ipl-logo

Does Social Class Matter

1061 Words5 Pages

Does Social Class matter?
Introduction
Whether we like it or not, the majority of societies are stratified into various social classes according to their access to particular forms of wealth and power. Whilst we would like to think of Physical Education (PE) and Sport as egalitarian, meritocratic and classless, sadly this isn’t the case with sport being tied to wider social class structures and hierarchies similar to those in society. Social class differences are evident within physical culture in many ways with those middle class children said to be at a massive advantage within PE and Sport (Evans and Bairner, 2013). Giddens and Sutton (2003) claim “there are few spheres of social life left untouched by class differences”. For the purpose …show more content…

Warminster had it all. Compared to Brookfield where PE lessons would take part on “The MUGA” (Multi use games area) which was basically concrete surrounded by a wired fence.
“In all societies, it is people in high income, high education, and high status occupational groups that have the highest rate of active sporting participation” (Coakley, 2004). Children at Warminster have some form of PE or Games for five hours a week, compared to the one hour I had, I would then have to opt to do sport out of school as an addition to my school day and sometimes at a …show more content…

Bourdieu considers habitus to be class specific based on the similarities in experiences and opportunities within social class (Bourdieu, 1990b cited in Stuij, 2013). The working class habitus is often associated with a “taste for necessity” and is driven by a restriction to the availability of sport/physical activity resources and opportunities due to a restricted capital (Bourdieu, 1984).
Whereas the working class would have a more instrumental relationship with the body, the middle class would use sport or physical activity as a means of enhancing their looks and therefore the social acceptance of the body.
Bernstein’s study offers an insight into the differences in perceptions and interpretations in the contexts in which habitus is required. Results of this study found that PE lessons were far more important to a child from the working class background in terms of a source of knowledge with children from the middle class sector only really discussing their experiences out of school. Children from the lower class highlighted “you don’t have to do sports, you can just play outside” which was then emphasised through the difference in types and amounts of sports being played between the two classes with many children in the middle class participating in Field Hockey, Horse-riding

Show More
Related
1828 Words | 8 Pages

Courtney Stawarz says, “Sports are important, I understand that. However, Elizabeth Kolbert has a valid argument.” She says, while Americans tend to put more emphasis on sports rather than learning, it is not the children that are at fault. She sees how sports are related to grades being you have to make sure you are eligible to play. Children have to watch their grades in order to be able to play sports in schools.

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

In today’s world many parents are “worried” about the education that their children receive and they want school boards to do their jobs and help their children learn. But is it the school boards problem? No, a vast amount of schools in the USA go after the physical abilities that students have. Amanda Ripley’s, “The Case Against High School Sports,” makes points in which she states that the students here in the USA are more behind in their academics, but more ahead in their sport systems unlike any other country.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

Due to the popularity of main stream athletics, the positive culture provided by them has been declining in the last decade. The increasing number of crimes committed by professional athletes, scandals committed by universities, and the falsified grades or standardized test scores of national ranked recruits have tarnished the image of traditional American sports such as baseball, basketball, and football. The inclusion of non-traditional sports in neighborhoods or schools with members of low socioeconomic status will counter the negative culture being created by reinforcing discipline, education, and citizenship as well as provide more opportunities for extra-curricular

Read More
283 Words | 2 Pages

This framework includes 5 levels. The individual, interpersonal, institutional, structural and cultural, these areas are used to investigate the ways in which inequities challenge the area of sport and physical activity. I know from personal experience some of my sport choices has been affected from these levels, either because of cost or because the only facilities for these sports were not near the area that we lived in. When it comes to athletics, I haven’t personally been always engaged in this for various reasons, pressure from others watching you as it is an induvial sport. As I have been more interested in other team sports such as basketball getting better in these sports had become a priority.

Read More
255 Words | 2 Pages

With the advancements in things people are able to improves their health goals to living a longer a better life, however, there is still the issues of how social class can affect their status for them to participate in a sport of any kind. When reading “In the Paradox of Social Class and Sports Involvement” written by Thomas C. Wilson, it first introduces of a paradox that people in a higher social class will be greater when being involved in some sort of sport if played with only the higher class, but if the sport is involved with the lower class, the higher class will less likely be involved with that certain sport. This was proven by Wilson has given example of the higher ones would usually play tennis or golf and will less likely play football

Read More
1738 Words | 7 Pages

The importance of children’s athletics is for kids to have fun. When the child stops getting enjoyment out of the sport, then it is the parent’s job to take them out. Sports can have many positive effects on a child’s life, but it is important to remember too much of a good thing can make it a hurtful thing. As the culture of youth athletics spirals out of control, it is the parent’s responsibility to save the child from short-term and, unfortunately, long-term damage. Parents need to evaluate how far they are willing to go for youth athletics and when they will have taken their obsession too

Read More
2728 Words | 11 Pages

Card M, Reiss Children have always needed an outlet to express and entertain themselves. Sports was a perfect solution for this, as keeping these young people focused on athletics was a great way to keep them out of trouble. This growing requirement to be occupied congruent with the blooming industrial cities is a powerful factor that allowed sports to

Read More
979 Words | 4 Pages

The remaining amount is considered the lower class, which is often deemed the hardest to move up from. Despite America’s fondness for the idea of the “American Dream”, social mobility can be incredibly difficult to achieve for a large majority of people. In this essay, I will further discuss the pros and cons of America's social classes though the ways the middle and upper classes

Read More
441 Words | 2 Pages

Angela Duarte ferreira Seminar group 5 11.02.2015 Social class, marketplace mythology and sustainability are things that also affect the way we consumers consume and the way that marketers target us in the marketplace. Never had I even thought that it was so many things behind the way we consume and that we are targeted by the marketers. Social class, what does this have to do with consumption? Well, we as consumers and of course people are in some ways, even if the most of us argue that we are not a part of a specific social class, we are in fact a part of a social class. Depending on the lifestyle you grow up in, the job you have you are in fact a part of either, working class, middle class or upper class.

Read More
982 Words | 4 Pages

In the wake of critical scrutiny from the polemic works of Bauman (2004), Beck (2000), and Giddens (1992), the relevance of class analysis in understanding the expression of inequalities in contemporary society has been called into question. The concept of class analysis postulates that “individuals’ interest, tastes, attitudes, and dispositions, are linked to their social economic class positions” (Eidlin, 2014, 1), and that this position in turn relegates conditions of social, cultural and political relations. The foremost criticism level at traditional disciplines of class analysis is its advocacy of the primacy of class over other forms of social structure (Wright, 2000, 115) thereby producing a rigid and inflexible framework of analysis.

Read More
964 Words | 4 Pages

In this essay there will be a couple of paragraphs answering the question of does the class system still exist in contemporary society. In the first paragraph there will be key terms which will be defined, the main ones being class and social stratification. Social stratification is when people (society) are split up into different hierarchical social groups. These groups are not so called ‘given’ but they are created socially. Reflecting on the inequalities in life chances for example a person’s age, gender and the class.

Read More
1682 Words | 7 Pages

In today's society, sports has become a very popular leisure activity and a means of effective physical movement for many young children across the United States. The evidence, publications, and, data on youth sports, has shown and proved the positive effects of children's participation in sports: benefits that ranged from real world applications to personal characteristics. The structure of youth sports aid students in learning the importance of life skills such as teamwork; the development of` a strong sense of morality; and an understanding and appreciation of diversity. Parents are also given the blessing and comfort of their children being statistically least likely to engage in deviant behavior and becoming academically more proficient. Despite the various benefits that children experience through playing sports, there still remains a high amount of students mainly minority students who are unable to participate in sports.

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

Social and Economic Class Throughout the novel, social and economic class plays a major role in determining one’s position in society. It is a division of a society that brings conflict, also affects the behavior and actions of each character. In the novel, Heathcliff is an orphan with no title, no lands and is shamed for being in the lower class. Heathcliff is brutalized and mistreated by those who are wealthy, such as Catherine, the lintons and Hindley. But as time goes, he seeks his revenge for those who have betrayed him.

Read More
1330 Words | 6 Pages

Social classes The identity of a social class derives from its relationship to the means of production; Marx describes the social classes in capitalist societies: Proletariat: "the class of modern wage labourers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labour power in order to live". As Andrei Platonov expressed "The working class is my home country and my future is linked with the proletariat. " The capitalist mode of production establishes the conditions enabling the bourgeoisie to exploit the proletariat because the workers' labour generates a surplus value greater than the workers' wages. Bourgeoisie: those who "own the means of production" and buy labour power from the proletariat, thus exploiting

Read More
1443 Words | 6 Pages

Social classes are a form of social stratification that refers to the existence of structured inequalities between individuals and groups in society. A social class is a group of people of comparable status, power and wealth which are usually classified as upper class, middle class, and lower class. For each class, there are some specific opportunities available that influence their social life. We can understand about the particularity of the chances through unequal distribution of these opportunities between individuals in social classes. In here belonging to a social class seems to be an obstacle for some individuals to obtain equal opportunity, unlike upper class people.

Read More

More about Does Social Class Matter

Related Topics

Open Document