Educational inequality: causes, consequences, and policy responses

Education Inequality: A Sociological Perspective

One of the most important aspects of life today is probably education. Without a high quality of education, especially on the tertiary level, it is very difficult to find gainful employment or to advance in one's chosen career. For this reason, one of the great tragedies in the world today is social inequality and the educational inequality that goes along with it. Even if "jobs" were provided for every single homeless or unemployed individual in the country, this would be little more than a band aid; it would be hopeless inadequate to address the larger and longer-term problem, which is a basic inequality in education. Starting at the primary level, children whose parents can afford to place them in private schools receive a far better education than those in the public school system. When they have completed primary and secondary education, there is again income-related inequality, where only those who can afford who can access the top tertiary education institutions. While solutions can only be effective in the long-term, applying social theoretical perspectives to the inequality issue provides some insight towards creating more effective potential solutions.

There are three major perspectives according to which education can be explained as a sociological phenomenon (Sociological Perspectives, 2015). These include functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

First, functionalism focuses on the positive and somewhat idealistic aspects of education. According to this perspective, education serves several functions within a sociological environment. It provides a means of socialization and social integration for young children. It creates a means of social placement, and provides a platform for social and cultural innovation. Ideally, it also prepares young people for the world of work in the future, thus lowering unemployment and enhancing the country's labor force.

Conflict theory, on the other hand, is far more negative regarding the existing education system (Sociological Perspectives, 2015). This theory holds that education serves no function as well as promoting social inequality. This occurs in various forms, including tracking and standardized testing. Furthermore, the fact that schools differ so much in terms of their funding and learning conditions, the quality of education children receive also differs widely. Schools with fewer funding sources, for example, would be unable to afford higher quality or more educated teachers. These schools also tend to serve lower-income areas, further perpetuating inequality, not only in education, but also in a long-term sense for the children receiving education at these schools. All these factors further exacerbate social inequality based upon inequality in education.

Symbolic interactionism is a more neutral perspective, but can lead to negative experiences and related inequalities in the classroom and later in society. According to this perspective, social interaction in the classroom and other environments within the school creates gender role development, along with the development of other roles the child is expected to fulfill in the future. This perspective also focuses on teacher expectations, where a teacher's view of a learner's capability influences how much is learned in the classroom (Sociological Perspectives). Depending upon the specific perspectives perpetuated by the teacher, this can lead to social inequalities in the classroom and, by association, later in life.