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Sunday, 30 Decem ber 2012

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Social Stratification and Education

2012 (4)
December (4)
Aurobindo

What is Social Stratification?

In sociology , social stratification is a concept inv olv ing the "classification of people into
groups based on shared socio-economic conditions ... a relational set of inequalities with
economic, social, political and ideological dimensions." When differences lead to greater
status, power or priv ilege for some groups ov er the other it is called Social Stratification.

It is a sy stem by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy . Social stratification

is based on four basic principles:
(1 ) Social stratification is a trait of society , not simply a reflection of indiv idual differences;
(2) Social stratification carries ov er from generation to generation;
(3) Social stratification is univ ersal but v ariable;
(4) Social stratification inv olv es not just inequality but beliefs as well.

In modern Western societies, stratification is broadly organized into three main

lay ers: upper class, middle class, and lower class. Each of these classes can be further
subdiv ided into smaller classes (e.g. occupational).

EDUCATION,

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Education and Social Stratification

Meaning of Social Stratification

Features
The categories of Social Stratification
The effects of stratification on the liv es of indiv iduals and groups
Causes of Social Stratification
The process of Stratification
Ty pes of Social Stratification

EDUCAT ION AND SOCIAL ST RAT IFICAT ION:

In Sociology and Anthropology , social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of
indiv iduals into social classes, castes and div isions within a society . These hierarchies,
which may be ov ertly or cov ertly preset, or not present at all in some societies, are quite
common in state-lev el societies.
In our society we rank people according to the scarce resources they control. Money and
property are scarce resources in our society 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
v ery respected people also control another scarce resource public respect and that they
can use this resource to gain power.

Political leaders are likewise powerful because they are in a position to 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 hav e a high rank and
those who do not possess them hav e a low rank.
Our place in the stratification sy stem influences ev ery part of our liv es; where we liv e, go to
school and work; what we eat how we v ote and whom we marry . Our sex ual behav ior,
sports, hobbies and health are all affected by the rank society giv es us. Therefore
social stratification is an area of great interest to sociologists.
MEANING OF SOCIAL ST RAT IFICAT ION:
The term stratification is deriv ed from the geological concept of Strata which means rock
lay ers created by natural processes. Stratification is a hierarchy of positions with regard to

Emile Durkheim (French socialist)

Social Stratification and Education
Paulo Friere

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economic production which influences the social rewards to those in the positions.
DEFINIT ION:According Ray mond W. Murray ; Social Stratification is horizontal div ision of society into
higher and lower social units. Ev ery society is div ided into more or less distinct groups.
Ev en the most primitiv e societies had some form of social stratification.
FEAT URES :
The main features of social stratification are;
1 . It is a social and economic categorization of indiv iduals within a societal framework.
2. It is based on Caste, Class, and Status & Power of a Community or Section of People within
the framework of a society .
3. Social Stratification ex ists because of natural differences in peoples abilities.
4. Due to Social Stratification societies tend to be stable and are held together through
consensus.
5. It lessens conflicts & prov ides structure.
6. Social Stratification is a natural & v oluntary separation according to race, social &
economic status.
T HE CAT EGORIES OF SOCIAL ST RAT IFICAT ION:
The categories of social stratification are; social class, gender, race and ethnicity and age
and disability .
Some indicativ e features of these categories are as follows:
a) Social Class
Distinction between wealth and income and their distribution in society .
Social mobility and the link between class and life chances.
Changing nature of class and its relationship to the economy and occupational structure.
b) Gender
Difference between biological notion of sex and the socially constructed notion of gender.
Nature and consequences of gender-role socialisation.
Gender inequalities in terms of occupation, family and social roles and ex pectations.
c) Race and Ethnicity
Nature, size and distribution of different racial and ethnic groups in modern society .
Inequality relating to race and ethnicity ; in particular, discrimination in education,
employ ment and on life chances.
Role of the mass media in the formation of stereoty pes and the consequences for ethnic
groups.
d) Age
Social construction of the concept of age, including awareness of different notions of
childhood, adolescence and old age in different societies.
Inequalities as a result of age, such as employ ment, unemploy ment, low pay , access to
benefits and restrictions on social behav iour.
Implications of changes in the age structure of modern society .
e) Disability
Social construction of disability .
Inequality relating to disability ; in particular, discrimination in education, employ ment
and on life chances.
Role of the mass media in the formation of negativ e stereoty pes and the consequences for
disabled indiv iduals and groups.

T he effects of stratification on the liv es of indiv iduals groups :

The abov e aspects of social stratification should be studies in order to ex plore the nature of
social relationships, processes, structures and issues. Sub-cultural, cross-cultural,
historical, contemporary or anthropological ex amples should be used wherev er possible
and candidates should be encouraged to apply insights to current social issues or their own
life ex periences. Cross-cultural and/or anthropological ex amples may be drawn from the
Socialization.

Causes of Social Stratification:

There are fiv e basic points which giv es clear idea about the causes of social stratification;
Inequality Inequality ex ists because of natural differences in peoples abilities.
Conflict Stratification occurs due to conflict between different classes, with the upper

classes using superior power to take a larger share of the social resources.
Power Power influences ones definition of self and the importance of ideas in defining
social situations.
Wealth Difference in the wealth is also one of the causes of social stratification.
Instability Instability in the society being the cause of social stratification enhances
stability and induces members of the society to work hard.

ST RAT IFICAT ION AND EQUALIT Y EDUCAT IONAL OPPORT UNIT Y :

Social stratification refers to differential access to resources, power, autonomy , and status
across social groups. Social stratification implies social inequality ; if some groups hav e
access to more resources than others, the distribution of those resources is inherently
unequal.
Societies can be stratified on any number of dimensions. In the United States, the most
widely recognized stratification sy stems are based on race, social class, and gender. The
challenge for those of us interested in understanding the implications of social stratification
and social inequality for mental health is to trace the processes through which
macrostructures of social stratification become manifest in the micro conditions
of indiv idual liv es.
Those micro conditions can be objectiv e or subjectiv e, and the effects of
objectiv e conditions often depend on how those conditions are subjectiv ely perceiv ed.
Thus, the study of social stratification and mental health requires that we think at multiple
lev els of analy sis and about the connections between objectiv e and subjectiv e ex periences.
Giv en renewed interest in macro-micro links among sociologists (e.g., Huber, 1 990) and the
centrality of subjectiv e perceptions in social-psy chological theory , the study of
social stratification and mental health is a quintessentially sociological project.
"Ev en though social stratification is a multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional field of
study , there is a tendency to understand it mainly from the perspectiv e of sociology .
Further, most analy sts perceiv e Indian society as a series of antinomies such as
caste/class, caste/power, structure/culture and structure/process. Departing significantly
from both these v iewpoints, this book prov ides a comprehensiv e understanding of social
stratification and mobility in
India drawing essential inputs from major debates and dialogues in v arious branches of the
social sciences.
"Focusing on different segments of society --such as rural- agrarian and urban-industrial-K.L. Sharma cov ers a wide gamut of theoretical and methodological issues. He emphasizes
the need to study the ideology , structure and process of social inequality both temporally
and contex tually . The inclusion of discussions on social stratification particularly enriches
the comparativ e perspectiv e of the study . The role of the state and its policies in the
structuring of social stratification is also ex plored.
"The author maintains that while the cult urological ex planation of social mobility suffers
from serious inadequacies, the structural perspectiv e alone is unable to ex plain the entire
range of structure and change in the contex t of social inequality . He suggests that the casteclass-power nex us approach is not only more relev ant for analy zing social stratification and
mobility , but does away with antinomies as well.
"On the whole, this chapter prov ides a holistic understanding of the complex ities of Indian
society by analy zing the historical, cultural and political bases of social stratification. It will
be of particular interest to students and scholars of sociology , social anthropology , and
political
sociology , as also to concerned intellectuals and planners."
Equality of Educational Opportunity
Equality is said to ex ist only when inequality has been remov ed. But in reality inequality is
not totally eliminated. Whatev er measures may be taken to ensure equality , inequality will
ex ist to some degree. Thus what the programmes of equality do or can do is to narrow down
the inequalities. It means elimination of that lev el or ty pe of Inequality which is considered
undesirable or unacceptable within the society . So the purist of equality aims not at total
equality in the philosophical sense, but at an equitable distribution of societal resources.
Modern society v iews education as an important societal resource and a means of achiev ing
the goal of egalitarianism. Education is looked upon as a means of raising the social status of
an indiv idual in v arious way s. It is accepted as a basic human need to hav e a desirable
quality of life. Giv en equal opportunity for general, v ocational, technical and professional
education most citizens hav e equal status in the society .
Education is often considered as an equalizer.
Equality of educational opportunities means that an indiv idual has equal access to
education. Equality of educational opportunities is one of the goals of the ideology of
Egalitarianism. Howev er, inequality of educational opportunities ex ists throughout the
world and more so in
India.
The Education Commission (1 964-1 966) has observ ed: The main social objectiv es of

education is to equalize opportunity , enabling the backward or underpriv ileged classes and
indiv iduals to use education as a lev er for the improv ement of their condition. Ev ery society
that v alues social justice and is anx ious to improv e a lot of the common man and cultiv ate
all av ailable talent must ensure progressiv e equality of opportunity to all sections of the
population.

Differential standard of Educational Institutions:

Children from poor families receiv e education in substandard institutions which are not
properly equipped with teachers, teaching aids and apparatus. Usually urban schools and
colleges are of better standard than rural schools and colleges. Differences in the standard of
educational institutions ultimately cause inequality in the standard of students.
Positiv e Discrim ination in the Indian context:
In order to ensure equalization of educational opportunities certain measures to be taken
with immediate effect. These measures may be based on the needs and status of
disadv antaged groups, disabled children, and girls.
1. Prim ary 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
prov ision of free and compulsory education for all children without any
discrimination.
2. Secondary Education: Indiv idual differences among boy s and girls are more
prominent at
the secondary stage div ersified curricula should be introduced to cater to
the needs, interests and capabilities of students.
3. Higher Professional Education: At the stage of higher education and professional
education
emphasis should be placed on indiv idual capacity or merit and
maintenance of quality and standard.
4. Com pensatory Education: Disadv antaged children hav e an unstimulating
env ironment. They
attend primary schools without prerequisite learning which are necessary
for successful completion of primary education.
Com m on School Sy stem :
Equalization of educational opportunity necessitates adoption of a
common school sy stem-both at the primary and secondary stages. It will
be a sy stem1 . Which will be open to all children without any discrimination?
2. Where admission will be based on talent.
3. Which will maintain adequate facilities and reasonably good
standards?
4. Where no tuition fee will be charged.
5. Which will meet the needs and aspirations of the middle and lower
classes.
Nationalization of education sy stem is an important step to
equalize educational opportunities. There should be only one agency in the
country to spread and control education. No priv ate agency should be
allowed to function in the field of education. Uniform educational
facilities can only be prov ided in a national sy stem of education.
Free Education and Scholarships
To prov ide free and univ ersal primary education for the age group 6-1 4 is a constitutional
obligation. All Education should be tuition free. Free tex tbooks and writing materials should
be made av ailable to poor and meritorious students to ensure equality no limited for
introducing large number of loan-scholarships, improv ing the method of selection.
Equalization of Educational opportunity
The equalization of educational opportunities is essentially linked with the equality notions
in the social sy stem. The social sy stem which intends to prov ide equal opportunities for the
adv ancement of all has to make prov isions for equal educational opportunities also. In
modern industrial society education has become the main agency for socializing new born
into law abiding citizens and productiv e members of the society .
Formal education has become almost indispensable because to participate in economic
production one needs to learn specialized skills which cannot be acquired through family or
any other agency . Due to the indispensability of formal education in adv anced industrial
societies education is prov ided by the state as a matter of right for all its citizens.

Formal institutions schools, colleges and univ ersities are organized for this purpose.
In most societies today legislations ex ist guaranteeing equality of the right of education. In
fact to realize this ideal of equality of educational opportunities special efforts are made by
the welfare states in industrial societies to prov ide compulsory education to the socially
depriv ed. In dev eloping countries like India state has assumed the responsibility to
prov ide univ ersal free education at the school lev el. Special policy measures hav e been
dev eloped to spread modern scientific secular education to rural areas and policy of
protectiv e discriminating has been adopted to encourage the traditionally depriv ed section
like SC and ST to take to modern education. Howev er in spite of the creation of a legal
framework in most societies to ensure quality of educational opportunity such an ideal
continues to be elusiv e in reality ev en in the industrially adv anced 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 . Ev en if positiv e discrimination worked and schools
were able to
compensate for the primary effects of stratification considerable inequality of educational
opportunity would remain.
Bourdon argues that there are two way s of remov ing the secondary effects of stratification.
The first inv olv es the educational sy stem. If it prov ides a single compulsory curriculum for
all students the element of choice in the selection of course and duration of stay in the
sy stem would be remov ed. The indiv idual would no longer be influenced by his courses and
remain in full time education for the same period of time. He said that more the branching
points there are in the educational sy stem point at which the student can leav e or choose
between alternativ e courses the more likely working class students are to leav e or choose
lower lev el
courses.
The gradual raising of the school leav ing age in all adv anced 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. Bourdons 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 effectiv e 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 unstratified or its school sy stem must be completely
undifferentiated.
Problem s concerning equality of opportunities in education
Education helps in establishing equality and ensuring social justice
but the sy stem of education itself can add to the ex isting inequalities or at
least perpetuate the same. Inequalities of educational opportunities arise
due to Pov erty as the poor cannot afford to meet the ex penses of education.
Children study ing in the rural schools hav e to compete with the
children in urban areas where there are well-equipped schools.
In the places where no primary , secondary or collegiate educational
institutions ex ist children do not get the same opportunity as those who
hav e all these in their neighborhood.
Wide inequalities also arise from differences in home env ironments. A
child from a rural household or slum does not hav e the same
opportunity as a child from an upper class home with educated parents.
There is wide sex disparity in India. Here girls education is not giv en
the same encouragement as boy s.
Education of backward classes including SC and ST and economically
backward sections is not at par with that of other communities or
classes.
Com pensatory Education Program m es
DEFINITION:
COMPENSATORY EDUCATION is a program of supplementary
instruction designed to meet the indiv idual needs of students performing
significantly below ex pected achiev ement lev els in language arts, maths,
and/or reading.
POLICY :
Compensatory education, in the form of supplementary instruction,
will be prov ided to selected students who are performing
significantly below ex pected achiev ement lev els in language arts,

mathematics, and/or reading. The CEP is intended to be primarily for

students who do not require special education serv ices. Howev er,
special education students who meet the CEP entrance requirements
would be eligible to be considered for the CEP.
The CEP is designed to be a program of Supplementary instruction
and as such will not be used to prov ide the primary instruction for
regular or special Education students.
An ongoing assessment program, which may include criterion
referenced tests, will be conducted to identify students eligible for
compensatory education supplementary instruction and to determine
student progress and program effectiv eness.
Testing procedures used for placements and progress ev aluation of
students will be v alid and fair.
For staffing, budget, and ov erall program planning, the number of
students performing at or below the 40th percentile on normreferenced standardized tests in language arts, maths, and reading
will be used.
Compensatory education programs will include a parent inv olv ement
component.
Instructional priority will be giv en to students in grades one through
four. Prev entativ e measures at these grade lev els are prov en to be the
most reliable.
Sy stematic procedures for annual program ev aluation, to include
recordkeeping, will be used to ensure maintenance and improv ement
of compensatory education serv ices.
Responsibilities
The Director is responsible for: a. Ensuring the dev elopment, implementation, program
ev aluation.
b. Coordinating with the chiefs of the Education, Fiscal, Logistics,
The regional director is responsible for:
a. Ensuring the dev elopment, implementation, program ev aluation,
and improv ement of a regional CEP consistent-with concepts
identified.
b. Prov iding enrollment figures, test data, and other pertinent
information, as required, to support staffing and resource
allocations.
The district superintendent is responsible for:
a.Coordinating with regional office staff regarding the CEPs.
b. Ensuring implementation and ev aluation of school lev el CEP's
The school principal, where staff is assigned, is responsible for:
a. Ensuring the dev elopment, implementation, an annual
ev aluation, and improv ement of a school CEP consistent with the
concepts and processes identified.
b. Making recommendations to the district superintendent and/or
regional director identify ing the schools specific needs in
compensatory education.
c. Utilizing a committee to dev elop a plan for a school CEP.
d. Implementing the plan for compensatory education serv ices.
e. Prov iding the regional director and/or district superintendent
with enrollment figures, test data, annual ev aluation report, and
other pertinent information, as required, to support staffing and
resource allocations.
Enriching the Com pensatory Education Program m e
The dev elopment of compensatory education programs has
traditionally been informed by the belief that disadv antaged students can
benefit most from a less challenging curriculum and limited achiev ement
goals. Ev aluations effectiv eness" reinforce the curriculum deficiency by
measuring only the improv ement in scores on reading and arithmetic tests,
and by failing to deal with the ov erall achiev ement of students.
Coordination of Regular and Com pensatory Education Classes
Often there is a lack of clarity about the purpose of compensatory
education serv ices, with div ergent perceptions found among the support
staff, the core classroom teachers, and administrators. Most studies
indicate that there are few efforts to coordinate v arious special or
supplementary programs with core or regular programs, few procedures
for cooperativ e/joint planning among the v arious program teachers at the

school, and ev en fewer district- or building-lev el policies to foster

cooperativ e planning among the v arious suppliers of programs or serv ices.
Thus, students often end up with less instructional time than other
students.
For instance, regular classroom teachers often report that the
reading resource teachers rarely offer instructional information,
suggestions, or materials. Support program teachers are often unable to
identify the reading instruction material their remedial students use in the
regular classroom. Regular classroom and reading resource teachers are
often confused about who is responsible for which aspects of instructional
planning and deliv ery . Reading is often taught as an "unrelated skill"--i.e.,
reading of reading tex ts--not as a skill needed for other learning and study
areas. What is needed is congruence between curricula what is to be
taught, in what order, and using which materials, and between the methods
of instruction (Ellington & Johnson, 1 986). Conflicts arise when the
reading strategies taught and learned in one setting are radically different
from those in the second setting, such as emphasis on decoding v ersus a
focus on comprehension.
Posted by JayDee at 06:36

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1 comment:
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