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Chapter Overview
Social inequalities play out within the school system. Ascribed statuses are the statuses assigned to people or groups because of traits that are beyond their control. On the flip side, achieved statuses are statuses that are the result of not inborn qualities, but are the result of effort and accomplishment. Sociologists believe that education should be an achieved status rather than an ascribed one. Education, no matter which society you are in, is a process of social mobility. Social mobility is the movement of people within the system of social stratification. Of particular importance is intra-generational occupational mobility, changes in someone’s occupation throughout their lifetime.
There are four theories that help us understand the young adult’s transition from school to the labour force. Segmented labour market theory argues that the labour market is stratified, and entry and upward mobility are limited with only a high school education. Human capital theory believes that there is a strong relationship between education and job attainment. Signalling theory refers to the ways in which employers decode a person’s resume so as to assume their worth to the job market and potentially employability. Network theory believes that it is the person’s social network that helps guide them towards their career goals. Careers take place within markets: the primary labour market and the secondary labour market. The primary labour market consists of well-paying jobs with security and upward mobility. Jobs that fall into this category are law, plumbing, and teaching. The secondary labour market includes low paying jobs with little to no job security and limited opportunity for upward mobility. Taxi drivers, secretaries, and bank tellers fall into this job category. What plays into this labour market divide is credentialism, the idea that there is a social selection mechanism that gives class advantage to those with academic advantages.
Different sociological approaches think about schooling in different ways. The functionalist sees schooling as a necessary aspect of socialization (the internalization and learning of one’s culture). They believe that schools, when fair, create an opportunity for meritocracy: the holding of power or authority by people based on their abilities. According to the functionalist, it is when schools fail to uphold their manifest functions—the visible and intended goals of social structures—that youth run into problems later in life. Thus, functions such as socialization, assimilation, and the transmission of knowledge are all forms of manifest functions on which schools should be focusing. On the other hand, conflict theorists see the education system as a space of disequilibrium. While some groups are held in favour, inequality on the basis of class, race, and gender all persist in the classroom. The symbolic interactionist is interested in the micro-interactions that take place between students and teachers. Feminists are primarily focused on the ways in which schools today deliver a male-centric education system that puts females at a systemic disadvantage.