Socy 441: MacLeod chapter 6

Sociology 441: Stratification

MacLeod: Chapter 6: Education

The central thread of the argument by MacLeod (and by Bordieu on whom he relies, and indeed -- for this central thread -- by most stratification sociologists) is that family class background affects one's life chances primarily because family class background affects educational level achieved which, in turn, affects your life chances:

Parental class -> Educational level -> Own outcome

There are two causal effects in this diagram, both of which must be true if we are to accept this explanation for why children from privileged families have an advantage (or, conversely, why children from working class or poor families have a disadvantage).

For each of those effects we must ask our two standard causal questions

How big an effect is it?
Why or how does it have an effect?

In Clarendon Heights, the two gangs have two different perspectives on this causal argument above. Each challenges part of the explanation.

What is the difference between the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers in their explanations of how education plays a role in success?
Do you believe either of their interpretations are correct interpretations of how the stratification system actually works?
Does MacLeod take a position on either of these interpretations?
What kinds of information are cited (either by the youths or by MacLeod) in support of their interpretations?
What kinds of more general information would be useful in deciding who is correct?

MacLeod is more concerned with explaining Why the first causal effect is true; that is, how poor and working-class youth end up with less education. What is his argument? How do you evaluate it?

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Last updated September 23, 2002

comments to: Reeve Vanneman. reeve@umd.edu