families receive Education in substandard institutions that are not adequately
equipped with teachers, teaching aids, and apparatus. Usually urban schools and colleges are of better
standard than rural schools and colleges. Differences in the rule of educational institutions ultimately
cause inequality in the standard of students.

POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT:

To ensure equalization of educational opportunities specific measures to be taken with immediate
effect. These measures may be based on the needs and status of disadvantaged groups, disabled
children, and girls.
 Primary Education: Primary Education should seek to satisfy the basic needs of all people. There
should not be any differentiation of curricula at this stage. Equality of educational opportunities
at the primary stage requires the provision of free and compulsory Education for all children
without any discrimination.
 Secondary Education: Individual differences among boys and girls are more prominent at the
secondary stage diversified curricula should be introduced to cater to the needs, interests and
capabilities of students.
 Higher Professional Education: At the scene of higher Education and professional education,
emphasis should be placed on individual capacity or merit and maintenance of quality and
standard.
 Compensatory Education: Disadvantaged children have an unstimulating environment. They
attend primary schools without prerequisite learning, which is necessary for successful
completion of primary education.

Common School System

  Equalization of educational opportunity necessitates the adoption of a typical school system both at
the primary and secondary stages. It will be a system with the following:

1. Open to all children without any discrimination.

2. Admission will be based on talent.
3. Adequate facilities and reasonably ethical standards
4. No tuition fee will be charged.
5. Meet the needs and aspirations of the middle and lower classes.
The nationalization of the education system is a crucial step to equalize educational opportunities. There
should be only one agency in the country to spread and control Education. No private agency should be
allowed to function in the field of Education. Uniform educational facilities can only be provided in a
national system of Education.

FREE EDUCATION AND SCHOLARSHIPS:

To provide free and universal primary education for the age group, 6-14 is a constitutional obligation. All
Education should be tuition-free. Free textbooks and writing materials should be made available to poor
and meritorious students to ensure equality no limited for introducing a large number of loan-
scholarships, improving the method of selection.

EQUALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: 

The equalization of educational opportunities is permanently linked with the equality notions in the
social system. The social network which intends to provide equal opportunities for the advancement of
all must make provisions for equal educational opportunities also. Modern industrial society education
has become the principal agency for socializing newborn into law-abiding citizens and productive
members of the society.

Formal Education has become almost indispensable because to participate in economic production. One
needs to learn specialized skills that cannot be acquired through family or any other agency. Due to
the indispensability of formal Education in advanced industrial societies, Education is provided by the
state as a matter of right for all its citizens. Legal institutions – schools, colleges, and universities are
organized for this purpose.

In most societies, today, legislation exists, guaranteeing equality of the right of Education. To realize this
ideal of equality of educational opportunities, special efforts are made by the welfare states in
industrial societies to provide compulsory education to the socially deprived. In developing countries
like India state has assumed the responsibility to
provide universal free Education at the school level. Special policy measures have been developed to
spread modern scientific secular Education to rural areas, and policy of protective discriminating has
been adopted to encourage the traditionally deprived section like SC and ST to take to advanced
Education. However, in spite of the creation of a legal
framework in most societies to ensure quality of educational opportunity such an ideal continues to be
elusive in reality even in the industrially advanced societies.

Bourdon relates the costs and benefits of course selection to family  and peer group solidarity. His work
has important implications for practical solutions to the problem of inequality of education opportunity.
Even if positive discrimination worked and schools could compensate for the primary effects of
stratification considerable inequality of educational opportunity would remain.

Bourdon argues that there are two ways of removing the secondary effects of stratification. The first
involves the educational system. If it provides a single compulsory curriculum for all students the
element of choice in the selection of course and duration of stay in the system would be removed. The
individual would no longer be influenced by his courses and remain in full time education for the same
period. He said that more the branching points there are in the educational system point at which the
student can leave or choose between alternative courses the more likely working class students are to
leave or choose lower level
courses. 

The gradual raising of the school leaving age in all advanced industrial societies has reduced inequality of
educational opportunity but the present trend indicates that this reduction will at best proceed at a
much slower rate. Bourdon's second solution to the problem of inequality of educational opportunity is
the abolition of social stratification. He feels that this is the direction of economic equality as the most
effective way of reducing inequality or educational opportunity. 

As a result, he argues that the key to equality of opportunity lies outside rather than inside the schools.
Bourdon concludes: for inequality or educational opportunity to be eliminated, either a society must be
un-stratified or its school system must be completely undifferentiated.

PROBLEMS CONCERNING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITIES IN EDUCATION:

Education helps in establishing equality and ensuring social justice but the system of Education itself can
add to the existing inequalities or at least perpetuate the same. Inequalities of educational opportunities
arise due to Poverty as the poor cannot afford to meet the expenses of Education. Children studying in
the rural schools must compete with the children in urban areas where there are well-equipped schools.
In the places where no primary, secondary or collegiate educational institutions exist children do not get
the same opportunity as those who have all these in their neighbourhood. Wide inequalities also arise
from differences in home environments. A child from a rural household or slum does not have the same
opportunity as a child from an upper-class home with educated parents. There is wide sex disparity in
India. Here girl's Education is not given the same encouragement as boys. Girls are still secluded in the
four walls of the house, they have restrictions and are pressurized to stay under the burden of taboos
arising due to the mind set of family members or due to the huge responsibilities lying on the tiny
shoulders. Education of backward classes including SC and ST and economically backward sections is not
at par with that of other communities or classes. 

Social Problems

 Poverty

Among the causes of poverty are the following:

Overpopulation

Calamities

Unemployment

Graft and corruption

Naturally, the effects of poverty are deprivation of even the basic necessities of life, low quality of life,
low education, low morale, feeling of insecurity, malnutrition, and theft robberies.

 Gambling

Legal or illegal, gambling is a problem. The more common forms of gambling are gambling in the casino,
jueteng, cockfighting, and card games. The possible cause are:

1. Recreation
2. Strong belief in “luck”
3. Get-rich-quick mentality
4. Lack of strong spiritual and moral values.

Negative effects of gambling

1. Some people becomes impoverished because of gambling.

2. They lose fortunes especially if luck is not on their side.
3. Excessive gambling at night causes deterioration in the health of an individual.
4. Since gambling has no economic value, time spent it in useless.
  Alcoholism

Alcoholism is an excessive drinking of liquor. It results to drunkenness which is also a serious problem.
Among the possible cause of alcoholism are the following:

1. Recreation
2. Social Function
3. Frustration
4. Lack of spiritual and moral Values

Negative effects of Alcoholism

1. Killing
2. Injury to Health

 Traffic Congestion

Traffic jams are a serious problem in the cities and big towns. Some of the results are

1. Concentration of establishments in the city

2. Oversupply if vehicles
3. Narrow streets
4. Lack of flyovers and double-decked streets
5. Illegal Parking

Congestion

1. Waste of time
2. Hampered production
3. Accident and killings

 Deforestation

Some cause of deforestation are the following:

1. Illegal logging
2. Charcoal making
3. Kaingin system

Negative effects of deforestation

1. Flash Floods
2. Increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere
 3. Host of problems for indigenous people
 Brownouts

Brownouts are becoming a serious problem throughout the country. Some of the causes are

1. Lack of foresight
2. Lack of expertise
3. Graft and corruption

Adverse effects of brownouts

1. Reduced production
2. Unemployment and Underemployment
3. Demoralization

 Pollution

Pollution is also a serious problem especially in the cities and big towns. The causes are:

1. The emission of toxic carbon dioxide from moving vehicles especially the smoke-belching trucks.
2. The factories emptying their toxic wastes into the rivers or esteros or into the ocean cause
water pollution.
3. Radiation form the nuclear plant creates extensive damages

Negative effects of Pollution

1. Poisoning of People
2. Poisoning of water Life
3. Instant Death

 Unemployment

This is a perennial problem. Among the causes are:

1. Population explosion
2. Mismatch between skills developed by schools and skills needed by industry
3. Slow industrialization

Adverse effects of Unemployment

1. Poverty
2. Employment abroad
3. Low education and low quality of life
4. Squatting

Philosophical of Education
The Importance of Philosophy of education to the teacher

Philosophy of Education has an important role to play in preparing for a career in teaching. First, it
enables teachers to acquire a grasp of the conceptual field of education and an ability to find their way
around the often contested views within that field, which in turn impinge upon the normative structure
of particular education systems. Second, it enables them to understand better the conceptual debates
that involve the subjects that they are teaching. Third it enables teachers to understand the scope and
limits of empirical research in education and the relationships between that research and conceptual
issues in education. These claims are discussed with examples, and recent government statements
about standards and competences in teaching are looked at through the perspective of a conceptually
informed, career-oriented profession of teaching. Reasons for the past decline of philosophy of
education in teacher education and how they might be avoided in the future are also reviewed.

Teacher’s Philosophy of teaching

Your teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning. It's a
one to two page narrative that conveys your core ideas about being an effective teacher in the context
of your discipline. It develops these ideas with specific, concrete examples of what the teacher and
learners will do to achieve those goals. Importantly, your teaching philosophy statement also explains
why you choose these options.

Teachers Philosophy of thinking must include your:

1. Your concept of learning

2. Your concept of teaching
3. Your goal for students
4. Your teaching methods
5. Your interaction with students
6. Assessing learning
7. Professional growth

Sources of Philippine Philosophies of education

It is important to understand how philosophy and education are interrelated. In order to become the
most effective teacher you can be, you must understand your own beliefs, while at the same time
empathizing with others. In this chapter we will examine the study of philosophy, the major branches of
philosophy, and the major philosophical schools of thought in education. You will have a chance to
examine how these schools of thought can help you define your personal educational philosophy.
Developing your own educational philosophy is a key part of your journey to becoming a teacher. In this
article, we will discuss the 5 things that educators should know about the philosophy of education.

What are the major branches of philosophy?

 The four main branches of philosophy are metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic. Metaphysics
considers questions about the physical universe and the nature of ultimate reality. Epistemology
examines how people come to learn what they know. Axiology is the study of fundamental principles or
values. Logic pursues the organization of the reasoning process. Logic can be divided into two main
components: deductive reasoning, which takes general principles and relates them to a specific case;
and inductive reasoning, which builds up an argument based on specific examples.

What are the major schools of thought in philosophy? 

Idealism can be divided into three categories: classical, religious, and modern. Classical idealism, the
philosophy of the Greeks Socrates and Plato, searches for an absolute truth. Religious idealism tries to
reconcile God and humanity. Modern idealism, stemming from the ideas of Descartes, links perception
and existence.

Realism, the school of thought founded by Aristotle, believes that the world of matter is separate from
human perceptions. Modern realist thought has led to the “blank slate” notion of human capabilities.
Pragmatism believes that we should select the ideas, actions, and consequences with the most desirable
outcome, as well as learning from previous experiences to achieve desirable consequences. John
Dewey’s Experimentalism brought the scientific method of inductive reasoning to the educational
sphere.

Postmodernism and existentialism focus on intricate readings of texts and social and political
conventions, examining existing structures for flaws. Essentially, they focus heavily on the present, and
on understanding life as we know it. Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction methods of reading texts suggests
that universal rationality is not found in objective reality, but in the text. Michel Foucault, another
postmodern philosopher, examined the relationship between truth and power.

What are the major philosophies of education? 

The major philosophies of education can be broken down into three main types: teacher-centered
philosophies, student-centered philosophies, and society-centered philosophies. These include
Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, Existentialism, Behaviorism,
Constructivism, Conservatism, and Humanism.

Essentialism and Perennialism are the two types of teacher-centered philosophies of education.
Essentialism is currently the leading style of public education in the United States. It is the teaching of
basic skills that have been proven over time to be needed in society. Perennialism focuses on the
teaching of great works.

There are three types of student-centered philosophies of education. Progressivism focuses on

developing the student’s moral compass. Humanism is about fostering each student to his or her fullest
potential. Constructivism focuses on using education to shape a student’s world view.

There are two types of socially-centered philosophies of education. Reconstructionism is the perspective
that education is the means to solve social problems. Behaviorism focuses on cultivating behaviors that
are beneficial to society.

What additional ideologies of educational philosophy exist?

 Other notable ideologies of educational philosophy include Nationalism, American Exceptionalism,

Ethno-nationalism, Liberalism, Conservatism, and Marxism. Nationalism is a national spirit, or love of
country, that ties the interests of a nation to the symbols that represent it. American Exceptionalism is a
form of Nationalism that implies that the United States is a special country that is privileged to have a
manifest destiny. Ethno-nationalism is similar to nationalism, but rather than the loyalty lying with one’s
nation, it lies with one’s ethnic or racial group. Liberalism is the ideology that people should enjoy the
greatest possible individual freedoms and that it should be guaranteed by due process of law. The
opposite of liberalism is conservatism. Conservatism is the belief that institutions should function
according to their intended original purpose and any concepts that have not been maintained should be
restored. Finally, Marxism is an ideological and political movement that focuses on the class system as a
form of conflict within the social, political, and educational realms.

How is an educator’s educational philosophy determined?

 It is important to identify your own philosophy of education in order to understand your own system of
values and beliefs so that you are easily able to describe your teaching style to potential employers.

While writing your own personal philosophy of education statement, it is vital to address several key
components: How do I think? What is the purpose of education? What is the role of the teacher? How
should the teacher teach? What is the role of the student? What should be taught? Additionally, make
sure that you be yourself and are clear and concise. Do some research about the school you are applying
for and address their missions and goals in your statement. Remember that education is about the
students and also remember to focus on your discipline. Think of the great teachers you have had in
your life. Remember to get feedback. Additionally, don’t make it long and don’t ramble. Don’t rehash
your resume, be a know-it-all, or use strong statements.