Social Inequality In Pete Peter W. Cookson's Class Rules
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Possibly one of the most commonly asked question in education is how much do schools independently without looking at other factors contribute to their students’ life chances? It is already known that parental education, income and social class are related with success in school. However, ignoring any parental disadvantage, it is expected that schools should produce an all-round and well baked graduates despite the social background. While some have been of the view that schools can trump social class, others such as Peter Cookson disagree.
Peter W. Cookson Jr . Book, Class Rules, focuses mainly on the effects of social economic inequality in American schools based on the social class or social status of the parents. This book contests the widespread idea that American high schools are places and institutions of great social and racial equality and demonstrates rather how deep rooted social inequality is and how these schools promote it through their socialization processes. (Cookson 23)…show more content… The schools he selected had a conflicting social class make up that included an elite boarding school versus a public school both situated in a wealthy district, a middle-class district, a rural community composed of working class parents and a low-income urban community. He analyzes how the social class inequality is created based on the school social class composition, rites of passage, and social class consciousness. He argues that students are shaped socially depending on the social class composition of the schools they attend; bringing him to the conclusion that where students go to high school has a key influence on their social class