Social Stratification and Education: Case Studies Analysing Social Survey Data

Social Stratification is an enduring influence in contemporary societies which shapes many outcomes over the lifecourse. Social Stratification is also a key mechanism by which social inequalities are transmitted from one generation to the next. This thesis presents a set of inter-related case studies which explore social stratification in contemporary Britain. This thesis focuses on the analysis of an appropriate set of large scale social survey datasets, which contain detailed micro-level data. The thesis begins with a detailed review of one area of social survey research practice which has been neglected, namely the measurement and operationalisation of ‘key variables’. Three case studies are then presented which undertake original analyses using five different large-scale social survey resources. Throughout this thesis detailed consideration of the operationalisation of variables is made and a range of statistical modelling approaches are employed to address middle range theories regarding the processes of social stratification. Case study one focuses on cognitive inequalities in the early years of childhood. This case study builds on research which has indicated that social stratification impacts on the cognitive performance of young children. This chapter makes the original contribution of charting the extent of social inequalities on childhood cognitive abilities between three British birth cohorts. There are clear patterns of social inequality within each cohort. Between the cohorts there is also evidence that the association between socio-economic advantage and childhood cognitive capability have remained largely stable over the post-war period, in spite of the raft of policy measures that have been floated to tackle social inequality. Case study two investigates the recent sociological idea that there is a ‘middle’ group of young people who are absent in sociological inquiries. This chapter sets out to explore the existence of a ‘middle’ group based on their socio-economic characteristics. This case study focuses on school GCSE examination performance, and finds that performance is highly stratified by parental occupational positions. The analysis provided no persuasive evidence of the existence of a ‘middle’, mediocre or ordinary group of young people. The analytical benefits of studying the full attainment spectrum are emphasised, over a priori categorisation. Case study three combines the analysis of intra-generational and inter-generational status attainment perspectives by studying the influences of social origins, educational attainment and cognitive abilities across the occupational lifecourse. This case study tests theoretical ideas regarding the importance of these three areas of influence over time. This case study therefore presents a detailed picture of social stratification processes. The results highlight that much more variation in occupational positions is observed between individuals, rather than across an individual’s lifecourse. The influence of social origins, educational attainment and cognitive ability on occupational positions appear to decrease across an individual’s occupational lifecourse. A brief afterword that showcases a sensitivity analysis is presented at the end of the thesis. This brief exposition is provided to illustrate the potential benefit of undertaking sensitivity analyses when developing research which operationalises key variables in social stratification. It is argued that such an activity is beneficial and informative and should routinely be undertaken within sociological analyses of social surveys. The thesis concludes with a brief reflection on large-scale survey research and statistical modelling and comments on potential areas for future research

An investigation of social class inequalities in general cognitive ability in two British birth cohorts

The ‘Flynn effect’ describes the substantial and long-standing increase in average cognitive ability test scores, which has been observed in numerous psychological studies. Flynn makes an appeal for researchers to move beyond psychology’s standard disciplinary boundaries and to consider sociological contexts, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of cognitive inequalities. In this article we respond to this appeal and investigate social class inequalities in general cognitive ability test scores over time. We analyse data from the National Child Development Study (1958) and the British Cohort Study (1970). These two British birth cohorts are suitable nationally representative large-scale data resources for studying inequalities in general cognitive ability. We observe a large parental social class effect, net of parental education and gender in both cohorts. The overall finding is that large social class divisions in cognitive ability can be observed when children are still at primary school, and similar patterns are observed in each cohort. Notably, pupils with fathers at the lower end of the class structure are at a distinct disadvantage. This is a disturbing finding and it is especially important because cognitive ability is known to influence individuals later in the lifecours

Examining Math Instructors’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes of Student Learning Strategies in a Faculty Development Workshop

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here. A faculty development workshop, focused on incorporating universal learning strategies into developmental mathematics courses, was created and utilized in a developmental mathematics department at an open-enrollment, mid-western university to ascertain the best methods for dissemination of essential learning strategies to developmental math students. Successful faculty development programs were studied and utilized in the design of the workshop. The attributes of the workshop were discussed. Faculty were surveyed and qualitative data was analyzed to determine the workshop’s efficacy. The research aimed to understand if participation in the workshop changed faculty knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes in the following areas: (a) willingness to include learning strategies during class time; (b) knowledge of learning strategies and the effect of those strategies on students; and (c) application of the learning strategies into their courses. Pre- and post-workshop surveys were given to instructors measuring their knowledge of learning strategies, application of these strategies in their courses, and willingness to incorporate learning strategies into their pedagogy. In the workshop, instructors participated in discussion boards and set goals. The researchers analyzed the discussions and goal statements using thematic coding. The participants’ comments revealed that, while the workshop changed all participants’ knowledge of learning strategies and potentially changed all participants’ attitudes and beliefs, the extent of the change in attitudes and beliefs depended upon the pre-workshop mindset of the instructor

Social class inequalities in educational attainment:Measuring social class using capitals, assets and resources

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordThere is a plethora of measures of social class, and social stratification more widely. Occupation-based measures are most frequently used in social stratification research, although more recently the propriety of such approaches have been questioned. An emerging school of thought advocates the use of more culturally based measures as the most appropriate indicators of an individual’s social class position, an argument predominantly influenced by the work of Bourdieu. In this paper, we evaluate the benefits of a social class measure with a Bourdieusian theoretical foundation compared with an orthodox neo-Weberian occupation-based social class measure, the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC). First, we assess how closely we can replicate the Bourdieusian social class measure reported in Savage et al. ([2013]. A new model of social class: Findings from the BBC's Great British class survey experiment. Sociology). Second, we aim to compare and contrast the capitals, assets and resources based social class measure with the occupation-based National Statistics Socio-economic Classification, in an analysis of inequalities in school GCSE outcomes.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Between the NEET and the tidy : exploring 'middle' outcomes in Scottish school qualifications

Despite changes in the education system the qualifications that are gained at school remain important for young people’s pathways and trajectories. This paper is an element of a wider on-going programme of theoretically informed empirical analyses, which examine young people’s educational outcomes. The empirical work is situated within an overarching theoretical sociological framework which focuses on the outcomes of ‘ordinary’ young people who are neither educationally unengaged, nor part of an educational elite. In this phase of the work we focus on outcomes in Scottish school-level qualifications. This research is original in that it uses administrative data from the Scottish Qualifications Authority that is held as part of the Scottish Longitudinal Study. We begin by reconsidering challenging issues associated with measuring school-level qualifications. To address these challenges we undertake analyses of pupil’s subject-area outcomes using a latent variable modelling approach. A novel aspect of the work is that we undertake a sensitivity analysis to compare a standard technique for latent group assignment (modal assignment) with a recently proposed alternative (proportional assignment). The overall message is dispiriting because after half a century of comprehensive education in Scotland, school outcomes remain stratified both by gender and by a pupil’s social background. The analyses uncovered four main latent educational groups. One group had very positive outcomes and pupils in this group were generally more socially advantaged. By contrast another group had very poor outcomes and pupils in this group were generally more socially disadvantaged. There were two ‘middle’ groups, which both had moderate overall school Standard Grade outcomes. These two ‘middle’ groups were similar in their overall outcomes, but at the subject area-level their outcomes were notably different. One group were more likely to gain a Credit pass in English, but were relatively less likely to gain Credit passes in Mathematics and Sciences. The other group were unlikely to gain Credit passes in English and Mathematics, but were more likely to gain Credit passes in Sciences. These pupils with ‘middle’ or ‘moderate’ outcomes in school Standard Grades are a sociologically important group that should not be overlooked. The latent variable approach offers an informative set of typologies that are likely to be impactful because they can be used to better understand patterns of educational outcomes. These typologies are important because they can directly inform current debates on raising standards in Scottish schools

Enhancing Mosquito-Borne Disease Surveillance in Florida

The University of Florida, IFAS, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory developed online graphic visuals to assist Florida mosquito control districts and health departments in maximizing the potential of their individual surveillance programs for mosquito-borne diseases through a better understanding and interpretation of surveillance data. Using data generated by the Florida Department of Health, we developed Geographic Information System (GIS) based maps with animation (video) to bring surveillance results to life. Our GIS video is the first of its kind in mosquito-borne disease surveillance and will aid in refining the science of preventing mosquito-borne diseases outbreaks