Words: 416
Paper In our society today, social class and stratification both play huge roles in how individuals and groups alike interact and function amongst each another. According to Payroll, social stratification is the hierarchical classification of the members of society based on the unequal distribution of resources, power and prestige. (Payroll, 2012) Payroll illustrates the term social class by stating, it designates people’s place in the stratification hierarchy, identifying those in each grouping who share similar evils of income, status, property, power and types of lifestyle.
Social class is stratified by racial and ethnic groups in many ways but often times seen through residential segregation. Residential segregation is defined as the physical separation of cultural groups based on residence and housing according to the Department of Economics at the University of California, Los Angles. (UCLA, 2011) The socioeconomic status (SEES) of an individual affects housing options and their ability to reside Just anywhere. Someone with a low socioeconomic status Anton afford the same housing options as one with a higher SEES.
Another example that ultimately stems from residential segregation is the issue of education attainment. Pat Rubin Goldsmith in his article gives information that residential segregation and educational attainment are closely related. He gives data that explains the idea that better residential areas often times have better school districts while other areas with lower SEES residents have underprivileged schools. This directly affects the life path of children who life in underprivileged communities and tryingly supports class stratification.
Underprivileged children are less likely to seek opportunities for upward mobility due to various reasons, some being the lack of support from their ethnic group, parental SEES and/or the necessity to work and contribute to the family unit. (Goldsmith, 2009) For some, inheritance plays a major role in intergenerational perpetuation of class stratification. Inheritance can be seen as a head start to an empowered, more successful life while many individuals must build from the bottom in hopes of upward mobility.
Inheritance and the lifestyle of poverty can both be viewed as intergenerational perpetuation of class stratification passed down from parent to child. An approach to close the racial gap in educational attainment, I think would be to intermingle school districts and allow children to view a different world outside of their ethnic bubble. Children befriending other children, who have a mindset of upward mobility, will directly affect their own life path. Socioeconomic Status and Segregation By moreover