the invisible divide: social class in independent schools pat romney, ph.d romney associates, inc

The Invisible Divide: Social Class in Independent Schools

Pat Romney, Ph.D

Romney Associates, Inc.

www.romneyassociates.com

Defining Class

Class Indicator - a factual or experiential factor that helps determine an individual's class or perceived class. The criteria for determining class membership or identity can be easily debated.

Class Action: www.classism.org

Defining Class

A class consists of a large group of people who occupy a similar economic position in the wider society based on income, wealth, property ownership, education, skills, or authority in the economic sphere. Class Action: www.classism.org

Wealth

Wealth equals what you own.

That which you have above and beyond your salary.

When money is not an issue or a question.

Social Capital…meaning the status you have based on where you live, what car you drive, the schools you attend, the foods you eat, the authority you have.

Defining Class

Class identity - A label for one category of class experience, such as ruling class, owning class, middle class, working class, poor.


Defining Class

Class Continuum - Most of us move a little up or down the spectrums during our lifetimes. Some people grow up in one class and live as adults in another. Class operates along a continuum or hierarchy.

Class Continuum

Dominants Ruling Class “Have Mores”

Mostly Middle Class “Haves”Dominants

Mostly Subordinants Working Class

“Have

Subordinants Poor/Low-Income Nots”

Class Action www.classism.org

CULTURAL CAPITAL

A sociological advanced by Pierre Bourdieu in Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction (1973).

Cultural capital: the accumulated cultural knowledge that confers power and status.

Educational institutions are the main vehicles for conferring cultural capital.

Examples of Class IndicatorsHousing If, what,

where, how many

Job Status

Income

Clothes Stuff, how much and what kind

Cultural

Capital

Wealth

Education Language,

Vocabulary,

dialect/accentnon-verbal posture


Class Cultural Differences

Variable Working Class

Middle Class

Jobs traditionally

involve:

Obedience,

conformity to rigid routines,

physical work

Creativity, autonomy, control of people and ideas, intellectual work

Class Cultural DifferencesVariable Working

ClassMiddle Class

In child rearing, parents tend to:

Emphasize obedience to authority. Show or tell how to solve problem with emphasis on the right solution. Stress no control over environment.

Emphasize reasoning, intellectual curiosity and initiative. Guide problem-solving with questions. Stress to children control of environment.

Lubienski, S. (2000). Clash of Social Class Cultures? Students' Experiences in a Discussion-Intensive Seventh-Grade. Elementary School Journal, Vol. 100 Issue 4, 377-404.

Class Cultural Differences

Variable Working Class

Middle Class

Students tend to be:

Be motivated by tangible rewards. Think a good teacher is one who shows he/she cares by giving clear explanations to students.

Be motivated by intangible rewards. Think a good teacher is one who knows the subject well and is creative in teaching it.

Lubienski, S. (2000). Clash of Social Class Cultures? Students' Experiences in a Discussion-Intensive Seventh-Grade. Elementary School Journal, Vol. 100 Issue 4, 377-404.

CEO’s average pay, production workers’ average pay and the minimum wage, 1990-2005

Domhoff, W.G. (2005). Power in America: Wealth, income and power. http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

Median net worth by race and ethnicity, 2001


Multicultural Organizational Development (Jackson & Hardiman, 1994)

Level One: Monocultural Organization: norms and values, practices, curricula of the dominant culture; diverse staff in stereotypical roles; few diverse students.Level Two: Non-Discriminatory Organization: change without making waves; recruits for diversity, focusing on the numbers; diverse staff are in “low-level” or support positions; diverse students are in the less challenging courses; provides training.Level Three: Multicultural Organization: anti-racist; anti-sexist; committed to becoming multicultural; reflects the contributions and interests of diverse groups; committed to ending racial and economic oppression; diverse groups are at all levels of the organization; sees its broader social responsibility; diverse course; multicultural perspectives woven into all or most courses.

“THE CLUB”MONOCULTURA LEVEL

Structured to provide and maintain privilege for the club members.Maintains club norms and values as normal and correct.Allows certain classes of people in as long as they actively assimilate and stay in their stereotypical rolesSupremacy is not the organization’s primary mission; change is possible.

Class: A Nationwide Poll

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_01.html

Based on a survey by the New York Times, three-quarters of the respondents believed that the chances of moving up are the same or greater than 30 years ago.

Income in the United States

Census Scope. http://www.censusscope.org/us/chart_income.html

Net worth and Financial Wealth,Distribution in the US, 2001


the invisible divide: social class in independent schools pat romney, ph.d romney associates, inc

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