Week Seventeen - What Is Class/ Does Class Still Matter?

Question 1

Does Class Still Matter?

Answer 1

Social class 'determines child's success' 
Children's social class is still the most significant factor in determining their exam success in state schools, the Government's head of teacher training acknowledges today.

Teenagers’ perception about diet and weight reflects their family’s social class (ESRC, 2009).
First study to show how everyday practices and perceptions of different social classes contribute to variation in the diet, weight and health of teenagers.

Question 2

What is Class?

Answer 2

A system of ordering society whereby people are divided into sets based on perceived social or economic status.

When sociologists talk ofsocial class, they refer to a group of individuals who occupy a similar position in the economic system of production.

Variations in wealth, material possessions, power and authority, and prestige in our society.

Differences in access to education, healthcare and leisure. One child in ten lives in poverty in major industrial countries, one in five in theUnited States.