How Schooling Affects Social Mobility - Ideas from Sorokin, Reardon and Collins
May 2024
Summary
This paper explores the challenges of social mobility within the 'American Dream,' focusing on the role of education. Drawing on Pitirim Sorokin, Sean F. Reardon, and Randall Collins, it highlights how schools can both facilitate and hinder mobility, often reinforcing socio-economic disparities. Sorokin discusses schools as selective barriers, while Reardon emphasizes the widening income achievement gap's impact on educational outcomes. Collins critiques the functionalist view, arguing that educational stratification perpetuates existing inequalities. The paper advocates for equal access to quality education, comprehensive support systems, and inclusive policies to ensure that hard work can lead to success regardless of socio-economic background.
In a society where the 'American Dream' promises that anybody may succeed with hard work and effort, many individuals find it increasingly difficult to attain this dream. A child's home predicts their future more than their ability or efforts. "Social and Cultural Mobility" by Pitirim Sorokin, "The Widening Income Achievement Gap" by Sean F. Reardon, and "Functional and Conflict Theories of Educational Stratification" by Randall Collins offer distinct perspectives on the mechanisms through which schooling affects social mobility, particularly within the US context.
The paper by Sorokin focuses on the ways in which various social institutions, such as schools, either help or impede the process of social mobility. According to him, schools serve as both channels and obstacles to social mobility. In essence, they are "sieves" that test, select, and distribute people into different social strata depending on their talents and social character. He contends that schools are both channels and impediments to social mobility. This perspective emphasizes the ways in which educational institutions contribute to social stratification by reinforcing pre-existing social hierarchies. It suggests that individuals who are successful in the educational system are often pre-selected based on their socio-economic origins. The article "The Widening Income Achievement Gap" written by Reardon, provides a detailed study of the disparities in educational achievements that are tied to the levels of family income in the United States. Through a discussion of the ways in which economic circumstances, shifting family structures, and educational policies interact to impact educational performance and, therefore, social mobility, his interpretation contributes to a more profound understanding of social mobility. Education is becoming more important for professional achievement, and the prospects for upward social mobility are decreasing for those who come from families with lower incomes. Even though it has the potential to operate as a great equalizer, the education system often contributes to the perpetuation of existing inequalities by offering varying degrees of educational quality and resources according to socioeconomic position. Lastly, Collins challenges the functionalist viewpoint that education just provides people with essential work skills. Instead, he argues that educational stratification often reflects and reproduces the existing socioeconomic disparities in society. In his argument, he contends that educational institutions are used by status groups not just to satisfy the technical requirements of the labor market but also to preserve and improve their social positions. According to this point of view, social mobility is heavily impacted by the power dynamics and conflicts within a society. These dynamics, in turn, decide the available educational possibilities and results.
Since socioeconomic background affects educational attainment, changes should concentrate on equalizing access to excellent education, especially in underfunded schools. Funding early childhood education in impoverished regions helps reduce socioeconomic inequities. Strategies should encompass family and community support and integrate social services with educational frameworks to offer comprehensive student assistance. To promote critical thinking and inclusion, policies should address social settings, diversity courses, and eliminate standardized testing. If not eliminating, standardized testing should be implemented differently in a way it would not be used as a source to define success, for both the teacher and the student. Diversity and inclusion in schools and reducing obstacles for marginalized groups may help demolish societal stratifications from the start, which could significantly decrease after the students start adult life. These techniques try to revive the American Dream fairly by ensuring that hard work and dedication are enough for success regardless of a child's home life.
References
Becker, Gary. "Human Capital." The Structure of Schooling, edited by Richard Arum, Irenee R. Beattie, Karly S. Ford. SAGE Publications, 2015.
Collins, Randall. "Functional and Conflict Theories of Educational Stratification.” The Structure of Schooling, edited by Richard Arum, Irenee R. Beattie, Karly S. Ford. SAGE Publications, 2015.
Meyer, John. "The Effects of Education as an Institution." The Structure of Schooling, edited by Richard Arum, Irenee R. Beattie, Karly S. Ford. SAGE Publications, 2015.
Lareau, Annette. "Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families." The Structure of Schooling, edited by Richard Arum, Irenee R. Beattie, Karly S. Ford. SAGE Publications, 2015.
Willis, Paul. "Learning to Labor." The Structure of Schooling, edited by Richard Arum, Irenee R. Beattie, Karly S. Ford. SAGE Publications, 2015.
Sorokin, Pitirim. "Social and Cultural Mobility." The Structure of Schooling, edited by Richard Arum, Irenee R. Beattie, Karly S. Ford. SAGE Publications, 2015.
Reardon, Sean. "The Widening Income Achievement Gap." The Structure of Schooling, edited by Richard Arum, Irenee R. Beattie, Karly S. Ford. SAGE Publications, 2015.