Social Class and Education, Essay Example

Introduction

Education inequality is a reality in the contemporary scenario. This is despite the developments and infrastructure advancements, which have been realized in the progress of the society. In the U.S., the scenario is not different with social classes influencing the access to education. Governments and other stakeholders are sentient on this actuality. This is evident with the presidential candidates in the U.S. tasked with explaining their positions concerning this reality. The media, including newspapers and other excerpts explored the position of the two candidates, the incumbent Obama and Romney since they represented different social classes.   Judging from this scenario, it is evident that social classes are influential in policy creation and consequently the society’s welfare (Biddle, 2001). When considering the aforementioned information, it is apparent educational inequalities are brought about by the differences in classes. This is mainly because the individuals from the higher and middle-income classes are economically empowered to access the education infrastructure to the highest levels.  This actuality influences the future generations of these classes, whereby it is easier for the privileged to maintain their status while the lower social classes find it difficult to enjoy similar opportunities. This can be attributed to the fact that the contemporary job market requires skilled individuals. This skill is provided by education hence limiting the lower social classes from progressing in the society. In order for the lower classes to be empowered, it is essential that education is accessible for the demographic. This will effectively break the cycle, which condemns the lower social classes to the same quality of life by empowering them to access education as their privileged peers (Kincheloe and Steinberg, 2007). Despite education being cited to be a fundamental right, the lower economic classes, as compared to the privileged classes in the society, do not equitably access education.

In the society, it is apparent that the distribution of resources is inequitable across population. This actuality results in the segmentation of the society according to their access to resources. In all societies, there are low, middle and high-income earners. These classes have been a characteristic of the society since the historical times. Despite this, in the historic times, prevalence of these classes was due to possession of physical resources including land and livestock among others. The advent of education provided a new avenue for the society to create opportunities for themselves.  This led to the rise of the middle class since physical resources were not the only avenue of wealth creation. The progress realized in the society, including mechanization and globalization have augmented the need for skilled individuals in the contemporary job market. This means that individuals require skills in order to be proficient in different sectors. For an individual to acquire the necessary skills and expertise required for employment, it is crucial to acquire a quality education to the highest level possible. This requirement has made it necessary for individuals to pursue knowledge to the highest possible level. With this consideration, the pursuit for education is not as straightforward as presented since socioeconomic factors are prominent in influencing its access. Education is an investment, and it requires resources. This means that education attracts costs, which have to be incurred by the society. This actuality locks out the lower economic classes since they do not have adequate resources to facilitate for their access to this fundamental requirement in the contemporary scenario.

As aforementioned, skills are essential for an individual to carve out opportunities in the competitive society. This is achievable through access of education. University and college education are considered the adequate levels for an individual to acquire the required skills for the contemporary job market. The college and university level education attract high tuition fees than the preceding education levels. The government and other stakeholders have tried to be proactive in addressing this limitation through numerous grants, scholarships and loans. Despite the availability of these solutions, they are not sufficient to cater for this socioeconomic class since the resources provided for this purpose are limited. This means that the financial burden of education is confined to individuals and their families (Min-zan Lu, 2012). This is a challenge because it is arduous for them to raise or even access the required resources for a quality education. This means that the individuals from the low economic classes are confined to limited progress since they cannot access the skills offered by educational institutions due to lack of resources. This class is also confined to the state apparatus provided for education services including community colleges, institutions, which cannot match the quality and resources, provided in the prestigious institutions. This results in individuals from the lower classes accessing insufficient education, which makes them less competitive in the job market. Their lack of resources impedes them to access the required standards of higher education hence compromises the opportunities that are available for them in the job market.

When considering the correlation between socioeconomic classes and education, it is apparent that lack of resources impedes access to quality education. When analyzing the situation, another correlation becomes overt. It is evident in the aforementioned information the social classes influence the access of education. Despite this, it is also valid to argue that education creates the low social classes. This is because the contemporary society is over reliant on education, as the marker for qualification for opportunities in the job market (Andersen and Taylor, 2011). This overreliance has resulted in the opportunities present in the society to be confined to the social classes, which access adequate resources. When individuals are unable to access education, their job opportunities are limited significantly. This results in the individuals having to be contented with jobs, which require unskilled labor. This means that they will be subjected to lower pay as compared to the educated demographic. The individuals have to work longer hours or even hold multiple jobs in order to satisfy their economic requirements (Reay, David and Ball, 2005). Most of the unskilled jobs do not attract benefits including health insurance among others. This means that they have to put additional efforts in order to access the benefits, which are provided for the educated class. If education is accessible to all, then the lower classes would be able to obtain jobs which are better paying and have the aforementioned benefits.

This actuality percolates into their lifestyle since they will have to live by the resources, which they can access, in this case, limited resources. This results in the uneducated individuals to have limited access to the resources and amenities in the society. This influences negatively the quality of their lives in the long term. Individuals from the lower classes are unable to access efficient services due to the social status. These services include health insurance among other benefits. They also live in neighborhoods, which are characterized by detrimental living conditions and vices including drugs and crime. All these detrimental effects are side effects of the inequity in the access of education in the society. This means that education needs to be made accessible to address the social problems, which affect the low social classes.

When considering the aforementioned premises, it is evident that education has been engrained into the contemporary society. Education influences an individual’s access to resources and consequently their social class. This means that the correlation between education and social class is inevitable. In order for the society to address the inequalities present in the education sector between the classes, it is imperative that all the stakeholders are proactive in ensuring that this is a reality. The government and the private sector alike have to reevaluate the structures and policies involved in the sector. For instance, education should be made affordable for the lower classes of society. It is evident from the policies of the incumbent U.S. president that the lower social classes are the responsibility of the state.

Some of the recommendations the government might consider concerning the issue of education and social classes is by subsidizing the sector further to ensure that education is conceivable for the lower classes.  The government might also improve the existing institutions serving the lower classes including community college to match the education quality provided in other prestigious institutions. This will enable the student from the lower income bracket families to acquire a competitive education hence match up the qualifications of other students. The private sector may also be encouraged to be accommodative of this demographic through the provision of programs tailored for these students. This will make certain that education is easily accessible to poor individuals hence facilitate future progress for the demographic.

Education is a fundamental right for individuals in the contemporary society. This means that it is imperative that governments ensure that the sector is not discriminative to social classes.  This is essential since it will empower individuals from the lower classes to access the opportunities presented in the contemporary scenario. This means that the disruption of the cyclic effect of poverty among the lower classes will be possible since individuals can access the resources present in the society. If education is available for all classes, then individuals will have the required skills to attain financial independence. The society should make certain that education is accessible in order to facilitate equitable distribution of resources in the society, hence empower individuals from the lower classes.

Conclusion

Education is an integral requirement in the contemporary scenario. This means that individuals have to attain education in order to access the resources available in the society. This has been necessitated by the progress witnessed by the society whereby various skills are required.  These skills are provided by the education offered by various institutions.  Despite this, individuals from the lower classes are impeded from accessing education since they do not have the sufficient resources. This means that the relevant stakeholders should make education accessible in order to ensure that the individuals in the society can access the available resources augmenting their lives. This is essential because it will facilitate the individuals from the low classes to acquire more resources consequently enhancing their lives than the current situation.

References

Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2011). Sociology: The essentials. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Biddle, B. J. (2001). Social class, poverty, and education: Policy and practice. New York [u.a.: Routledge Falmer.

Kincheloe, J. L., & Steinberg, S. R. (2007). Cutting class: Socioeconomic status and education. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Pubs.

Min-zan Lu. (2012). From silence to words: writing as struggle.college English, vol 49, No 4. Pp 437-448.

Reay, D., David, M. E., & Ball, S. (2005). Degrees of choice: Class, race, gender in higher education. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books.