Download Social Stratificationhot! - Professional Learning and Development

Higher
Sociology
Social
Stratification
S Regnart 2014
SFEU pack adapted and updated by Susan Regnart
September 2014
Acknowledgements
SFEU (Scottish Further Education Unit) gratefully acknowledges the contribution made
to this publication by Learning and Teaching Scotland who have granted permission to
use material previously produced by HSDU. SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) is
also gratefully acknowledged for use of the Unit Specification in this pack.
An imbalance between rich and poor is
the oldest and most fatal ailment of
all republics’. Plutarch
Contents
2
Outcomes to achieve
4
What does the Assessment look like?
5
The two aspects of social class
6
What is Social stratification
7
Class stratification
10
Measuring Social Class
12
The Registrar General’s scale
14
The gap between rich and poor
17
Functionalism
23
Marxism \Neo-Marxism
29
Weber
37
Social Mobility
47
Social Mobility - The Oxford mobility study
50
Social Mobility - The Essex mobility study
54
Social Mobility in the 90s and noughties
56
Revision
59
The essay question
60
Essay tips
61
Stratification essay checklist
65
Example stratification NAB
66
Past Paper questions
67
Feedback and self evaluation
68
Revision grids
69
An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most
3
Outcomes to Achieve
Understanding Human Society 1
OUTCOME 1
Describe sociological topics and their relationship to human society.
Performance Criteria
a)
b)
Describe sociological topics succinctly and correctly
Describe key features of sociological topics succinctly and correctly.
OUTCOME 2
Evaluate the contribution of key sociological theories to an understanding of
sociological topics.
Performance Criteria
a)
b)
Correctly apply relevant and contrasting sociological theories to topics
Provide a balanced evaluation of the contribution of contrasting
sociological theories to understanding topics.
OUTCOME 3
Evaluate selected aspects of sociological topics using different sociological
theories and studies
Performance Criteria
a)
b)
c)
d)
Explain aspects of topics in a balanced way by taking account of different
sociological studies.
Use relevant evidence from a range of sociological studies to support the
explanations.
Develop sociological arguments, based on evidence and examples used
in relevant sociological studies
Make balanced evaluations that refer to evidence and arguments from
contrasting sociological theories.
4
What does the Assessment look like?
The assessment for this unit is 1 hour long. You will be asked to answer one
extended response question covering the information you learned in Outcomes
1, 2, and 3.
This will be on either Social stratification OR Education. You will not know which
one until the day of the test, so you must revise both topics. The test is
supervised and closed book, so the use of notes etc. is not allowed.
Re-sits
Unlike the final exam, where a 50% pass will gain you a C grade, the cut off
score for passing a NAB is a 60% which is a B grade. So if you score 60% or
more, you will have achieved this unit. Those who fall below 60% will have to resit the whole essay on a different topic area from the first attempt. For example,
if the first attempt was on social stratification, the second attempt would be on
education.
Most re-sits will be done 3 weeks after sitting the first attempt to give you time to
assimilate the feedback and revise. Re-sits are done in class time.
Marks in the NAB and exam
The marking allocation for a 30 mark essay differs slightly between the unit
assessment and the final exam. The main implication is that you must focus
slightly more on your introduction for the NAB, and cut back on it slightly in the
final exam and focus more on describing theories. See below:
Introduction
Units 2 and 3
essay marking
allocation
6 marks
Final exam
essay marking
allocation
4 marks
Theories
10 marks
12 marks
Studies
10 marks
10 marks
Conclusion/
Further evaluation
Total
4 marks
4 marks
30 marks
30 marks
Essay format
5
The two aspects of Social Class
Class stratification is a huge topic, so outcome 3 specifies what particular things
you should cover. You must have knowledge of two aspects. These are:
1. Social Mobility
2. Social closure
In the exam section B will be a 30 mark essay on either class stratification or
education. Within these broad topics, any one of the aspects could come up.
This is to ensure the exam is not too predictable from year to year. The aspect
will usually be highlighted in bold so you can spot it easily.
Although you will probably be able to keep the two theories the same in the first
half of the essay regardless of the topic (e.g. Functionalism and Marxism), you
will need to slant your essay towards the specific aspect when you’re evaluating
these theories - see essay tips later on.
Recommended studies for each topic
You need to describe and evaluate a minimum of two studies for each aspect.
Below are the recommended studies we will be covering for each of the aspects.
You are free to choose other studies, but they must be ones that all examiners
will recognise.
Page numbers are included to show you where to find these in the 8th ed. of
‘Sociology: Themes and Perspectives’ by M. Haralambos and M. Holborn.
Recommended Studies
Aspect
Social Mobility
and
Social closure
SFEU
pack
Goldthorpe et al - Oxford mobility study
(1972, 1980, 1986)
34
Haralambos
and
Holborn 8th
ed.
81
Marshall et al - Essex mobility study
(1988)
35
56/57
Blanden et al (2005)
NA
85
Study
6
What is Social Stratification?
The idea of stratification comes from
geology which studies the ways rocks
form into levels or strata.
The concept of stratification describes
how society is organised in layers; some
people in a higher layer or strata than
others. Unlike rocks, social stratification is
made by people in society, for instance
the class system in the UK is an example
of social stratification.
Social strata are groups of people who all
belong to the same social class. Social strata are organised in a hierarchy. This is
where one group or strata lies one on top of each other. Those in the top group in
society are seen to be better than those at the bottom. For instance in a society where
age stratification exists – the older people are, the higher up the social strata they
move.
Individuals and groups have unequal access to advantages and disadvantages in
society based on their position within the stratification scheme. The more favoured
group or strata are placed at the top of the hierarchy and the less privileged are placed
at the bottom. This means that those at the top are usually able to have large,
comfortable homes, a lot of material possessions, luxury holidays, lots of savings and
so on. They usually also have access to very good education, often private, and they
also tend to experience better health and live longer than those in lower social classes.
This contrasts with those in the lower social classes whose life chances are affected by
this type of stratification. For example, those in the lower social classes in the UK tend
to live in housing that is rented, closely packed in housing estates and often
overcrowded. Their children tend to achieve less at school and they often experience
poor health.
Social stratification can exist in terms of:
 Class
 Gender
 Race and Ethnicity
 Age
 Disability
 Caste
Therefore when sociologists talk about stratification as a system, they do so in terms of
it having the following features:

structured inequality

that is hierarchical, and

persists across generations of a particular society

affects people’s lifechances.
7
Life chances
The higher a person or group is within the category of stratification, the better their life
chances are. Life chances are the opportunities we have in life and how we access
them. These include factors such as:
 health
 income and wealth
 education
 life expectancy
 infant mortality
 housing
 consumer goods ownership
 access to leisure.
Classwork
1. Co-operative learning - Think, pair, share
Can you think of the way three of the life chances listed above might be affected by
how much money you have? In small groups, discuss your findings and report back to
the class.
2. Write down a definition of social stratification.
3. How equal are you?
Start with 100 points and add or deduct points depending on your answers to the
questions below. Discuss your final score with the class and list reasons why there
may be differences between scores. This exercise will probably take about 15 minutes,
with a further 15 minutes for discussion.
3.
If you were born in Scotland, North of England, Midlands, Wales or Northern
Ireland deduct 10 points.
If you live in Scotland, North of England, Midlands, Wales or Northern Ireland
deduct 10 points.
If you are female deduct 10 points.
4.
If you are male add 10 points.
5.
If you are under 18 or over 40 deduct 10 points.
6.
If you or your parents are non-British deduct 10 points.
7.
If you are black deduct 10 points.
8.
If you own stocks and shares add 10 points.
9.
If you went to a fee-paying school add 10 points.
10.
If you or your parents own your own house add 10 points.
1.
2.
8
How equal are you - answers
It is important to stress that inequality, as identified in this exercise, is not imagined and
it can be supported by sociological analysis. The factors discussed above are about
groups in general rather than about individuals. For example, although in general
people in the regions tend to be poorer than people in the South-east of England, that
does not mean that there are not rich people living in the North of England. The points
were based on research that:

Overall, the incomes in the South-east of England are higher than that of those in
the regions (eg. North of England, Midlands, South-west of England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland). Also, there are other disadvantages in being further
from the locus of power (Westminster, London). For example, it is generally more
expensive to travel from the regions than from London, such as to Europe, where
there is easier access to cheaper goods, etc. So, being born in the regions or living
in the regions may well mean some form of disadvantage.

Females are still experiencing inequality in many areas. Two significant areas are
that average wages are approximately only 75 to 85 percent of those of men doing
the same jobs and men still dominate in terms of management and government
jobs. Being female has, therefore, a potential for disadvantage in these terms and
being male is an advantage.

Benefit cuts for younger people and difficulty for those over 40 looking for work or
wishing to change jobs demonstrates age discrimination.

Immigrants to the UK tend to have to take low paid work (even if they have a high
level of skill). Black and Asian people are also disproportionately underrepresented in positions of power.

Stocks and shares may be some indicator of wealth. For example, it may indicate
that a person has had enough capital to purchase stocks and shares, or that they
have sufficient wealth to save with a building society, and have acquired these
when conversions have taken place. However, it may be that some people
received shares as a result of a settlement that occurred through the transfer of the
industry they work or worked in from the public to the private sector. It also may
indicate that people have something to fall back on in hard times.

Pupils from fee paying schools tend to do better in terms of exam results, thereby
affecting their opportunities to go to university, study a career of their choice, and
thus have better life chances through a high and sustained income.

Home ownership is not in itself an indicator of great wealth. However, it does give
advantages in many areas. Home ownership may enable a person to get extended,
and usually cheaper, credit. It gives people some choice of where they live and the
conditions under which they live. It also indicates that people who own their own
houses have greater security of income and lifestyle.
9
Class stratification
What is social class?
One major way that social groups in a hierarchical system can differ from each other is
in terms of prestige, wealth and power. These social groups or classes usually share
common interests and a common identity that separates them from other social groups
in society. Most sociologists would agree that social class is a significant feature of
UK society and is one of the main bases for stratification and inequality. Many nonsociologists would also agree that social class exists in the UK and we hear reference
to it in many contexts. For example, we may talk about houses being in a middle class
district, of coming from a working class background or of newspapers being written for
certain classes.
Some of the main indicators that sociologists have used are based on:
 occupation
 income
 wealth
 ownership
 power
 status.
Open mobility system
In the United Kingdom it is
claimed we have an open
system of stratification. This
is because it is possible for
individuals to move between
class groups, a concept called social mobility.
For example, if social class is based on income and during a lifetime an individual
increases their income, then they would be moving from a low-income group to a highincome group. This system is very different to a closed system where it is impossible
to move from one group to another. For example, in the Hindu caste system the
individual is born into a particular caste and remains in that caste for the rest of their life
regardless of changes in circumstances, such as increase/decrease in wealth or
marrying into a higher/lower caste.
Hidden barriers?
However, despite social class being considered an open system, some sociologists
have argued that there are ‘hidden’ barriers that make movement between classes
difficult. These hidden barriers include such things as accent, education, cultural
differences in terms of social mannerisms and customs. The suggestion that hidden
barriers might exist has led to some sociologists introducing the concept of social
closure. This is where groups of people who share similar lifestyles close ranks to
mark themselves out from other groups. For example, entry to certain clubs, schools
and occupations offer mutual support through these social networks. This exclusion
strategy is used to protect existing privileges. Groups can insist that potential new
recruits to their ranks possess the appropriate ‘credentials’ to gain access. This
credentialism is used to close off the rewards of belonging to the group by
emphasising the qualifications or credentials needed to belong.
10
Classwork
1. Before we look at the sociological view of class, what are your perceptions of social
class? Write out the table below and give examples of what you think the differences
are between:
 upper class life
 middle class life
 working class life.
Upper class
Middle class
Housing
Education
Occupation
Health and diet
Leisure activities
Holidays
Clothing
11
Working class
Measuring social class
Occupation, income, wealth, accents and education may tell us about the
social position of another person or group, but some sociologists would
consider them to be subjective and have tried to define and measure class
in an objective way. The difficulty is that sociologists do not agree on how to
define or measure class and for that reason we have many theories that use
different indicators of social class. Depending on which theory and which
indicators are used, people will be placed in different classes.
Most of us would recognise the idea that, in Britain, there are three basic
social classes, namely:
 an upper class, a middle class, a working (or lower) class.
By and large, occupation has tended to be the main indicator used for classification of
an individual’s class, though people are not asked for their views on the matter. This
produces an objective scale that measures economic class in a quantitative way.
Objective measure of class: Definitions of class focus on things that can be measured
about a person's life, such as their occupation.
On the other hand, it could be argued that classes exist because they are perceived to
exist by individuals in society. In this respect, it could be argued that classes are
socially constructed rather than objective facts and are, therefore, very subjective.
This results in class being viewed in a qualitative way.
Subjective measure of class: Definitions of class focus on things that cannot be
measured, such as the social class that a person thinks they are in. For example, a
person with lots of money may still consider themself working class. They may live in a
working class area and have working class friends. In other words, the class that a
person thinks they belong to is likely to affect the way they act.
Classwork
1. From a subjective point of view, how do you see yourself and your
family? Do you see yourself as working, middle or upper class?
2. What kind of indicators are you using to come to this judgment? E.g.
accent, income, occupation, dress, housing area.
12
Classwork – calculate your social class
The BBC conducted a survey on social class that stimulated much debate amongst the
public and journalists alike. They questioned 161,000 people online via a 20-minute
survey. Mike Savage and Fiona Devine concluded that we should now do away with the
out-moded working, middle and upper classes and instead adopt seven new classes.
They are Elite; Established Middle Class; Technical Middle Class, New Affluent
Workers; Emergent Service Workers; Traditional Working Class; and Precariat.
Online learning
1. Do a search for ‘social class test’. For example try the BBC ‘Great British Class
Calculator’ – it’s only 5 questions and you will need to fill in your household income if
you know it, if not you may need to guess! Note - all web addresses may change:
 BBC class calculator:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22000973)
 The Mirror test:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/you-working-class-take-quiz-2267999
 The Independent:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-ultimate-class-quiz8563034.html
 The Guardian’s critique of the class calculator:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2013/apr/03/what-class-are-you
How posh are you?
2. Do you know what a cummerbund looks like? Can you handle a punt? Is
your nickname Binky? Chances are you're a little bit posh. Find out exactly
how posh with the Guardian quiz...
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/quiz/2014/sep/22/are-you-poshquiz
3. Try the following words to see how you do on pronunciation:
Working and Middle class
Clothes
toilet
Magdalen college, Oxford
Marvelous
Serviette
Forehead
Always
Off
Horse riding
Settee
Waistcoat
Often
Westminster
Really
Cecil
Golf
Posh
Close
loo
Maudlin
Marvlous
Napkin
Rhymes with ‘horrid’
AWLwhizz
Orf
Riding
Sofa
Weskit
Offen
Wessminster
Rarely
Sissie
Goff
13
The Registrar General’s Scale
The most commonly used system for measuring social class is the Registrar General's
Scale (RGS). The Registrar General’s system groups all occupations into five different
categories. These are:
Class I
Class II
Class III
Professional/managerial, exclusively non –manual: accountant, lawyers,
architects, university lecturers and doctors.
Intermediate occupations, predominantly non-manual - including pilots,
police officers, shopkeepers, farmers and teachers.
i) Skilled non-manual, exclusively non-manual - including clerical workers
waiters and shop assistants.
ii) Skilled manual, exclusively manual - including bus drivers, carpenters,
cooks, electricians and miners.
Class IV
Class V
Semi-skilled, predominantly manual, including bar worker, postman, bus
conductors and farm workers.
Unskilled, exclusively manual - including labourers on building sites,
office cleaners, kitchen hand, window cleaners.
Problems with Registrar General’s scale
There are serious drawbacks to this system. First, it ignores the class a person may
think they belong to (the subjective view). Second, it does not take into account the
fact that some people who are in Class V due to their job, may actually have a lot of
money, eg. they may have won the lottery or inherited money from their relatives,
though these examples would be rare occurrences.
The Registrar General’s Scale is a basic two-class model, in which the population is
divided into middle and lower classes. The basis for the ranking of occupations is their
‘relative standing in the community’. Occupations are assigned to the different class
categories by assessing and comparing their status, relative to each other.
Occupations are, therefore, arranged hierarchically, with the most important at the top.
Although occupation has tended to be the main indicator used to measure social class,
it has problems.
 Very rich people who do not work are not included.
 Classifications based on occupation ignore the unemployed or housewives.
 The same job title may mean different things, for example, ‘farmer’ – there are
large industrial-size farms and much smaller, even subsistence-level, farms.
 Priests or religious ministers are afforded a higher class status than their income
would otherwise suggest.
 According to this scale woman have generally been classed by their husband’s
job, even though she may be in different class based on her own occupation.
This is because it was argued that women generally earn less than men and so
a man’s salary tends to set the women’s lifechance.
However, things have been changing recently with new class categories that now tend
to include women.
14
Changes in the industrial environment
Employment changes have occurred over the last generation, which, it is claimed, have
led to changes in the way social class is measured and studied. There has been an
interest in social class since the time of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840). Over
the last generation or so, a process of de-industrialisation has been taking place in
the UK. Less people work in heavy industries (eg. steel, car or ship manufacture,
mining) than in the past. There has been a rise in so-called service industries, such as
banking, insurance and retail. Changing technologies and the process of globalisation
have had an effect on the economy in the UK. Further changes have been the rise in
home ownership and share ownership among large numbers of the population. The
changing role of women in our society, with many women in paid employment, for
example, has also had a major impact on how class is viewed and studied.
A new class scale
The government reviewed social classifications in 1998 working with sociologists David
Lockwood and David Rose. The new scale called the NS.SEC replaced the Registrar
General’s 5 class scale with as many as 14 classes but it can be converted in to a 9, 8,
5 or 3 class version depending on the purpose of research.
Eight classes
Five classes
1. Higher managerial, administrative and
professional occupations
Three classes
1. Higher managerial,
administrative and
professional
occupations
1. Higher managerial,
administrative and
professional
occupations
3. Intermediate occupations
2. Intermediate
occupations
2. Intermediate
occupations
4. Small employers and own account workers
3. Small employers
and own account
workers
5. Lower supervisory and technical
occupations
4. Lower supervisory
and technical
occupations
6. Semi-routine occupations
5. Semi-routine and
routine occupations
1.1 Large employers and higher managerial
and administrative occupations
1.2 Higher professional occupations
2. Lower managerial, administrative and
professional occupations
3. Routine and manual
occupations
7. Routine occupations
8. Never worked and long-term unemployed
*Never worked and
long-term unemployed
15
*Never worked and
long-term unemployed
Classwork
1. Look at the Registrar General’s scale and the new NS.SEC scale as an
objective measure of social class. Which social class do you think your
family belongs to? Are some members of your family a higher or lower
social class than others?
2. What are the differences between objective and subjective conceptions of
class?
3. What problems can arise from using occupation to measure
social class?
4. Read the paragraph ‘Changes in the industrial environment’.
List at least four changes that have been taking place in the
economy.
Do me out of a job!
Section B of the exam requires a 30 mark essay on social class (or
education). The first 4 introductory marks are for defining social class, saying
how it is measured and describing changes in social class over the century.
5. Write your introductory paragraph using the marking instructions below.
Note that you will cover social mobility, social closure and elite self-recruitment
later in the unit, so you will be hazy on this right now.
6. Now make me redundant by writing the comments that you think I should
write, ticking where you think the answer meets the success criteria, and giving
yourself the mark you think it deserves out of 4.
Marking instructions: This could include introductory remarks, key
features and definitions of class, such as:

Type of stratification

Definitions of social class and examples

Changes in social class and perceptions of class.

This may also include an introduction to social closure

Definition of social mobility

Discussion of the concept of elite self-recruitment

Relevant examples

These points may appear throughout the essay, integrated with
evaluation of theories and studies

NB Other important points should be credited as appropriate.
16
The gap between rich and poor
Capitalist countries create a huge gulf in wealth between the rich and poor. The Sunday
Times and Forbes compile a yearly list of the most wealthy in society. Here are the
richest actors in Hollywood 2014:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Robert Downey Jr - $75 million
Dwayne Johnson - $52 million
Bradley Cooper - $46 million
Leonardo DiCaprio - $39 million
Chris Hemsworth - $37 million
Liam Neeson - $36 million
Ben Affleck - $35 million
Christian Bale - $35 million
Will Smith - $32 million
Mark Wahlberg - $32 million.
The Sunday Times Rich list 2014
Rank
Wealth
Name
Citizenship
Source of wealth
2013
rank
India
Industry and
Finance
Mining and
investment
Steel
3
£10,600m
1
£13,300m
4
£10,000m
Industry
2
£11,000m
9
£7,400m
6
£8,800m
7
£8,281m
12
£5,109m
Russia
Pharmaceutical
s
Property and
internet
Shipping and oil
services
Inheritance and
investment
Oil and industry
5
£9,300m
UK
Property
8
£7,800m
Canada
Retailing
11
£6,650m
10
£7,000m
1
£11,900m
2
£10,650m
Sri and Gopi
Hinduja
Alisher Usmanov
3
£10,250m
Lakshmi Mittal
India
4
£10,000m
Leonard Blavatnik
5
£9,750m
6
£9,250m
7
£9,000m
8
£8,800m
9
£8,520m
10
£8,500m
11
£7,300m
12
£6,365m
Ernesto and Kirsty
Bertarelli
John Fredriksen
and family
David and Simon
Reuben
Kirsten and Jorn
Rausing
Roman
Abramovitch
Gerald Grosvenor,
6th Dke of
Westminster
Galen Weston and
George G. Weston
and family
Charlene de
Carvalho-Heineken
and Michel Carvalh
United
states
Switzerlan
d & UK
Cyprus
Russia
UK
Sweden
Netherland Inheritance,
s
banking,
brewing
(Heineken)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Times_Rich_List_2014
17
2013 wealth
Music Millionaires
The top 10 richest music millionaires in Britain and Ireland according to
the Sunday Times Rich List are:
1 - Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell - £680 million
2 - Andrew Lloyd Webber - £620 million
3 - U2 - £520 million
4 - Sir Elton John - £240 million
5= David and Victoria Beckham - £200 million
5= Sir Mick Jagger - £200 million
7 - Michael Flatley - £191 million
8 - Keith Richards - £185 million
9= Olivia and Dhani Harrison - £180 million
9= Sting - £180 million
The top five richest young music millionaires in Britain and Ireland
according to the Sunday Times Rich List:
1 - Adele - £30 million
2 - Cheryl Cole - £14 million
3 = Leona Lewis - £12 million
3 = Katie Melua - £12 million
5 - Florence Welch - £9 million
Source: April 11th 2013
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/sunday-times-rich-list-top1823958#ixzz3EkPJ3Zss
Classwork
18
Read the BBC article below (or go to the link if you would prefer to read it
online) and answer the questions that follow:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27459621
18 May 2014 Last updated at 09:16
Sunday Times Rich List 'wealthier than ever'
Britain's richest people are wealthier than ever before, with a combined fortune of
almost £520bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
The total wealth of the richest 1,000 individuals, couples or families jumped 15% in a
year, the survey said. Wealth expert Philip Beresford, who compiled the list, said he had
never before seen such a "phenomenal" rise in personal fortune. Tycoons the Hinduja
brothers were top with a joint fortune of £11.9bn. Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja
replace Arsenal FC shareholder Alisher Usmanov at the top of the annual list.
Mr Beresford said: "The richest people in Britain have had an astonishing year. While
some may criticise them, many of these people are at the heart of the economy and
their success brings more jobs and more wealth for the country."
The total figure for the Rich List is equivalent to a third of the UK's gross domestic
product
Property and gaming
New entries include the makers of computer games. Sam and Dan Houser, who
created Grand Theft Auto, are at 947 on the list with a joint wealth of £90m.
Four of the creators of Candy Crush Saga have jumped onto the list, all with fortunes
worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Another new name on the list is former Tesco
boss Sir Terry Leahy who is worth £100m and ranked 863rd.
The highest new entry is Carrie and Francois Perrodo and their family who own the
London-based Perenco oil and gas operation. As a family unit, they are worth £6.14bn
and come in at 14th on the rich list. One place behind and also a first-timer on the list is
German Khan, who runs the global oil and gas fund L1 Energy and is said to be worth
£6.08bn.
Paul Sykes, the entrepreneur and property magnate who helped fund UKIP, is another
new entry at 155, with a fortune of £650m. Another significant debutant on the Rich List
is John Roberts, creator of AO.com, the household appliance internet retailer. He is
ranked 246th.
Celebrity chef
Many of the new entries further down the list have made their money with businesses
that have taken advantage of the online boom in recent years. Mahmud Kamani, who is
behind fashion retailer Boohoo.com, sees his family's fortune rated at £300m. And
Peter Cashmore, the 28-year-old who started the social media blog Mashable from a
room in his parents' house near Aberdeen, is said to be worth £120m. Alex Chesterman
who co-founded online movie rental business Lovefilm and then went on to set up
property website Zoopla is now worth £100m and is another newcomer to the Rich List.
19
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his wife Jules saw their fortune leap £90m to £240m
with their restaurant chains, TV appearances and her childrenswear range.
A number of other celebrities saw their fortunes continue to expand according to the
Rich List. Simon Cowell is now worth £300m, David and Victoria Beckham cushioned
the blow of his footballing career coming to an end and are now worth £210m, while
David Bowie's return to the limelight saw his wealth expand to £135m.
The Queen, who has been on every Sunday Times Rich List since she topped the first
one in 1989, is now worth £330m but that is only enough to see her ranked 285th.
More billionaires
At least £85m is needed to make it onto the list, up from the £80m in 2008, before the
economic crash.
The 26th annual Sunday Times Rich List profiles the 1,000 richest individuals and
families in the UK and the wealthiest 250 in Ireland. Last week, it was revealed that the
number of billionaires living in the UK had risen to more than 100 for the first time.
The Rich List said there were 104 billionaires with a combined wealth of more than
£301bn. It meant the UK had more billionaires per head of population than any other
country.
Classwork
1. How many billionaires are there in Britain?
2. What is the combined wealth of Britain’s millionaires?
3. How many millions do you have to own to make it on to the rich list in
2014?
4. By what percentage has the total wealth of the richest 1,000 people
jumped in a year?
5. How much is Simon Cowell now worth?
Higher order thinking:
Discuss with you partner –
 Are you surprised by these figures?

How do you think the rich have been affected by the worldwide recession
and the austerity measures that have been put in place by the UK
government?

Explain the ‘wealthier than ever’ trend using Marxism and Functionalism
Online learning:
If you are interested in reading more about this topic visit this website for a
collection of great articles: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/sunday-timesrich-list/
The Sunday Times Giving list
20
Is there a ‘trickle down’ effect? Do rich people donate lots of their wealth to the
poor? The Sunday Times Giving List is a unique barometer of philanthropy among the
super-rich for Britain and Ireland. It is produced in association with Charities Aid
Foundation. This table is ranked by the proportion of total wealth donated to charity
since the last publication of this list, or in the most recent 12 months for which
foundation/trust/personal accounts are available. It is based on a Sunday Times
questionnaire, from accounts lodged with the Charity Commission or its Scottish
equivalent, or from other published sources. Here is the most generous top 10:
Rank *denotes family wealth 2014family wealth 2014Indexneficiaries
Rank
*denotes family
wealth
1
2
Recent
donations
giving
index
Main beneficiaries
Lord Sainsbury *540
165.3
30.62
Education, arts, humanitarian, heritage
*200
54.7
27.37
3
Dame Janet
de Botton
Terry Bramall
*425
107.4
25.26
4
Chris Hohn
657
156.5
23.82
5
Mike Uren
190
35.7
18.77
Medical research, education, arts,
welfare
Community, rehabilitation, medical,
hospices, children, Christian
Child survival, climate change,
education, nutrition
Medical, military
6
*120
18.7
15.60
100
11.3
11.28
Children, community, religious, health,
overseas development
Jewish, education, arts
32
3.6
11.25
Medical
9
Sir Martin
Laing
Leonard
Polonsky
Colin
Montgomerie
Sir Elton John
260
24.0
9.25
HIV/Aids, medical, humanitarian, arts
10
Lord Edmiston
452
36.7
8.12
Religious
12
Bono
107
8.0
7.44
Medical, humanitarian
36=
One Direction
70
2.1
2.98
Comic Relief, children, medical
52
Joanne
Rowling
David and
Victoria
Beckham
Brian Souter
and Ann Gloag
Chris Martin
570
9.4
1.64
Medical, children, social
210
3.4
1.62
Children, medical, humanitarian,
HIV/Aids
1,000
15.0
1.50
50
0.7
1.40
Poverty relief, social, addictions,
religious, medical
Children, education, Sport Relief
7
8
53
58
61=
2014
wealth
Classwork
Discuss: what percentage of your millions would you give to charity? What
percentage do you think is reasonable for millionaires to give back to society?
Visit the Charities Aid Foundation website for more information at:
https://www.cafonline.org/pdf/SundayTimesGivList_Top200_1473R_WEB_160514.pdf
Classwork
21
In this activity you should try to consider the difference between general inequalities
and class inequalities. It presents an opportunity for you to draw out various points
related to class stratification, including your own experience.
1. What are sociologists attempting to do by defining stratification?
2. Explain what is meant by class stratification.
3. Describe some of the ways people sometimes judge a person’s social class and the
way they differ from the indicators a sociologist might use.
4. Explain the difference between open and closed systems of stratification. What
system exists in the United Kingdom?
5. Explain what ‘hidden’ barriers mean? From your own experience and knowledge can
you think of any examples of the barriers discussed?
22
Functionalist theory of class stratification
According to Functionalists like Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), society
has certain basic needs or functional prerequisites, such as
maintaining regular patterns of behaviour and providing attainable goals
for individuals, which must be met if society is to survive. Therefore,
functionalists look to class stratification to see how far it meets these
basic needs.
Functionalists observe that the parts of society form an integrated whole
and thus examine the ways in which the class stratification system is
integrated with other parts of society. This idea should remind us of the
‘organic analogy’. Functionalists suggest that a certain degree of
order and stability is essential for the operation of society. They
therefore consider how class stratification helps to maintain order and
stability in society. So, they are mainly concerned with the contribution
of class stratification to the maintenance and well being of society.
Parsons suggested that order, stability and cooperation in society were based on value
consensus; that is, a general agreement by members of society concerning what is
good and worthwhile. It follows from the existence of values that individuals will be
evaluated and, therefore, placed in some form of ranked order. In other words, those
who perform successfully in terms of a society’s values will be ranked highly and they
will be likely to receive a variety of rewards. At a minimum they will be afforded high
prestige since they exemplify and personify common values.
Since different societies have different value
systems, the ways of attaining a high position will
vary from society to society. Parsons argued
that American society valued individual
achievement, efficiency and productive activity
within the economy, what has sometimes been
referred to as the ‘American Dream’.
Thus, successful business people who have achieved their position through their own
initiative, ability and ambition will receive high rewards. It follows from this argument
that there is a general belief that stratification is just, right and proper, since it is
basically an expression of shared values.
So, the class someone is born into should not affect their chances in later life, if they
make full use of the opportunities in life that can redress inequalities, like getting a
good education. Also, functionalists suggest that inequality between different social
groups is important to society for two main reasons:
1.
Inequality is created by the differing rewards that people receive for the different
tasks that they carry out. Therefore, those who carry out the most important tasks
– one of which in our culture is the creation of wealth – should be rewarded better
than those who carry out unskilled or less important tasks or jobs.
2.
The second main reason for the justification of this inequality is that it gives those in
the lower classes something to aim for. Therefore, if you want people to study hard
and better themselves, there must be some kind of economic reward for doing so.
23
Classwork
Parsons and the functionalist theory of class stratification
This activity is meant to get you thinking about the culture in which Parsons made his
observations and whether his observations are relevant to the UK (or even the US)
today.
1. What were/are the functional prerequisites that Parsons thought were important?
2. What does value consensus mean?
3. Give examples of shared values related to work and ‘getting on’ in the UK today.
4. Talcott Parsons lived in the United States from 1902-1979. His sociological
observations were, therefore, based on American culture during his lifetime, but
primarily in the post-war period. Can the idea of achieving the ‘American Dream’ in
20th century America have any significance in the UK in the 21st century?
5. Can you think of any groups in the post-war US who were less likely to have
experienced the type of society that Parsons refers to?
24
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (1945)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore, two American sociologists, developed the ideas of
Talcott Parsons. They suggested that stratification existed in every known human
society. They attempted to explain this as a universal necessity for stratification in all
social systems. They agreed with Parson’s idea that all social systems shared certain
functional prerequisites that had to be met if the system was to survive and operate
efficiently.
One functional prerequisite, put forward by Davis and Moore, was effective role
allocation and performance.
This meant that:

all social roles (in effect, occupations) must be filled

these roles must be filled by those best able to perform them

the necessary training for these roles must be undertaken

and that these roles must be performed conscientiously.
Davis and Moore argued that all societies needed some mechanism for insuring
effective role allocation and performance. This mechanism was stratification, which
they saw as a system that attached unequal rewards and privileges to the different
positions in society. If the people and positions that made up society did not differ in
important respects there would be no need for stratification. Further to this, certain
positions were and are more functionally important than others and a major function of
stratification was and still is to match the most able people with the functionally most
important positions. This was achieved by attaching high rewards to these positions.
This would provide people with motivation and incentive.
For Davis and Moore, stratification was a device by which societies ensured that the
most qualified persons conscientiously filled the most important positions. In this way,
society would be a meritocracy.
Meritocracy: A system of stratification where those most qualified get the highest
positions in the hierarchy and those with the least qualifications get the lower positions
in the hierarchy.
How do societies decide who gets most resources?
Davis and Moore claim there are two factors that decide a person’s wage/salary:
1) Skill level required for the job – the higher the skill, the more pay is need to ensure
fairness
2) Degree of responsibility for other people – managers should get paid more than
workers, because they are responsible for more people.
25
Classwork
UK society – meritocracy or Lottery?
In this activity you should consider the functionalist observations about
society being meritocratic. You should consider whether the functionalist observations
are now out of date or not.
1. In 2002, an unemployed 19-year-old called Michael Carroll won £9.7 million on the
Lotto. He has been referred to as a ‘Lotto lout’ because he has been regarded as an
unworthy winner. What does his story tell us about values and achievement in the
UK today?
2. Does the existence of the Lotto strengthen or weaken the functionalist observations
of stratification?
3. Work in pairs: rank the following list of individuals in order of their importance to
society.
Importance rank from 1st to 10th
Individual
1. A politician
2. A school cleaner
3. Wayne Rooney
4. Sharon Osborne
5. A teacher
6. Prince William
7. A doctor in the local hospital
8. Richard Branson
9. Dame Kelly Holmes
10. A social worker
4. Can you identify any problems with the claims of Davis and Moore that stratification
was a device by which societies ensured that the most qualified persons
conscientiously filled the most important and well paid positions?
5. Complete the following table by ticking whether the individual’s position in society is
achieved or ascribed - did they achieve their wealth or were they given it at birth.
Individual
Achieved
Ascribed
Prince Harry
Sir Paul McCartney
Sharon Osborne
Princess Beatrice
Victoria Beckham
Stella McCartney
Jamie Oliver
Charlotte Church
Nigella Lawson
Paris Hilton
6. Is the UK a meritocracy or a lottery?
26
?
Evaluation of Functionalism
Melvin Tumin
1.
Functionalism tends to assume that High Rewards = Functional
Importance, but many vital occupations have low rewards, and highly
rewarded ones might not be vital.
2.
Differential Rewards may be due to differences in power, not skill level.
3.
There is no effective method of measuring ability/talent – educational
achievement simply mirrors social class divisions.
4.
There is no proof that exceptional talent is required for many important
positions. There is no evidence that people on the rich list have superior
IQ to the rest of the population.
5.
The pool of talent/potential may not be scarce - so unequal rewards are
not necessary to harness it.
6.
Is training a sacrifice? Students often enjoy learning and have a nicer life
than those working in factories. Should we reward them generously for
their sacrifice?
7.
Inequality creates unequal opportunities and can act as barrier to
motivation and the recruitment of talent. Motivation to succeed is shaped
by inequality - expectations and opportunities. This can limit the
discovery and utilization of talent.
8.
The highly rewarded erect barriers to access to block mobility.
9.
Inequality can foster division not integration. The lower and middle
classes resent the rich, and the rich fear the poor.
Classwork
Homework assignment:
‘Describe and evaluate the functionalist perspective on social class’.
3 marks KU
3 marks AE
Total 6 marks
27
Summary of functionalism

There are many class divisions in society organised in a hierarchical way

These class divisions reflect the functional importance of different
occupations

As the importance of the different jobs can be expressed as a gradient,
there will then be several positions and classes in the hierarchy

The people and classes are mutually dependent

For society to function effectively, the different classes must co-operate to
deliver the good things in life for everyone

The claim is that individuals are motivated to ‘get on’ in a system that is
seen to be fair, where everyone can climb up the hierarchy through hard
work and making the best use of opportunities
Claimed strengths:

Draws attention to the interdependence of groups in complex society

Provides an explanation for continuing inequality

There is evidence that individuals can climb up the hierarchy

Emphasises the importance of hard work, education and gaining
qualifications
Claimed weaknesses:

No more than an acceptance of capitalist system

Accepts the traditional, the status quo

Many problems with ideas of hard work and education creating a fair society

Does not satisfactorily explain who decides what the functionally important
jobs are
28
Marxist theory of class stratification
Karl Marx (1818-1883) wrote about many different aspects of society, such as
economics, politics and philosophy. Some of his most important ideas were about
capitalism and the class system. When he explained class he used some technical
terms, which you need to know if you are to understand his basic theory.
Marx’s starting point was that human beings, in order to ensure their own and the
species survival, had to take the things that were given by nature and use these in
particular ways to provide for their needs. So, some people will hunt and gather, other
people will raise cattle or grow crops, and others will manufacture goods in factories.
So, different societies organise their lives and economies in different ways. In the
Western world, each era or epoch in human society has been characterised by the
particular ways in which members of society organised themselves. This is known as
the mode of production. Due to certain aspects of the way society is organised,
particularly contradictions in production, the mode of production in one era is
transformed into another.
Marx identified four modes of production, some of which have come about because of
these transformations. These are:




Primitive communism – known in the time of the ‘cavemen’ and later
hunter-gatherer societies and characterised by sharing.
Antiquity – known in early civilised society and characterised by the
master/slave relationship.
Feudalism – known in the Middle Ages and based on the lord/serf
relationship.
Capitalism – known in modern times and based on the
capitalist/worker relationship.
Although some of Marx’s writing was concerned with how these
transformations took place, he also concentrated on explaining capitalism
and the part it plays in class divisions in society.
One of the factors on which the mode of production is based is known as the means of
production. This is made up of two things: 1) the forces of production - raw
materials (such as coal, corn, cotton), land, buildings and tools (eg. factories and
machinery) and 2) the relations of production - the division of labour - who does
what and who gets what. Marx thought that the ownership of the means of production
was the essential ingredient in deciding which class a person belonged to. He saw two
major divisions in society during his lifetime and his theory is seen as a two-class
model. The two major class divisions are:
1. Those who owned the means of production and whom he called the bourgeoisie
(the ruling class). People in this class had power in society because they could
dictate how work was carried out and how raw materials were used. They also had
the ability to exploit and oppress others who were non-owners.
2. Those who were non-owners he called the proletariat (the working class). People
in this class owned nothing and the only way they could survive was to sell their
labour. This meant they were at the mercy of those who employed them.
29
The ownership of the means of production has an effect on the relations of
production. This term refers to the forms of control over the production process and to
the types of co-operation between workers. As we have seen, the bourgeoisie,
because they own the means of production, can exploit and oppress the proletariat who
have no choice but to work under stipulated conditions set by the owners.
Surplus value and exploitation
So, what we see here is that production is the important factor in explaining class
stratification. In this production process, profit can only be made if the worker is paid
less than what he/she is worth. In other words, if the labour to make a chair is worth
£20, the capitalist can only make/increase profit by paying the worker less than this
sum, e.g. £15. However, the costs of the means of production must also be taken into
account. In this way, exploitation occurs and intensifies because the capitalist system
continually seeks to increase profit. This means the bourgeoisie must find ways of
increasing their production and lowering their costs. One way this can be achieved is
making the worker produce more for less money. The consumer also pays much more
than the good or service cost to make. The proletarian is therefore stung twice, once as
a worker and at home as a consumer.
Infrastructure/ Superstructure
For Marx, this capitalist mode of production is supported by capitalist ideas. He
explained this by referring to the capitalist economic base (or infrastructure) of
society and the superstructure of society.
The economic base is characterised by capitalist investment and the drive for profits.
The superstructure is made up of social and cultural institutions such as the system of
laws, the education system and the mass media, which are shaped by and support the
requirements of the economic base. In this way, the economic base is the foundation
of the capitalist system and the superstructure shapes the norms, values and roles that
contribute to the continuation of the capitalist system.
30
Ruling Class Ideology
The norms, values and roles of the ruling class are disseminated through the
institutions of the superstructure. The proletariat are fed propaganda to convince them
that capitalism is normal and even ‘natural’.
Examples of capitalist propaganda:










We have equal opportunities to succeed
We live in a meritocracy where only ability determines a person’s lifechance
Capitalism is Social Darwinism - survival of the fittest
The ruling class have worked hard for their wealth and are more skilled than
other people
Other countries have inferior stratification systems to ours
Class 1 is completely open to anyone who works hard enough
We are a democracy
Capitalism is freedom
There can be no other way of distributing wealth – this is the best system
available
We should, spread our stratification system to all other countries in the world
who are backwards and underdeveloped
The proletariat therefore suffer from false consciousness because they begin to think
that the capitalist system is fair and that they too can become successful and rich.
Polarization
Marx and Engels predicted that as capitalist’s accumulated wealth (through paying low
wages and charging high prices) the gap between rich and poor would grow to extreme
levels. This is exactly what has happened.
Inequality…is particularly bad in the UK where the average income of the richest 10%
of earners in the UK was almost twelve times that of the bottom 10% of the population
by 2008, up from eight times in 1985 and above the European ratio of nine to one.
Source: OECD inequality report summarized by The Guardian 2011
False consciousness to Class consciousness = Revolution
For Marx, the flaw in the capitalist myth was that once the
gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat got wider a
process of polarisation would occur, which would lead the
proletariat to realise how exploitative the capitalist system
was. When this happened the proletariat would move from
the state of false consciousness to a state of class
consciousness.
The proletariat would become aware that together as a class
they were strong and once they came to this realisation they
would take united action, in their new state of class
consciousness, to end their oppression and exploitation.
The two options for action were the ballot box – which he
thought unlikely – or revolution.
31
Two class Model?
Marx did acknowledge that there were other groups in society who did not strictly fit
these two broad class categories. One group was the intelligentsia, who were the
professors, lawyers and writers, etc. The other group were those who worked for
themselves, such as shopkeepers – known as the petit bourgeoisie. However, Marx
predicted that as capitalism advanced the process of polarisation would mean that the
intelligentsia and petit bourgeoisie would gradually be absorbed into the two main
classes, with those absorbed into the working class becoming proletarianised.
Classwork
The top 10% of earners in Britain have salaries which are equal to more than the
bottom 40% of earners combined, according to figures released by the Treasury. The
table below shows the median income for different household types in 2014.
Source: The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/25/uk-incomes-howsalary-compare
1. Where do you think your family would fit in to these 10 layers (deciles)?
2. How much does a household with two adults and two children earn in the
top decile compared with the same household in the bottom decile?
3. The richest people in the UK earn over 12 times the average income of
those at the bottom - 1:12. What do you think would be a fair ratio if you
were in power?
32
Updating Marx in the 20th Century
John Westergaard and Henrietta Resler (1976)
In 1976, John Westergaard and Henrietta Resler carried out a Marxist analysis of class
in Britain in their work, Class in a Capitalist Society. They came to the conclusion
that even though ‘history had not been kind to Marx’, class was still the main form of
inequality in Britain and this could be traced to the workings of the capitalist economic
system. They argued that there was still a ruling class in the UK consisting of the
richest 5-10 percent of the population. This ruling class was made up of company
directors, senior civil servants and other professionals whose power came from the
concentration of private share ownership in their hands.
Westergaard’s 1995 work, Who Gets What? The Hardening of Class Inequality in
the Late Twentieth Century, updated and supported his findings from the 1976 work.
He concentrated on the effects of privatisation and free market policies implemented by
successive governments since 1979. He found that privately owned wealth had
become even more concentrated in the hands of the top 5-10 percent of the population.
Do we have an innate sense of fairness?
Robert H Frank – How Growing inequality hurts the Middle class
(2007) Adapted from a book review posted in Realsociology 28th
August 2011. This provides a potential missing link between
system and agency in explaining why inequality leads to
violence such as riots. Even though it’s not focused on those
suffering real deprivation – if inequality hurts those in the middle
this much – it can surely be applied to help explain why the
really deprived in unequal societies might occasionally display
signs of anti-social behavior.
Frank offers up considerable evidence that human beings have an innate sense of
justice – they care about their position relative to others and feel that if they are not
getting their fare share in relation to their peers, then a sense of injustice and negative
emotions arise – most notably anger.
Taken from the text; Do you teach kids to care about relative position or do they just
discover it on their own? Why not try the 'orange juice' expt. on your kids?I was curious
and did an experiment with my two older boys when they were young. David was seven
and Jason was five, and it was a three day experiment. I gave them each a full glass of
orange juice on the first day. I watched them each day. What did they do? Nothing on
the first day! I cut them back to a half glass on day 2. Did they complain? “Why did we
get only half a glass?” No, they again drank their orange juice without comment. The
pay-off was day 3. David got 7/8 of a glass, Jason ¾—what psychologists call a “just
noticeable difference,” where you need to carefully make sure there is a difference.
Sure enough – I could see Jason’s eyes go back and forth between the two glasses. He
could tell it wasn’t going to play out well if he complained, but he just couldn’t bottle it up
any longer. He finally blurted out “That’s not fair. He always gets more than me.” We
don’t teach them to do that, they just do it.
Frank goes on to provide an excellent account of evidence for greater equality leading
to greater psychological well-being.
Classwork
Discuss - do you think that people are born with an innate sense of fairness?
33
The Spirit Level (2010)
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
In opposition to the claims of Functionalism, this influential book found that
inequality can lead to ‘dysfunctional societies’.
Method:
Wilkinson and Pickett compared inequality in each country by looking at the
income of the richest and poorest 20%. For example in Japan has the least
inequality - the rich get 4 times that of the poorest, whereas Singapore has the
highest level of inequality, where the rich get 10 times that of the poorest. The
UK, Portugal and USA are the other most unequal countries.
Method part 2: They examined data on health and social problems e.g. life
expectancy, teenage, pregnancy, obesity, homicide rates, imprisonment,
educational performance, drug and alcohol addiction and social mobility.
Findings:
There was a positive correlation between most health and social problems and
greater inequality. They argue that ‘inequality gets under the skin’, because it
affects people’s social status and self-worth, not just their income. Feelings of
humiliation and shame lead to acts of violence.
Social mobility findings:
Wilkinson and Pickett found that the greater levels of inequality – the less likely
people were to be socially mobile. They found the USA had the lowest rate of
social mobility. The UK was also low, West Germany was in the middle of the
range and Scandinavian counties and Canada had higher rates of mobility.
Conclusion:
Lower levels of inequality are better for society. Wilkinson and Picket do not
claim that we should have no inequality, but that extremes of inequality should
be avoided. Acceptable levels of inequality found in some countries can be
created by:
1) Avoiding very high or very low incomes – like Japan.
2) Governments can re-distribute wealth through taxation and welfare like
Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Evaluation:
Christopher Snowdon (2010) argued that Wilkinson and Pickett have been too
selective in their choice of countries and that the inclusion of South Korea,
Slovenia and Hong Kong would have made a significant difference to their
findings. He also argues that there is a greater link between low income and
health, rather than inequality and health.
However Wilkinson and Pickett claim that they confined their study to countries
where data was available and that their findings are supported by many other
studies. They argue that they have not claimed that all social problems are
related to inequality. For example they acknowledge that alcoholism runs
through all social classes. Overall this study is regarded as a comprehensive
analysis of a range of social problems and could be used to inform social policy.
34
Classwork
Marxist theory of class stratification
In this activity you should try to place Marx’s theory of class stratification into an
historical perspective. You should consider whether his predictions have come true or
whether they could come true in the future.
1. Marx suggested that the time of the cavemen was characterised by sharing, which
he called primitive communism. Was his suggestion correct?
2. Try to explain what you think life would have been like in the UK during Marx’s
lifetime (1818-1883).
3. What did Marx mean by the term ‘mode of production’?
4. According to Marx what is the basis of class?
5. What are the three main classes and what is their relationship to each other?
6. Explain Marx’s idea of the base and the superstructure of capitalist society.
7. What did Marx predict would happen as capitalism advanced?
8. Do you think Marx’s predictions have come true? Give reasons for your answer.
(Keep the work of Westergaard and Resler in mind.)
9. If you applied Marx’s theory to yourself, to which class do you belong?
10. Do you think there will be a revolution as capitalism advances and increases the
gap between rich and poor?
35
Quick summary of Marxism
Key Features:

There are two main classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

They are mutually antagonistic

Ownership or non-ownership of the means of production is the most
important division in capitalist society

History is driven by the conflict between the two main classes, as they
struggle to control society

The petit bourgeoisie will be put out of business and will fall in to the
proletariat

Individuals in similar class positions tend to develop a consciousness that
they hold similar interests

Conflict will result in change
Claimed strengths:

Draws attention to importance of conflict as the ‘motor of history’

Theory and political movement of social change

Draws attention to the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie

Emphasises the importance of economic ownership

Good at explaining the workings of capital
Claimed weaknesses:

Too economically deterministic

‘Privileges’ the role of the proletariat

‘History has not been kind to Marx’ – there has been no revolution yet

Marx and Engels neglect ethnicity and gender as forms of inequality
36
Max Weber’s theory of class stratification
According to Weber (1864-1920) ownership/non-ownership was
an important division, but within these two categories there was
further differentiation. What is important is what people have in
terms of goods, wealth or skills. These can be exchanged in the
‘market’ for a monetary value. It is this ‘market’ or ‘economic’
position that determines class position.
So, for Weber: class position = market situation.
In principle, this means that there could be as many class
positions as there are market/economic positions.
Weber and life chances
Life chances are the type of education, health, diet, housing, and working conditions a
person may experience during their lifetime. Different classes have different life
chances. Those in a better market position have more life chances, ie. increased
opportunities through good health, diet, etc. Groups may share a similar class position,
but will not necessarily organise together to better their class position.
Class, status and party
Weber challenged Marx’s view of class as being purely economic. He argued that
status and party are two other sources of power that also weaken the coherence of
class groups.
Status is social power, which comes from belonging to a particular group. So, a priest
may not have a strong economic position, but may have high status.
Party means belonging to a particular group that has influence in society, eg. a
pressure group or political party. Belonging to such a group may weaken class
solidarity and promote the interest of group members. For example, men from different
walks of life belong to the Freemasons, or people may belong to ‘eco’ groups.
The Protestant work ethic
Weber differed from Marx in that he thought the ‘mode of production’
changed from Feudalism to Capitalism due to a religious movement, not
from class struggle. Calvinism was a branch of Protestantism. In the
C17th Calvinists believed that some were ‘elect’ (saved) and that it was a
person’s duty to lead an ascetic life (one without sensual pleasure).
Dancing, singing and bright clothing were banned. Work was seen as a
calling – idleness an affront to God. However good work did not
necessarily earn salvation. No-one knew if they were one of the elect. The
effect of this religious belief was that Calvinists saved a lot of money and
invested it in new factories. Weber argued that capitalist industry sprang
up in places where Calvinists were most concentrated. Hence it was a
religious sect that prompted the proliferation of capitalist industries.
37
The iron cage of Bureaucracy
‘Precision, speed, unambiguity, knowledge of files,
continuity, discretion, unity, strict subordination,
reduction of friction and of material and personal costs these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly
bureaucratic administration’. Max Weber
Weber argued that one of the downsides of capitalism was that there is a huge increase
in bureaucracy. Large armies of clerical workers (bureaucrats) are employed in
businesses to rationally calculate profits and efficiency and they sometimes make up
more of the workforce than the people who actually deliver the service or make the
product. Bureaucracies concentrate large amounts of power in a small number of people
and are generally unregulated. Weber believed that those who control these
organizations control the quality of our lives as well. Although Weber felt that capitalism
and the iron cage of bureaucracy were inevitable, he wrote many papers talking about
the deadening effect of bureaucracy and claimed that this was the most pressing
problem of our time.
Weber’s prediction for the future – the growth of the middle
class
According to Weber, capitalism would develop. As capitalism developed it would need
more and more administrative posts to support it. More administrative posts would
mean more white-collar work. An increase in white-collar work means an expansion of
the middle class. This, in turn, would lead to more and more diversification and
mobility.
John Goldthorpe (1980) used Weber’s concept of mobility to construct a model of
social class in modern capitalist societies with seven classes, from the professions to
agricultural workers, and attempted to explain stratification between the service, middle
and working class through occupational status.
Class I
Higher professional administrators, managers and large proprietors.
Class ii
Lower grade administrators, higher grade technicians and supervisors.
Class iii
Routine non-manual.
Class iv
Small proprietors and self-employed.
Class v
Foremen and lower-grade technicians.
Class vi
Skilled manual.
Class vii
Semi-skilled and unskilled manual in industry and agricultural workers.
Goldthorpe’s examination of class through occupational categories highlighted some of
the differences in power and the ability to be mobile that certain occupations, such as
administrators and technicians, possess. However, he has been criticised for ignoring
the ruling class and for ignoring the position of women in his stratification system.
38
Social closure (social inclusion and social exclusion)
The concept of social closure is associated with the ideas of Weber and Goldthorpe.
The suggestion is that groups of people who share similar life chances as a result of
factors such as status and party close ranks to mark themselves out from other groups.
This leads to questions of inclusion and exclusion. For example, entry to certain
clubs, schools and occupations offer mutual support through this social network. This
is often referred to as networking or elite self-recruitment. This can lead to a
situation were access to life chances is better for some than the rest of society and
consequently worse for those not included.
This social exclusion can affect: the long-term unemployed; single parents; people
with disabilities; the homeless; ethnic minority groups; and elderly people. These
groups then experience lesser life chances. This exclusion strategy is used to protect
existing privileges. Groups can insist that potential new recruits to their ranks possess
the appropriate credentials to gain access. This credentialism is used to close off
rewards of belonging to the group by emphasising the qualifications or credentials
needed to belong.
Weber’s prediction for the future – no revolution
Weber felt that capitalism would continue to develop and spread globally. He believed
that workers would not recognise their position of inequality as they were divided by
class, status and party differences and felt they had little in common with each other.
Those who did feel exploited may simply accept this, or engage in grumbling or
sabotage, rather than develop the revolutionary consciousness that Marx argued they
would. For Weber, capitalism is the end of history.
Evaluation of Weber
Strengths:
1. Weber has highlighted important differences between class, status and party
and shown how social class is more complicated than Marx thought.
2. Weber was correct in his prediction that bureaucracy and the middle class
would grow
3. Weber’s notion of the protestant work ethic helps us see how cultural changes
affect the mode of production in addition to class struggle.
Weaknesses:
1. Marxists critique the multi-class model and point out that economics largely
determine status and party. Those who have low economic rewards and high
status are exceptions to the rule. Economic class is still the most important
factor.
2. Functionalists would disagree with his views on social closure and argue that
society is meritocratic.
3. Marxists would say Weber misses false class consciousness and that there is
still an exploited group (the proletariat).
39
Classwork: Weber on class stratification
In this activity you should attempt to put Weber’s observations into an historical
context. You should keep Marx’s observations in mind because it could be said that
Weber was ‘debating’ with the ghost of Marx. You should then consider whether
Weber’s observations are still relevant today.
1. Weber was 19 when Marx died in 1883. Weber lived to see major events such as
World War 1, the Russian Revolution (October 1917), and working class men and
some women getting the vote in Western societies. How do you think these events
would have affected Weber’s thinking about human behaviour before his death in
1920?
2. According to Weber, what determines someone’s class position?
3. According to Weber, how is class coherence weakened? Explain your answer.
4. Give two reasons why people might move up or down the stratification system in
terms of social mobility.
5. Which types of work are leading to the expansion of the middle classes?
6. What does social closure mean?
7. In 2003, the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, was reported to have fallen out
with his father. In a newspaper article, Prescott said he had been born working class
but had become middle class because he had become a politician. His father said he
and his son had been brought up working class and therefore would always be working
class. What do you think of this?
Differences between Marx and Weber
Write out this table and sort the following statements in to the correct columns:
 Ownership or non ownership of the means of production
 Polarization of wealth, class consciousness and revolution
 Class struggle for more fairness - from Feudalism to capitalism
 Acceptance and continuation of capitalism, growth of bureaucracy
 Calvinism and reinvestment of wealth in new factories
 Class, status and party make up a person’s market situation
Marx and Engels
Their definition of
social class
The origins of
capitalism
The future
40
Weber
Summary of Weberianism
Key Features:
 Multi-class model of society where economic divisions are important
but






Market situation (the rewards individuals receive) is more important than
ownership
Different groups compete in different ways to increase their share of the
rewards
Individuals identify more with those who follow similar lifestyles, rather than
those who share similar economic position
Claimed strengths:
Identifies divisions other than class
Highlights the importance of consumption as well as production
Individual consciousness is seen as important
Claimed weaknesses:



Underestimates importance of class divisions in society
Assumes there is ‘status’ and ‘party’ consciousness without adequately
demonstrating it
Unclear about the relationship between class, status and party
Classwork – let’s revise all three theories
1. Stickmen
Illustrate Functionalism, Marxism or Weberian theories on social class using
ONLY stickmen and speech bubbles. Get your learning partner to guess which
theory you have depicted then swap over.
2. Similes....
Competition for the best simile! Complete the
following sentences:
Social stratification is like.....because......
Social class is like ...............because......
Functionalism is like ............because......
Marxism is like......................because.....
Weber is like a .....................because......
3. 5 degrees of separation (or 3 degrees if you are really smart!)
Do one for each theory e.g.
Social networks bring people together
Coming together makes us feel social solidarity with one another
Functionalism claims that social solidarity creates social order
41
Classwork
Make a grid to evaluate theories and fill in the blanks. Although we have not fully
covered feminism in this unit you can use a feminist perspective to evaluate
Functionalism, Marxism and Weber. Here are some examples for you:
Theory
Strengths
Weaknesses
Parsons & Davis and Moore have
Functionalism provided a simple theoretical model to
help us understand the positive functions
of social class
They also help us understand the way
that social class is interdependent with
other institutions e.g. education.
Marxism
Marxism is sufficiently flexible to counter
criticism and provide explanations for
historical changes that have occurred
since Marx’s death
Class conflict seems to have become
institutionalised in advanced capitalist
society. There does not seem to be any
sign of a proletarian revolution.
Marx assigned too much importance to
economic factors to explain social
structure and social change. Weber (and
feminist writers) have shown that status
and party can also explain social class
divisions.
Weberian
Weber has provided an thorough
account of the process of rationalisation
of which bureaucracy is a prime example
Weber’s account of a group’s ‘market
situation’ provides a complex and useful
model for understanding class
Feminism
‘Malestream’ sociology has failed to
identify and explain the unequal position
of women in the labour market. Feminist
theory has corrected this imbalance and
made issues visible like the gender pay
gap and the sexualisation of women’s
work
Like Marxism, Feminist theory is both a
theoretical approach and political
movement. Their work has contributed to
many social changes such as the Equal
Pay Act and the Sex Discrimination Act.
42
Liberal, Radical, Marxist and Black
feminists provide different perspectives
on gender inequality. Although this is a
strength of feminism, it is also a
weakness, as no one approach that can
adequately explain gender inequality. It
also impedes political action as different
theories support different solutions.
Classwork
Be your own SQA marker and make your teacher redundant! Answer
the question below:
‘Describe and evaluate two theories on social class’.
Look at the past paper marking instructions below, then write out an answer with
this as your guide. Swap your answer with a partner and give each other a mark
out of 12.
Give 6 marks for each theory – 3 Marks KU / 3 marks AE.
Theories
Up to 12 marks are available for this section. To gain full marks the discussion
of each theory must include:
candidates are required to use the theories to evaluate the extent to which
social mobility is evident in UK society
identification of key features of the theories should be awarded up to 6 marks.
These descriptions should use the appropriate sociological language associated
with the theory and refer to the theory specifically – eg Marxism and the
influence of class on life chances
evaluation of theories identified should be awarded up to 6 marks. Points must
be evaluative and not descriptive-for example focusing on strengths and
weaknesses. To gain all 6 marks candidates must link evaluative points to the
question (ie social mobility) and the extent to which this is still a significant
aspect of society today, for instance to what extent would Marxists agree/
disagree that there is social mobility in society today
additional points may be awarded additional marks from the conclusion/ further
evaluation.
Candidates, who highlight all of the aspects above and do so in a cogent
manner, using the points to discuss social mobility, should be awarded high
marks.
43
Classwork
1. Another way to practice this essay is to work your way up Blooms taxonomy
and see if you can climb to the top of the hierarchy:
Draw a conclusion about the
implications of social mobility / social
closure studies for the future.
Evaluate the methodology of the
studies and draw a conclusion about
which are the most convincing
theories.
Analyze the strengths and
weaknesses of theories and the
findings of two studies
Apply theories to social mobility or
social closure
Explain changes in social class
Define stratification and social class
2. Extension activity:
If you feel comfortable at the remembering and understanding layers then feel
free to skip straight to the higher levels of application, analysis etc.
3. Let’s play animal memories.
Pick and animal for each of the three
perspectives: Functionalism, Marxism
and Weberian.
Select words associated with theory that
begin with the letters of that animal
e.g. CAT as a way of revising Marxism
– Capitalism, Alienation, The forces of
production.
44
Classwork
Place the statements under the correct theory heading. Simply use the numbers
of the statements if you want to be lazy. Write out the full sentences under each
heading if this helps you to understand the theories.
Functionalism
Marxism
Feminism
Weberian
1. Society is patriarchal – the highest paid occupations are dominated by men
2. Society is based on class conflict and exploitation of the proletariat by the
bourgeoisie
3. Society is based in value consensus and social solidarity – we agree that
social stratification is beneficial
4. Capitalism first emerged in Protestant areas due to the Protestant work ethic
which encouraged hard work and the reinvestment of wealth rather than
consumption.
5. Marxism and Functionalism fail to address gender as a form of stratification
6. Society is now characterised by rational goal oriented action which leads to
the growth of bureaucracy
7. Society can only be improved by the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and a
dictatorship of the proletariat. Wealth is then redistributed according to need and
merit.
8. Society can only be improved by consciousness raising and political
campaigns to challenge patriarchal ideology and introduce laws for gender
equality.
9. Davis and Moore claim that stratification is universal and necessary for
effective role allocation.
10. The growth of bureaucracy has led to the expansion of the middle class =.
11. Society is made up the economic base, or infrastructure, which shapes the
superstructure - institutions like the education system, politics, family, and
media.
12. Social Class operates as a meritocracy – the best rewards go the most
functionally important jobs with more responsibility.
13. The bourgeoisie extract surplus value from the proletariat by paying low
wages and charging high prices. This leads to polarization of wealth.
45
SOCIAL MOBILITY
AND
SOCIAL CLOSURE
Aspects - Social mobility
46
A major area of discussion when talking about class stratification is social mobility.
Social mobility is defined as the ability to be able to move up the hierarchy. Sociologists
generally refer to two forms of social mobility: vertical and horizontal.
Vertical mobility describes movement between strata both up and down the
stratification system. It can usually be seen as an example of long-range mobility,
displaying a change in class and status. For example if your sociology teacher won the
lottery they would be upwardly mobile and might even consider giving up their teaching
job to live off their stocks and shares!
Horizontal mobility is a geographical term used to describe movement around the
country to new forms of similar employment. This can be seen as short-range
mobility, because there is little change in the individual’s class and status. For example
your teacher would be horizontally mobile if they moved from their present employment
to another school or college, but still remained as a sociology teacher. If they moved job
to get a promotion, then that would be vertical mobility.
There are two types of vertical mobility:
Inter-generational mobility refers to movement between
generations. For example people who grew up in working class
areas with working class parents may become middle class
through hard work, luck or education. Think of inter-generational
mobility as an inter city train - moving between two very
different locations (generations).
Intra-generational mobility describes movement of an individual over their lifetime, for
example, as a result of changing career or promotion. When we say that someone has
gone from ‘rags to riches’ we mean they have experienced intra-generational mobility.
Intra-generational mobility is one way of expressing ‘The American Dream’, and is the
main theme of numerous movies over the decades. In the 1988 film ‘Working Girl’
Melanie Griffith starts her career as a secretary, and through her own initiative (and
some help from Harrison Ford) becomes the chief executive. In the 2006 film ‘The
Pursuit of Happyness’ Will Smith similarly makes it from rags to riches within his own
lifetime.
Classwork
1. List as many films as
you can that feature
social mobility as their
theme.
2. Write out a definition of
social mobility in your
own words
3. Have your family
experienced inter or
intra-generational
mobility?
47
Aspect - Social Closure
Social closure is a term which is used to explain how people
who share similar life chances as a result of factors such as
status and party close ranks to mark themselves out from
other groups. This leads to questions of inclusion and
exclusion. For example, entry to certain clubs, schools and
occupations offer mutual support through this social network.
This is often referred to as networking or elite selfrecruitment. This can lead to a situation were access to life
chances is better for some than the rest of society and
consequently worse for those not included.
Embourgeoisement
This is a term that means ‘becoming bourgeois’ or ‘becoming middle class’.
The term has been used as the basis of a theory that suggests that the manual working
class are becoming more like the middle class. The argument is that all industrial
societies have seen an increase in equality and affluence since the end of the Second
World War. For example, increased salaries, greater job security, and higher
disposable income. These changes have eroded the distinctive values and lifestyle of
the working class.
As the incomes of the working class have increased, so have their capacity to buy
consumer goods such as mobile phones, PCs, iPods, cars and their own homes. Those
who put forward the theory of embourgeoisement argue that working class people are
also adopting middle-class values and lifestyles to match their incomes.
Class structure –
embourgeoisement
Old class structure
Upper
class
Upper
class
Changed to
Proletarianisation
This is the opposite trend and means as more work becomes deskilled, workers
become proletarian. For example clerical workers used to be paid very well and were a
respected profession. However as computers have replaced a lot of their work clerical
staff now concentrate on routine data inputting tasks. They may dress like white collar
workers, but they have low skilled proletarian jobs.
48
Measuring social mobility
There are a number of practical problems when conducting research into whether
social mobility and social closure either exist, or are possible within the class structure
of the UK.

Samples of the population need to be quite large in order to represent the whole of
the UK.

It might be that social mobility and social closure have been easier for certain
generations depending on the availability of certain types of work or the conditions
of the economy.

Women have not been represented in much of the work done on social mobility
and social closure, despite their presence in the workforce in small numbers in the
past to their present very strong position in the labour market now.
Sociologists have carried out the following influential studies concerned with questions
of social mobility.
Classwork
Go through the following list and write down a category
for each scenario. Don’t worry if it provokes some good
debate!





Upward mobility
Downward mobility
Horizontal mobility
Intergenerational
Intra-generational
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A nurse who decides to become a labourer on a building site.
A daughter of a miner who becomes a bank manager
A teacher who decides to retrain as a social worker
A doctor’s son who becomes a taxi driver
An immigrant from a poor farming background in Romania who gets a job in
Britain as a farm labourer.
6. The daughter of a skilled manual worker who becomes a routine clerical
worker.
7. A postal worker who becomes a traffic warden
8. A pilot whose son becomes a police constable.
9. The owner of a small shop whose daughter becomes an assistant manager
in a large supermarket.
10. A principal teacher who becomes a teacher
49
Social Mobility Studies
In your essay you are required to describe and evaluate two research studies for 10
marks out of the 30 available. That is 5 marks for the first study and 5 marks for the
second study. These studies should be explicitly linked to sociological theories, so you
should say whether a study supports or challenges theories such as functionalism,
Marxism, Weber or feminism.
Background: The Social Mobility in Britain Study by Glass (1954)
Glass was one of the first people to comprehensively studied inter-generational mobility
of men in the UK. He drew a number of conclusions, including:

While individuals did move up and down the hierarchy, it was generally short-range
and within certain types of work only, so that few people broke through from
manual work to professional work.

Generally the pattern was of sons taking similar jobs with a similar status to their
father.

While it was possible to rise in the system, membership of the middle classes
seemed to offer children some protection from dropping back down into lowerstatus work.

He suggested this was an example of self-recruitment.

As this study only included men and excluded women it is considered to be dated.
1) The ‘Oxford Mobility Studies’ by Goldthorpe et al (1972, 1980 and 1986)
Aim:
John Goldthorpe wanted to see if patterns of social mobility
had changed since the original Glass study. He conducted his
study at Nuffield College in Oxford. They were unable to
directly compare their findings with Glass in the end because
they used different occupational scales.
Sample: 10,000 men aged between 20 and 64 years in England and
Wales in 1972. Women were not included because they generally
earned less than men and lived at the level of their husband’s income.
Method: Interviews
Using this own class scale Goldthorpe allocated men to seven social
classes which were based upon market situation (source and level of income,
security of employment, promotional aspects) and work situation (degree of control,
and authority in job). For purposes of simplification these classes were usually grouped
into three clusters. Service Class, Intermediate and Working.
The service class included experts and specialists who fill important positions.
Goldthorpe argued that they were a highly privileged group and so he felt justified in
regarding the Service class and the working class as representing opposite ends of the
hierarchy of privilege. The intermediate class occupies a much more ambiguous
position somewhere in the middle of hierarchy.
50
The two measures - Absolute vs relative mobility:
1) Absolute mobility – how much total movement there was between
classes – up or down
2) Relative mobility – what a person’s chances were of getting in to
class 1 if they started from the service class, compared with starting from
the intermediate class or the working class. In other words, what were
people’s chances of getting in to class one relative to each other. This is
calculated by comparing the mobility prospects of different social
groups at the same point of time.
Findings:

Most mobility was short range and not long range.

They found that two-thirds of the sons of unskilled or semi-skilled workers were
in manual occupations. On third had been upwardly mobile.

Four percent of blue-collar workers came from professional backgrounds.

Approximately thirty percent of professionals were from working class
backgrounds.

Downward mobility appeared to be declining, but more men from working class
backgrounds were unemployed.

There was lots of absolute mobility, but relative mobility rates were low.
Conclusions:
 Long-range social mobility rates had increased in the UK since after World War
Two, suggesting that class categories and society had become more open.

However, it was suggested that this increase could have been due to changes
in the occupational structure of the UK; de-industrialisation had led to fewer
traditional working class jobs. Professional and administrative jobs expanded so
rapidly after the second world war that there was not enough children in the
service class to fill all the new jobs. More ‘room at the top’ meant they had to
recruit from the working and middle classes.
Analysis of the study
Goldthorpe’s findings challenge the conventional wisdom of mobility. This
conventional view was largely derived from empirical research (e.g. Glass, 1954) and
various sociological theories.
1. The Closure Thesis
This argues that the service class is largely self recruiting,
reserving its privilege positions for its own offspring. It does this
by closing ranks to newcomers from lower social classes. But
Goldthorpe found that this class was only partly successful in
guarding its privileges.
51
2. The Buffer Zone Thesis
This argues that the occupations clustered tightly around the manual /non manual
zone act as a kind of brake, which prevents long range mobility. People who are
mobile across the manual/non manual line are usually ‘absorbed’ into this zone (e.g.
people downwardly mobile from non manual classes often end up in the skilled
manual classes, while people upwardly mobile from the manual classes usually end
up in the lower ranks of the white collar occupations)
In Goldthorpe’s survey, however, the newcomers to the service class had been drawn
from all the other social classes. As many as 28.5% of all those currently in class 1
had been born in classes 6 and 7, so long range mobility was not so unusual after all.
Absolute and Relative Mobility
Absolute mobility refers to total mobility which takes place in a society (Crompton,
1993). It is measured by figures in a mobility table, which reveal the numbers of
individuals within each class who have been socially mobile.
Goldthorpe’s survey found surprisingly high rates of absolute mobility and the main
reason for this was the transformation of the occupational structure of post war
Britain. There had been an enormous expansion in the number of service class and
intermediate jobs and this had created more room at the top. So compared with
previous generations, working class people now had a better chance of moving
upwards. For example, in 1900 the sons of miners had a slim chance of becoming
middle class, but by 1970 their chances of upwards mobility had improved
considerably. Thus absolute rates had increased.
Relative Mobility rates on the other hand, are calculated by comparing the mobility
prospects of different social groups at the same point of time. In the year 1970, for
example, there may have been room at the ‘top’ but some social groups were more
likely than others to fill these places. Someone born into the middle class had a good
chance of getting a middle class job but someone born into an unskilled manual
family had a slimmer chance of becoming middle class.
The 1:2:4 rule of relative hope
The findings can be expressed in terms of the 1:2:4 rule whatever the chance of a working class boy reaching the service
class, a boy from the intermediate class had twice the chance
and a boy from the service class four times the chance. So
relative mobility rates measure the chance of one group relative
to other groups.
Conclusion:
Whereas Goldthorpe argued that absolute mobility prospects had improved, he
suggested there had been little change in relative mobility rates. The odds were still
weighted in favour of those from the higher classes and so equality of opportunity
had not been achieved. Britain was no more ‘fluid or open’ than it had been in the inter
war period. Goldthorpe concluded that: no significant reduction in class inequalities has
in fact been achieved.
52
An update
Goldthorpe’s original study was conducted in 1972 but in a second edition,
Goldthorpe, 1987 he was able to update it by drawing on data from the British General
Election Survey of 1983. Goldthorpe concluded that the mobility chances of the working
class had become polarised. On the one hand, their chances of moving into the
service class had improved (both in absolute and relative terms). On the other hand,
the economic recessions since 1972 had created a higher risk of unemployment.
Evaluation
1. Michelle Stanworth (1984) criticised this study for classing women according to their
husband or father’s occupation. She argued that women’s mobility is very different
from men’s, and that women’s mobility needs to be measured according to their own
occupation.
2. Goldthorpe is criticized for ignoring the existence of small elites in class 1 (the ruling
class). Goldthorpe’s class 1 is a large grouping containing 10-15% of the male
population. Studies that concentrate on elites in class 1 find a larger degree of social
closure.
Classwork
1) Mindmap the Goldthorpe Oxford mobility study or be imaginative and use
pictures like a ‘snakes and ladder board’ in your drawing. Alternatively put it
in a grid like the one below:
Aim
Sample
Method
Results
Conclusion
Evaluation
2) In a paragraph explain the difference between the absolute and relative
rates of mobility. Explain the 1:2:4 rule of relative hope.
3) How many people in class 1 had come from class 6 or 7?
4) What percent of blue collar workers came from professional fathers?
5) Did Goldthorpe find elite self-recruitment in class 1?
6) Why did this study class women according to their husband’s occupation
rather than separately using their own occupation
7) Do you think women’s mobility would be different or the same as men’s?
53
Social Mobility studies
2) Marshall, Rose, Newby and Vogler, Social Class in Modern
Britain (referred to as the Essex Study) (1988)
Aim:
This study used Goldthorpe’s 7 class scale so direct comparisons
could be made between them to see if mobility had improved
since 1972.
Method/procedure:
The research collected information on both male and female
rates and is more up to date than the Oxford study. The findings were based on the
class of the respondent (male or female) and the class of the ‘chief childhood supporter’
(male or female) at the same age as the respondent.
Findings:
The study found high rates of upward mobility overall, including:

For men, the rates were similar to those found in the Oxford studies.

For women there was evidence of upward and downward mobility into class 3, that
is, routine, non-manual work. Large numbers of women were working in routine,
non-manual occupations, such as clerical, admin and retail.

Even when individuals start in the service class, class of origin still drags down a
considerable amount of working class people. Findings on intragenerational
mobility showed that 84% of men from the service class and who started their
career in the service class, were still there when interviewed. Only 64% of men
from the working class who started work in the service class, remained in it.

Working class women found it hard to stay in class 1 too. 77% of women from the
service class who started work in the service class were in it when interviewed.
Only 43% of women from the working class who started their career in the service
class, stayed in it.
Conclusion:
The conclusions of this study were that the expansion of white-collar jobs, after deindustrialisation, explained the high rates of upward mobility. It confirms that relative
intergenerational mobility rates are similar for women as they are for men, as both are
affected by the class of their chief childhood supporter. However absolute rates were
different due to women’s concentration in class 3.
This study found similar patterns of male mobility but confirmed findings from Heath,
Abbot and Payne that large numbers of women are upwardly and downwardly mobile
into class 3.
54
Evaluation of the Oxford and Essex studies
Peter Saunders (1996) ‘Unequal but Fair? A study of Class
Barriers in Britain’.
Peter Saunders (1996) criticised the Oxford Mobility study for
stressing relative mobility rates instead of absolute rates. He
argued that Goldthorpe was too pessimistic and should be
celebrating lots of movement. All classes equally benefit from
upward mobility given their start point.
Saunders also argues that inequalities found in this study may
reflect inherited intelligence, motivation and talent. Middle class
children do better because they are cleverer and work harder.
Their parents have passed on intelligent genes. Those at the
bottom may have inferior intelligence and therefore it is fair that
those children go back in to less responsible jobs. The meritocracy
is genetic meritocracy.
Classwork
1.
Discuss in pairs of groups:
Do you agree that we live in a genetic meritocracy where the children of wealthy
parents have intelligent genes and therefore do well in life?
2.
Mindmap the Essex study or put it in a study grid like the one here.
Aim
Sample
Method
Results
Conclusion
3. Depict the Oxford or Essex studies using only stickmen
and speech bubbles. Get a learning partner to guess the
study, then swap over.
Online learning
For a defence of social mobility by Peter Saunders’ watch him on youtube:
1) Peter Saunders criticizes government social mobility strategy, Sky News 5 April 2011
http://youtu.be/rzfrY76dhE4 (accessed in Sept 2014)
2) To view the whole works of peter Saunders visit his website:
http://www.petersaunders.org.uk/social_mobility.html
55
Social mobility in the 90s and noughties
A.H. Halsey, Change in British Society (1995)
Halsey found that the evidence supported the claim that there was more upward
social mobility in British society over the past century with less downward social
mobility, although some did exist. These changes in the class system Halsey
likened to a shift from a pyramid to a lemon shape. The pyramid contained a
small number of upper class at the top, a larger number of middle class in the
middle and a disproportionate number of working class at the bottom. The
lemon shape contained small numbers of upper and working class at either end
with a large middle class in-between.
The noughties
Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin (2005) looked at intergenerational
mobility based on income differences rather than occupation. This allowed them
to compare over time and across countries.
Method: They divided the population into quartiles (lowest 25% of earners, then
the next 25% of earners etc). The British data was based on the National Child
Development Survey (1958 cohort of births) and the British Cohort study (1970
cohort of births). Data was also collected on 7 countries – USA, Canada, West
Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Results: There was less upward mobility for those born in 1970 than those born
in 1958. Intergenerational mobility and equality of opportunity have fallen in
Britain. However in the USA upward mobility had increased over time. Britain
had one of the lowest mobility rates across the 8 countries.
Evaluation:
This study presents convincing evidence that
social mobility is declining for men.
Blanden’s study is based on sizeable samples, but
only looked at boys.
Measuring income inequality rather than using
occupational scale may be more useful and
reliable
This data is in stark contrast to the views of Peter
Saunders who believes that society is becoming
more fair.
Picture Jo Blanden, University of Surry
Source: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/economics/people/jo_blanden/
56
Classwork
Read newspaper article below from The Guardian (May 2012) and summarise
the main points.
Social mobility: the charts that shame Britain
Can you go from stacking shelves to heading up a major corporation
in Britain? The data suggests it's unlikely. See what it says
Social mobility is in the news today. The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, will
announce publication of 17 data-led indicators showing how mobile we are as a
society. Social mobility is the kind of thing all politicians can sign up to: it's the
idea that it doesn't matter where you come from, you should have the same
chances to progress.
So, how socially mobile is Britain today? We've collected the key data together
which shows that, as far as social mobility goes, the UK is way behind many
other countries. There is already a lot of data out there on this - in particular the
OECD's recent report on social mobility across the world and a recent report by
57
the All Party Parliamentary Group on social mobility.
Here's what the figures show:
• Britain has some of the lowest social mobility in the developed world - the
OECD figures show our earnings in the UK are more likely to reflect our fathers'
than any other country
• Social mobility hasn't changed since the 1970s - and
in some ways has got worse. For every one person born in the 1970s in the
poorest fifth of society and going to university, there would be four undergrads
from the top fifth of society. But if you were born in the 1980s, there would be
five
• 24% of vice-chancellors, 32% of MPs, 51% of top Medics, 54% of FTSE-100
chief execs, 54% of top journalists, 70% of High Court judges …went to private
school, though only 7% of the population do
• Education is an engine of social mobility. But achievement is not balanced
fairly - for the poorest fifth in society, 46% have mothers with no qualifications
at all. For the richest, it's only 3%
• Parental influence still makes a big difference to a child's education in the UK,
especially compared to other countries - in fact in the UK the influence of your
parents is as important as the quality of the school - unlike Germany, say, where
the school has a much bigger role
• Higher education is not evenly balanced either in terms of aspirations - 81% of
the richest fifth of the population think their child will go to university,
compared to 53% of the poorest
• … or achievment: 49% of the poorest will apply to university and get in,
compared to 77% of the richest
• There is a strong link between a lack of social mobility and inequality - and the
UK has both. Only Portugal is more unequal with less social mobility
• If you are at the top, the rewards are high - the top 1% of the UK population has
a greater share of national income than at any time since the 1930s
Our findings reflect work in the area by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
We also know that about half of this intergenerational transmission of income
occurs through education: cognitive skills measured using standardised tests,
which are highly rewarded in the labour market and are not evenly achieved by
children from more or less affluent families. These cognitive skills (education)
will be an important part of intergenerational inequality persisting across
generations in highly unequal societies such as Britain, both because of these
social gradients in acquiring them and in terms of how well they are rewarded.
So to put it another way the issue of economic opportunity for children both
reflects who gets the best jobs and how much more these jobs pay.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/may/22/social-mobility-datacharts/print
58
Revision
Which statements are true and which are false? Tick the correct box.
Statement
Social class is a closed system.
True
Social class means that everyone in the UK is treated unfairly.
Social class is only based on your parents’ background and where you
live.
People from lower class backgrounds have better health than those in
higher social classes.
The Registrar General’s Classification of social class is only one way of
measuring class.
There are different sociological theories about social class and its
effects.
Social class has an effect on our life chances.
Social class is based on a person’s income, job and status.
There is a huge amount of social mobility in the UK.
People from middle class backgrounds tend to gain more qualifications
at school than people from lower class backgrounds.
Match the statement to the correct area of social life:
 health
 housing
 education
 work.
Area of Social Life
Statement
People from middle class backgrounds
tend to have better working conditions.
People from lower classes tend to die
younger than middle class people.
People from middle class backgrounds
tend to get better educational
qualifications.
People from lower class backgrounds tend
to have poorer housing conditions such as
dampness and overcrowding.
59
False
Classwork
The Essay question
In the external exam you are required to complete an essay on either class
stratification or education worth 30 marks. This activity is practice for the
exam.
Question:
It is debated whether the study of class is still relevant in the UK today.
Is the study of class still relevant in the UK today?
(30 marks)
In your answer you should:

Give an introduction with definitions of stratification and class stratification,
including changes that have taken place.
(approx 6 marks)

Explain at least two sociological theories of class stratification that you have
studied, giving their strengths and weaknesses.
(approx 10 marks)

Evaluate at least two sociological studies associated with class stratification
that examine an aspect of life – choose one from social mobility or social
closure.
(approx 10 marks)

Give a conclusion in which you should evaluate the debate and consider
whether the initial question can be answered.
(approx 4 marks)
NB. The purpose of this assessment is to demonstrate your knowledge and
understanding of and ability to analyse and evaluate relevant theories. You are
also required to demonstrate your ability to link theories to studies and aspects
relevant to the topic, while also analysing and evaluating the links.
For an award at Grade A, candidates should be able to demonstrate detailed
knowledge and understanding of most of the relevant material required for a
complete answer to the question. For an award at Grade A there should be
evidence of integration and in-depth analysis of relevant theories, studies and
an aspect of life, including evaluative and critical points.
60
Essay tips
On page 5 we looked at marks for each section of the essay. We can break this
down even further:
Sections
Marks
How to get them!
Introduction
4 marks
Theories
12 marks
Studies
10 marks
Conclusion/
Further
evaluation
Total
4 marks
No half marks. A full mark for 4 developed points or 2
features explained very well.
6 marks per theory
3 marks description and 3 marks evaluation
Theories MUST be linked to the aspect for full marks.
5 marks per study
3 marks description and 2 marks evaluation. Studies
MUST be linked to a theory for full marks.
Extra evaluation of either theories or studies or points
at the end that are not repetition.
30 marks
15/30 for a C
18/30 for a B
21/30 for an A
The essay is in two parts – a discussion of sociological theories on class, and a
discussion of an aspect e.g. social closure studies. However you must make it
appear seamless. I’ll give you tips on how to do this as the test date
approaches.
INTRODUCTION – 4 marks:
If it’s class, start by defining social stratification then social class. Say how it’s
measured and link it to either social mobility or social closure by describing it as
an open mobility system in theory, but with many hidden barriers preventing
movement. Finish with 2 changes in the economy which have affected social
class. Keep the introduction to a brief paragraph and move on to the main body
as swiftly as you can. Remember it’s only worth 4 marks maximum.
Introductions have to be slanted towards the topic – either social mobility or
social closure. Read the samples below to see how this is done:
Social Class - Mobility introduction
“Social stratification is defined as structured inequality where people are layered
in terms of economic privilege, power and status. Class stratification generally
has greater legal and political freedom than other forms of stratification, and
doesn’t rely on religious justification. It is seen as an open form of social mobility
and is largely based on occupation and job security on the registrar General’s
scale. Changes in class have had a large impact on social mobility. There has
been a decline in heavy industries and a resulting rise in male unemployment.
There has also been a rise in service industries with more women being
61
upwardly and downwardly mobile in to class 3 occupations. Peoples’
perceptions of their class have therefore changed, with many traditional working
class people now seeing themselves as middle class due to the change to white
collar work and the Thatcherite policy of selling council houses”.
Social Class – Social closure introduction
“Social stratification is defined as structured inequality where people are
layered in terms of economic privilege, power and status. Class stratification
generally has greater legal and political freedom than other forms of
stratification, and doesn’t rely on religious justification. It is seen as an open
form of social mobility, but has a large degree of social closure within class 1
making it difficult for working class people to enter its ranks. Social class is
largely based on occupation and job security on the registrar General’s 8 class
scale. Changes in class have had a large impact on social closure. There has
been a decline in heavy industries and a resulting rise in male unemployment.
There has also been a rise in service industries with more women being
upwardly and downwardly mobile in to class 3 occupations. However the social
background of people within class 1 has not substantially changed, they remain
predominantly male and upper class”.
The following are points to think about for the introduction are:
Key Features and changes:
1.
Stratification is structured inequality. Social class is a form of stratification
and is based on a person’s income, wealth, status, power, and education.
2.
Class stratification is measured by the 8 class Registrar General’s scale
based on occupation. The scale is based on job security and social
status.
3.
Class is an Open Mobility system where movement between classes is
possible. However long range mobility is less common that short range.
4.
Heavy industry has declined and there’s been a rise of the Service
industry i.e. a move from blue collar to white collar work.
Changes in technology and their impact on the workplace – less manual
labouring jobs, more skilled IT technicians supervising machines.
5.
6.
Changes in ownership of industry and commerce from family owners to
managers. Stocks and shares are now available to small stock/share
holders.
7.
Rise in home ownership and decline of council owned housing so people
see themselves as more middle class
Changes in the way class is studied:
8.
Women are now classed according to their own occupation in social
mobility studies due to women’s improved position in the job market.
62
9.
Indicators of class have become more complex i.e. clothes, accent and
lifestyle are not as neatly segregated as they were in the past.
10.
The Registrar General’s scale has been updated in recent years to take
into account job security and social status. This is because the workforce
has become divided in terms of a ‘core’ set of workers with permanent
contracts and job security and a ‘periphery’ set of workers on temporary
contracts with insecure working conditions.
MAIN BODY – theories 12 marks, studies 10 marks:
1. Always use the third person in the main body e.g. “Davis and Moore
argue that…..” not “I think that..” or “in my opinion…”.
2. Name all the theorists and their critics. You will get these from class
handouts and text books.
3. The perspectives to pick from for this essay are the Functionalist, Marxist,
Feminist and Weberian theories. However it is simpler to stick to
Functionalist and Marxist theory for the class essay.
5. Note you will not be given full marks if you use two theories that are
similar e.g. Marxism and Weber, or Marxism and Feminism. For full
marks they must be contrasting e.g. Functionalism and Weber/
Functionalism and Marxism/ Functionalism and Feminism.
5. Describe only two theories. You won’t get extra marks for a third theory –
markers will just take your 2 best theories. However always bring in a 3 rd
theory in evaluations. For example Weber can be used as a critic of
Marxism, and feminism can be used as a criticism of any of these
‘malestream’ theories.
6. Evaluations of theories must be linked to the aspect for full marks e.g.
Marxist/ Weberian/ Feminist theory are supported by social mobility
studies (for different reasons)
7. Finally, studies must be linked to a theory for full marks e.g. the Oxford
mobility study supports Marx and Weber and challenges Functionalism.
There is no ‘right’ way to structure the perspectives half of the essay, but
structure 2 is easy for examiners:
STRUCTURE 1
Describe perspective 1
Describe perspective 2
Evaluate both perspectives together
STRUCTURE 2
Describe perspective 1
Evaluate perspective 1
Describe perspective 2
Evaluate perspective 2
63
LINKING SENTENCE TO THE SECOND HALF OF THE ESSAY
After describing and evaluating perspectives, write a linking sentence defining
the aspect e.g. social mobility or social closure and link it to perspectives:
e.g. ‘…despite these criticisms, the Marxist perspective is correct in arguing that
a persons class position is largely based on their class of origin rather than their
own talents and abilities. A study which supports this was carried out by
Goldthorpe who found that…..’
THE STRUCTURE OF SECOND HALF:
Again there is no ‘right’ way to structure the section on studies, but structure 2 is
probably clearer:
For class, describe what social mobility or social closure is e.g.
intra/intergenerational, absolute vs. relative mobility, excluding others.



Structure 1
Describe study 1
Describe study 2
Evaluate the studies together




Structure 2
Describe study 1
Evaluate study 1
Describe study 2
Evaluate study 2
Some students may want to do the following essay structure:
 Introduction
 Theory 1 - description and evaluation
 Study 1 - description and evaluation
 Theory 2 - description and evaluation
 Study 2 - description and evaluation
 Conclusion
it’s up to you!
CONCLUSION – 4 marks:
The conclusion is a short paragraph that summarises your answer and relates
back to the overall title. It’s only worth a maximum of 4 marks and you don’t get
any marks for simply repeating earlier points. For example;
‘Having looked at the Functionalist and Marxist perspectives on class we saw
that ..……. Social mobility studies demonstrated the importance of class as they
found that ……We can therefore conclude that social class still exists in British
society and that a person’s lifechance is still strongly related to their class of
origin’.
Good luck, and feel free to ask me for any tips that you may need on your essay
technique.
64
Stratification Essay Checklist
Introduction
At least two key features  What is stratification & what is social class
 How is it measured – 8 class registrar general scale
At least two changes
 Growth of service industry/decline of heavy industry
 Technology replacing manual labour
One change in the study  Women now included in social mobility studies according to
of class
their own occupation
Main Body
Key features of at least
 Functionalism with
two contrasting
 Marxism OR with
perspectives
 Weberian perspective - not Marx with Weber
Name two writers per
 Parsons/ Davis and Moore/ Saunders
perspective
 Marx and Engels
Evaluation
 Functionalism – 60% inherited their wealth. Assumes
consensus and that inequality is inevitable. Explain Tumin’s
criticisms.
 Marxism – assumes conflict, Saunder’s - revolution hasn’t
happened. Explain Weber’s criticisms eg. Middle class
expanding due to bureaucracy.
What is social mobility?
 Upward/ downward/ horizontal movement, absolute/relative
What is social closure?
rates, inter/ intragenerational
 Elites closing off opportunities to enter class 1
Describe two studies
1) Goldthorpe (1972, 1987) Oxford mobility Study
2) Marshall et al (1988) Essex mobility study
 Explain Oxford findings: more upward than downward
mobility, absolute fairly high, relative fairly low (1:2:4 ratio of
relative hope), more short range than long range. Not very
meritocratic overall.
 Essex: found same as above, but women are more
concentrated in class 3. Good news for working class
women, but bad news for upper class women!
Evaluate two studies
 Michelle Stanworth criticises Goldthorpe for classing women
according to their husband or fathers occupation.
 Also ignores existence of small elites in class1.
 Essex improves on this by using ‘chief childhood supporter’
and is more up to date. Also supports Stanworth’s view.
 Saunders – Oxford and Essex focus too much on relative
rates and dismiss absolute findings. Really, everyone is
better off from where they started off.
Conclusion
The conclusion is a short paragraph that relates back to the overall title. You need to make
links between theories and studies here e.g. do the studies support a Functionalist or
Marxist view on mobility/social closure? Absolute rates are evidence for Functionalism, but
relative rates are evidence for Marxism/ Weber. You also need to
refer back to the stimulus sentence (usually a quote).
65
Example Social Stratification NAB question
Extended response covering Outcomes 1, 2, and 3
Although sociologists agree that class stratification still exists in British society
they explain its structure and existence in very different ways.
Discuss the way in which different sociological perspectives explain class, using
evidence to support your answer.
Your answer should include:
KU
AE
a) key features, definitions and major changes in class
stratification
6
b) description and evaluation of at least two contrasting
theories: this must include at least two key features and
one strength and weakness of each theory
6
4
c) description and evaluation of two sociological studies
on social mobility OR social closure
6
4
You must include the main findings and at least one strength and one weakness
of each study
d) an evaluation of how effectively the arguments and
evidence help in our understanding of class stratification
4
18 KU 12 AE
Total: 30 marks
66
Past Exam Questions
Section B of the exam paper is the mandatory social class or education
question. Here are the essay titles that have appeared in exam papers in recent
years. All are 16 marks KU and 14 marks AE:
Specimen exam
B1. Education
Evaluate the contribution recent changes in UK education have made towards reducing
gender inequalities. Use contrasting theories and relevant studies to support your
answer.
2007
B1. Education
With reference to social class, explain to what extent differential achievement is still a
significant aspect of education in the UK today. Use two contrasting theories and
relevant studies in your answer.
2008
B1. Class Stratification
Explain the extent to which social closure is an important aspect of social class in the
UK today. Use two contrasting theories and relevant studies in your answer.
2009
B1. Social class
Explain to what extent social mobility is a feature of social class in the UK in the twentyfirst century. Use two contrasting theories and relevant studies in your answer.
2010
B1. Education
Explain the extent to which gender or social class or ethnicity affects
educational attainment in modern UK society. Use two contrasting theories
and relevant studies in your answer.
2011
B1. Social class
Analyse the extent to which social closure exists in UK society. Use two
contrasting theories and relevant studies in your answer.
2012
B1. Education
To what extent is educational achievement affected by a person’s ethnicity?
Use two contrasting theories and relevant studies in your answer.
2013 Social Class
Explain to what extent social mobility is a feature of social class in the UK in the
twenty–first century. Use two contrasting theories and studies in your answer.
2014
B1. Education
Explain the relationship between educational achievement and class in Britain today.
Use two contrasting theories and relevant studies in your answer.
67
Feedback for Higher Sociology: Social Class
Name _________________________________
1. Colour in whether you are confident, not confident, or fairly confident with the following:
Outcome 1
a) Describe social class succinctly and correctly
b) Describe key features of social class succinctly and
correctly.
Outcome 2
a) Correctly apply two relevant and contrasting sociological
theories to social class
b) Provide a balanced evaluation of the contribution of
contrasting sociological theories to understanding social
class.
Outcome 3
a) Explain social mobility and social closure in a balanced
way by taking account of different sociological studies.
b) Use relevant evidence from a range of sociological
studies to support the explanations.
c) Develop sociological arguments, based on evidence
and examples used in relevant sociological studies
d) Make balanced evaluations that refer to evidence and
arguments from contrasting sociological theories.
2. When do you work best? (Circle the most appropriate answer)
On my own
in a pair
in a group
I like variety
3. Give your teacher’ 2 stars and 2 wishes’: 2 things that were good & 2
things that could have been better.
4. Give yourself 2 stars and 2 wishes: 2 things that you think you did well
and 2 things that you would like to do better.
68
Revision grid for the introduction
Class stratification
Key features
Changes
Total: 4 marks
69
Revision grid on theories
Name of
theory and
author(s)
Functionalist
Durkheim, Parsons, Davis
and Moore
Marxist
Marx and Engels
Key features
3 marks
Evaluation inc.
strengths&
weaknesses/
link to the
aspect
3 marks
70
Weberian
Weber
Revision grid on studies
Name of Study
and author(s)
Oxford mobility study
Goldthorpe et al
(1972, 1980, 1986)
Essex Mobility study
Marshall et al (1988)
Key findings inc.
sample,
methods,
procedure
3 marks
Evaluation inc.
strengths&
weaknesses/ link
to theories
implications of
study for the
future
2 marks
71
One social closure study