Social class identity

• Social class identity

  • Cultural backgrounds of an individual shapes their identity
  • Schools reinforce or reject the identity of different social classes
  • Schools shape identity of students in their own image, e.g. w/c is rejected in favour of m/c
• How schools shape identities

  • Schools reject w/c habitus which is seen as symbolic violence
  • Symbolic capital awarded for conforming to habitus of w/c, students reject education in favour of collectivist nature of peer
• Teacher interactions

  M/c habitus reinforced while w/c habitus is rejected or altered
• Selection policies

  • External selection = w/c rejected from top schools
  • Internal selection = lower class more likely to be in lower sets and streams
• Contemporary applications

  • Appearance in schools, uniform policies
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Ofsted = cultural capital + literacy