social inequalities, class 20 mark content

Question 1

define social mobility

Answer 1

ability for a person to change the social class they were born into

Question 2

stats 3

Answer 2

1. quarter of working class boys get a middle class job
2. only 31% of students on free skl meals get 5 GCSEs
3. not free skl meals- 58% have 5 GCSEs

Question 3

social mobility, blanden et al

Answer 3

1. 37% of those born into the lowest quartile stayed there for whole life, same for highest quartile
2. the social class ur born into is the most significant determining factor

Question 4

social mobility, wilkinson and pickett

Answer 4

UK has low rates of social mobility and significant gaps in income distribution

Question 5

social mobility, goldthorpe 2

Answer 5

1. large scale study into the social mobility of 10k men and the key reason for upward social mobility against men was the increase in middle class jobs and decrease in manual jobs
2. many men end up in a higher class than their fathers

Question 6

work and employment, crompton webarian 2

Answer 6

1. social close prevents those from lower social backgrounds from gaining entry into middle class jobs
2. many unis require interviews to enter a course, accused as unfair towards lower social classes as they require cultural capital - speaking in elaborated code/ knowledge of arts to be successful

Question 7

social mobility, marx 2

Answer 7

1. no of processes to ensure the bourgeoisie and the proletariat stayed in their positions from one gen to the next - social reproduction
2. ascribed status

Question 8

social mobility, bourdieu, neo marxist, 2

Answer 8

1. social capital, middle class ppl have connections to help them get high status jobs
2. thru their friends, fam, teachers their able to get an advantage in job applications

Question 9

social mobility, friedman and laurison 3

Answer 9

1. class ceiling- harder for a working class person to gain an elite professional job
2. even if they have the same uni qualifications as a middle class person. working class get into less known companies
3. estimated around 7k a yr less money

Question 10

income stats 2

Answer 10

1. difference in income between upper middle classes and lower working class is around 40k per year
2. 2013 study by the ONS = 2.3% of population are on zero hrs contracts, in jobs which are insecure without a guaranteed income

Question 11

wealth stats 3

Answer 11

1. 2010 hills report, inequality between social classes as high as WW2
2. richest top 1% of the country had wealth of over 2.6 M or more each on average
3. these disadvantages for the working classes are passed on thru generations

Question 12

more stats for wealth 3

Answer 12

1. ONS= 92% of upper middle class owning their home, only 14% of the lowest class
2. ppl from working class backgrounds more likely to rent or live in social housing, major effects on other life chances like health and edcuational achievement
3. 76% of wealth inherited in 2010 given to less than 20% of the population, few ppl benefit from inheritance and rich ensure their kids stay rich

Question 13

poverty 3

Answer 13

1. rowntree foundation uses the measure of the poverty line
2. takes the average income in fams in the UK and any fams earning less than 60% of that income classified as living in poverty
3. by this measurement- 23% of ppl and 31% of kids live in poverty in the uk

Question 14

poverty, marsland, new right 2

Answer 14

1. ‘culture of dependency’, as a society we expect the gov to provide for us instead of providing for ourselves
2. causes working class to become lazy and not try to gain employment

Question 15

poverty, lewis, new right 3

Answer 15

1. poor have a set of values known as culture of poverty which keeps them in poverty their whole life
2. families socialise their kids into fatalism values- accepting their position and immediate gratification - living for the now and not saving themselves for the future
3. leads to cycle of deprivation, those born poor stay there for whole life and future gens

Question 16

new right, poverty, murray 2

Answer 16

1. underclass developed in britain- bottom of the working class
2. unemployed, not looking for work and rely on benefits, attitudes passed down to their kids- dont work hard enough

Question 17

poverty, marxists 2

Answer 17

1. blame gov for not providing enough in welfare- benefits to help the poor escape poverty. poverty trap
2. if a person gets a low paid job they lose their benefits, their salary will be less than benefits. hard for them to have enough money to escape poverty

Question 18

education stats 2

Answer 18

1. upper middle class kids 7x more likely to attend uni than working class kids
2. 75% of middle class students comapred with 35% of working class gain 5 or more GCSEs grades 9-4

Question 19

internal factors, becker 3

Answer 19

1. teachers view middle class kids as the ‘ideal pupil’ - labelled positively
2. teachers (middle class) expected middle class to have a more positive attitude to skl, more intelligent and behave well in lessons
3. in contrast, had negative labels of working class- assume their lazy, disruptive and lack intelligence, lead to self fulfilling prophecy

Question 20

internal factors, ball 2

Answer 20

1. working class kids put in bottom sets, teachers assumed they lacked intelligence
2. impact on them achieving highest grades- cant do the higher GCSE papers

Question 21

external factors, bourdieu 2

Answer 21

1. middle class kids at an advantage, parents pass on knowledge that helps them in skl (cultural capital)
2. middle class more likely to read to their kids, take them to museums or help them with their homework. working class kids lack this

Question 22

external factors, bull 1

Answer 22

1. working class children lack money to pay for resources like textbooks/trips which affects their achievement - material deprevation

Question 23

external factors, leech and campos

Answer 23

middle class families can move to expensive areas with the best schools

Question 24

external factors, bernstein 2

Answer 24

1. middle class speak in an elaborated code - more complex lang = more comfy understanding teaching/ exam Q compared to working class who speak in a restricted code
2. lacked complex lang and involved slang

Question 25

stats for health 3

Answer 25

1. black report= middle class men live 5 yrs longer than working class men 2. cater and coleman= teen pregnancy 10x more likely if the girls from a working class family, norm passed down 3. coulthard= lower working class have higher rates of mental illness, depression/ anxiety

Question 26

cultural explanations, warde 2

Answer 26

1. higher social class eat more fresh fruit and veg, reduce risk of heart problems 2. lower class eat junk and consume more sweets/fizzy drinks

Question 27

cultural explanations, blackburn

Answer 27

if the income of working class fams was improved their diet and health will improve overtime

Question 28

cultural explanations, what do stats show 3

Answer 28

1. diff in smoking habits between social classes 2. 40% of the working class smoke compared to 15% of the middle class 3. norm which is passed down from their parents

Question 29

structural explanations, tudor hart's inverse care law 2

Answer 29

1. the greater the need the less the medical provision, the lower the need the more the medical provision 2. number of hospitals are less in poorer areas, high in richer areas

Question 30

structural explanations, lobstein 2

Answer 30

1. healthy food cost more in poorer areas 2. unhealthy food cheaper

Question 31

structural explanations, martin

Answer 31

1. those in poor house conditions suffer from respiratory issues like asthma 2. lack of money makes them more susceptible to illnesses

Question 32

crime stats 3

Answer 32

1. 5% of population is unemployed whereas 67% of prisoners were unemployed before prison 2. working class more likely to be victims of crime 3. 15% of population have no qualifications, but 53% of male and 71% of female prisoners have no qualifications

Question 33

why do the working classes commit crime, lea and young 3

Answer 33

1. unskilled workers twice as likely to be burgled as other members of the working class 2. poorer the area the higher the rate of burglary and assault bc of social deprivation issues 3. working class more likely to fear being a victim

Question 34

why do the working classes commit crime, merton 3

Answer 34

1. functionalist perspective, individuals in society trying to achieve the 'culturally defined goals' e.g good job, nice house etc 2. if ppl cant achieve it, more common amongst working class, they'll experience 'strain' 3. turn to crime to achieve these goals

Question 35

why do the working classes commit crime, miller 2

Answer 35

1. working-class males often part of subcultures caused by boredom, leads them to take part in deviant acts 2. feel cut off from society, happy to break societal norms

Question 36

why do the working classes commit crime, cohen 2

Answer 36

1. status frustration 2. join subcultures to gain respect from peers

Question 37

why do the working classes commit crime, 2

Answer 37

1. working class often live in areas near affluent areas, easily see advantages of being wealthy 2. cause them to commit crimes against the wealthy bc of jealousy

Question 38

inequalities in the legal system 3

Answer 38

1. marxists argue that legal system is biased against the middle classes 2. middle class tend to commit white collar crimes like fraud, tax evasion 3. working class commit blue collar crimes like mugging and assault

Question 39

inequalities in the legal system, sutherland 2

Answer 39

1. consistent bias in the administration of criminal justice that ignores white collar crime and focuses on the crimes of the poor 2. due to those in the judiciary system being middle class they dont sentence white collar crime as harshly