Class Inequality in Education: Two Justifications, One Evaluation but No Hard Evidence

Abstract

It is argued that despite decades of intensive research, the case for claiming class inequality in education has yet to be established. From an examination of classical and contemporary research which advances such a claim, it is shown that the translation of 'class disparity in education' into 'class inequality in education', is typically effected without evidence and that the critical holding conditions for such a claim, in a differentiated society, remain unmet. Shown to be an attribute of both liberal and radical research in America, Britain and France, it is argued that this failure has resulted in claims about educational inequality which are certainly premature, probably overdrawn and possibly mistaken.