Topic 3

EDUCATION AND STRATIFICATION

 Education and Stratification :
“Think Pair Share” Discussion
Some questions to consider as you read Topic 3

1. What role does education play in social stratification?

2. What are some key variables, both in and outside the
schools, that affect stratification?
3. Using appropriate examples, discuss the factors that
contribute to the increase of private schools
4. Can education change the social mobility of
individuals in society? Justify your answers
In our society is that education provides a legitimate mechanism
to achieve and “move up” in social class – upward social mobility

Weber - social class is comprised of wealth, power, and prestige.

Social classes have certain values attached to them and we learn

them through socialization which includes attitudes towards
education.
 Reflection & Discussion

Additional reference :

Refer: ASCRIBED STATUS & ACHIEVED STATUS

Explain your understanding of ascribed

status and achieved status with
appropriate examples
 Education and Stratification

The expectation in our society is that we can improve

our position through hard work and education.

Additional degrees command higher incomes.

Education plays a significant role in sorting people

into occupational categories.

Many less tangible factors enter into the sorting process.

Major Explanations of Stratification

Functionalist Theory

A major function of schools is to develop, sort, and

select individuals by ability levels to fill hierarchical
positions;

Functionalists argue that this is a rational process

based on the merit of individuals.

How do we determine the value of merit?

Conflict Theory
Values, rules, and institutions of society reflect the dominant
class and is evidenced in education.

Schools were developed to meet the needs of capitalist

employers and to provide a mechanism of social control
allowing the elite to rule.

This reproduces inequalities from one generation to the next.

Educational Opportunity
Equality of opportunity asserts that all people have an
equal chance of obtaining equal opportunity to achieve
in our society.

Does Malaysian educational system have equal

educational opportunity? Justify your answers
 Public versus Private Schools
“Status rights” in private schools allow for the “passage of
privilege.”
Do private schools produce higher-achieving students than
public schools?

In private schools, parents have to pay more to ensure their

children behave well enough to stay in them, which implies
more parental involvement.
 Ability Grouping & Teacher Expectations

Cognitive differences are strongly associated with

parental social status – even in early childhood.

Achievement grouping was developed because the

thinking was that it is more efficient to teach students
with the same level of ability (reading groups in
elementary schools and tracks in high schools).
 Impact of Ability Grouping
Lower ability groups are largely comprised of minorities and students
from lower social classes, who are often stigmatized.

Students in any given group tend to be fairly homogeneous.

Each school has its own stratification system.

Discuss how do Malaysian schools streamed students?

Students in upper-ability groups are disproportionately from the upper

socioeconomic strata and teachers tend to provide more feedback to
them.
Ability grouping often reinforces race and class segregation,
perpetuates stereotypes, and lowers aspirations and self-esteem
of lower-grouping students.

Many argue that tracking programs based on presumed ability

result in two unfortunate consequences: “more academic failure,
and heightened racial and social class animosity” (Brookover,
Erickson, and McEvoy, 1996) that are more important than the
gains it provides for those in the higher tracks.
What are the implications of streaming in
Malaysian Schools?
Teacher expectations
Students aspirations
Inequality
Students self esteem and self fulfiling prophecy
Segregation/Polarization
Discrimination
Cultural reproduction
Labeling & stereotyping
Teacher Expectations
Influenced by a variety of factors:

1.Student’s previous work and test scores

2.Student’ dress, name, and physical appearance
3.Attractiveness

4.Language and accent

5.Gender

6.Parents’ occupation
7.Single-parent and motherhood status
8.The way the student responds to the teacher
Self-fulfilling prophecy:

Children pick up on the subtle cues and interactions

from the teacher.

Teachers expect less and students give less, as

students internalize teacher expectations.
 Discussion

Discuss HOW schools in your country enter

into the sorting process ?

Support your answers with appropriate

examples
 GROUP DISCUSSION

1. Discuss the factors that lead to increase of

private schools?

2. Explain TWO implications when parents send

their children to private schools