Education Gap and Social Mobility

“America may be the land of opportunities, but it is also the land of inequalities”(Lareau, pg3). The American dream is perceived to be obtainable for everyone, not on a rigid class structure, but the rising concern of an educational gap and social mobility presents a new theory that may deviate this notion. Throughout Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, by Annette Lareau, Racial and Ethnic Stratification in Education Achievement and Attainment, by Grace Koa and Jennifer S. Thompson, and the black-white test score gap, by George Farkas, each with its own approach, analyze the pre-exiting relationship between race, ethnicity, social class, and the academic performance and achievement attainment of different counterparts. Essentially, each with its own childrearing practices that could pertain to the level of success an individual is exposed to. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, is a sociological study that draws in-depth observations of black and white middle-class, working-class, and poor families. Author Annette Lareau, introduces the power of the social class and their limitations in which may either benefit or become a disadvantage for some. While the important of social class is often overlooked, Lareau ventures out to disprove the notion that this country is “fundamentally open.” While the common belief is that people who demonstrate hard work, effort and talent, uphold equal life chances, and are capable of achieving upward mobility, Lareau challenges the idea that success is solely in the hands of the individual, but more so the parent’s social location that systematically shapes a child’s daily life. While observing numerous counterparts, she argues that social categories are important to conclude in order to help understand the behavior of family members and their routine of their daily lives. Annette Lareau develops and introduces two types of childrearing practices, concerted cultivation and the accomplishment of natural growth. Among her notion that social class is pertinent to a child’s outcome, it is also derived from the childrearing practices of a parent. While concerted cultivation provides a child of middle class more opportunities, it may also come with a weighted cost. As for natural growth, it provides an individual with kinship and the ability to attain relationships, but withdrawals the opportunity to proficient in a school or professional setting. Essentially Lareau focuses on social class and child-rearing practices to provide evidence and prove her theory about social inequality.