Social Class Identity Research Articles

Systematic Review of Scholarly Work on Social Class Identities in Second and Foreign Language Educational Contexts

This paper presents a review of scholarly work on social class identities (SCI) in second and foreign language (S/FL) educational contexts. Of the 94 studies identified, 31 were annotated. Thematic analysis was employed to identify trends elucidating where, what, and how SCI has been conceptualized, theorized, and methodologically designed. Inclusion criteria focused on SCI research in S/FL contexts, while studies examining SCI outside educational settings were excluded. Results indicate a slow-growing interest in SCI and critical theory, with a Europe-Western dominance. SCI has been approached as: a fixed category based on socioeconomic status determining educational and L2 learning factors; a performed sociocultural phenomenon grounded in individuals lived experiences; a process experienced by study-abroad and migrant individuals; and as an element of colonial difference. Research gaps include SCI examination in EFL contexts and from decolonial perspectives, highlighting the need for political action to subvert social inequalities and address colonial wounds related to socioeconomic issues.

Ecophobia and Social Class Identity: An Ecocritical Approach to the Nature/Culture Divide in Oscar Wilde’s Fairy Tales “The Young King” and “The Star Child”

This article applies an ecocritical approach to the analysis of the nature/culture divide in Oscar Wilde’s “The Young King” and “The Star-Child”. These two tales contrast the realm of nature, embodied in the forest, and the realm of civilisation, represented by the city. Both stories focus on the protagonists’ journey from wilderness to the city, where not only do they need to become civilised subjects, but they are expected to govern as kings. This physical journey is matched by an internal one since both characters simultaneously undergo a transition from an animal-like state to a human one. I argue that these tales’ use of the nature/culture and animal/human dichotomies is closely connected to Wilde’s reflections about the Victorian social class system included in The Soul of Man under Socialism. Class struggle is indeed a major preoccupation in traditional folktales, where protagonists tend to magically escape from an initial disadvantaged position. Applying an ecocritical perspective to “The Young King” and “The Star-Child” helps to illustrate how these two tales manage to question the legitimacy of the hierarchical social structure by blurring the lines that separate the civilised subject from the animal one.

“I come from a poor family”: deciphering how working-class young men aspire to and experience their journeys in STEM higher education

AbstractWorking-class young men are often pathologised for their perceived lack of white-collar career aspirations. Historically, and in our present context, only a select minority of working-class males pursue higher education. Of those who attend, few choose to study STEM, which is often associated with academic rigour, competition and prestige. As a result, we know little about the motivations and experiences of working-class men pursuing STEM degrees. The aim of this paper is to decipher some of the complex interweaving of masculinities, social class and learner identities in STEM through focusing on three key themes from a longitudinal study focused on first-in-family males: (1) desire for financial stability and fulfilment; (2) internalising pressure; (3) struggles with social acclimatisation to university. The research provides some insight into how we can better support males from non-traditional backgrounds who aspire to pathways that contrast greatly with their socio-economic background.

Rise of Populism: Identity Threats as an Explanation in Relation With Deprivation and Cultural Fear

This article introduces the thesis of threatened social identities as a new explanatory approach to the emergence of populist attitudes and tests it explicitly for the first time using quantitative data. We examine whether SIT indicators explain populist attitudes directly and influence effects of indicators of two established approaches: the losers of modernization thesis (LOM) and the cultural backlash thesis (CBT). We use a sample representative for the German labor force. Furthermore, we developed items to quantify the recognition of social identities for the first time with respect to social class and occupational identities. All four of our SIT indicators—recognition of social class, recognition of an East or West German identity, political recognition of occupational groups, and identity insecurity—are significant predictors of populist attitudes. Based on SEMs, we also conclude that these variables are important antecedents of previously established indicators of LOM and CBT on populist attitudes. Overall, we conclude that SIT adds to the literature on the emergence of populism as another complementary explanatory approach. In addition to being effective as an explanation in its own right, this thesis can also fill theoretical and empirical gaps of the established LOM and CBT.

The impact of epidemic infectious diseases on the relationship between subjective well-being and social class identity in older adults: The mediating role of Self-rated health.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between subjective well-being, social class identity, and Self-rated health among older persons,. Focusing on the mediating role of health and the impact of epidemic infectious diseases on these relationships. Based on the 2018 and 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS) databases, the data were screened, and processed. Using Stata17, we employed ordered probit regression to examine the relationships among variables and Bootstrap methods to assess mediation effects, and the CGSS data for 2018 and 2021 were compared and analyzed. Our results revealed that factors such as social class identity, health status, and personal income significantly positively impact older persons' subjective well-being (P<0.01). Notably, there was a partial mediating effect of health status between the subjective well-being of the elderly and social class identity. And findings showed that when older adults were affected by epidemic diseases, their subjective well-being, social class identity, and Self-rated health remained significantly positively correlated. Subjective well-being, social class identity. What is more noteworthy is that when affected by epidemic infectious diseases, older adults' subjective well-being, social class identity, and Self-rated health remained significantly positively correlated. The mediating role of self-rated health in older adults' subjective well-being and social class identity increased from 9.6% to 12.4%. In the face of epidemic infectious diseases, we need to pay more attention to the Self-rated health of the elderly, and the Chinese government should take effective measures to improve their health level, which will in turn improve the subjective well-being of the elderly and realize the goal of healthy aging.

What does it mean to be working class? Exploring the definition of a social class identity through the eyes of working-class professional services and administrative staff in Russell Group universities

What it means to have a working-class identity in the UK today is constantly under tension and debate. From socio-economic proxies used by large organisations as determinants of disadvantage to POLAR data, self identification and other metrics, academic literature has largely disagreed how to measure working class as an identity over the last 20 years. This paper draws on the findings from two parts of an EdD thesis which looked to understand the experiences of working-class professional services staff in UK Higher Education. Here, it presents the findings of the literature review which discovered the multiple ways in which working class identities are determined for the purposes of research recruitment in academic papers. In the subsequent part of this paper, empirical data from interviews with working class staff in UK Higher Education looks at the facets which participants considered defined them as having a working-class identity. Moving away from traditional conceptualisation of a working-class identity as solely connected to the means of production, it suggests that a working-class identity is inherently connected to many factors in 2023, predominantly to economic disadvantage but also by occupation, social mobility discourse, and access to goods technology and entertainment. Furthermore, it finds that there are implicit features of a working-class identity shared across the study which include access to facilitating networks, narratives of luck, and being underappreciated and undervalued. This interplay between the convergence of habitus and lived experience suggests that working-class people in UK universities are subject to a lamination of field, an intersection of multiple temporalities

Standing out and fitting in: Korean coffee entrepreneurs’ strategies for survival

ABSTRACT Prompted by the meteoric increase in the number of coffee shops in South Korea over the past two decades, this article explores the various strategies that coffee shop entrepreneurs in Seoul adopt to succeed in one of the world’s most saturated markets. Grounding our study in Bourdieusian notions of taste and distinction as well as contemporary research into coffee shop culture and social class identity, we conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with coffee entrepreneurs in Seoul (N = 9). Our interviews are supplemented by written field notes from coffee shops in two different neighborhoods in Seoul. The results show that most coffee entrepreneurs strive to distinguish their shop from other coffee shops via: 1) unique and innovative menu items; and 2) the physical space and atmosphere (bun-wi-gi) of the coffee shop itself. In addition, despite the ubiquity of coffee in Korean culture today, many Korean coffee entrepreneurs still see coffee as a foreign drink that needs to be specially adapted to Koreans’ tastes.

Gender and Sexuality in Contraceptive Advertising in Bangladesh (1972-2011) – An Audience Perspective

‘In our time sex outside marriage was a taboo. But now it is increasingly happening [...]. In today’s context [...] it is very important to build awareness.’ Such perspective from Mitiis indicative of a contemporary phenomenon with regard to portraying pre/extra marital sexual intimacy in condom advertisements (ads) in Bangladesh. Drawing from research findings of 36 in-depth interviews, this paper interrogates women’s responses to new-old (non)normative presence of sexuality in these ads, across three social classes and three generations. The paper reflects how social class, age and other identities might shape mediated conversations about normativity vs. shifting “realities” of sexuality in contemporary Bangladesh. The discussions suggest although some women want to see a reflection of the “real”, which is, the increasing practices of pre/extra marital sex, many like to see the “ideal”, the “traditional” forms of sexuality depictions in these ads. What seems significant – with regard to the portrayal of sexual intimacy, a majority of the women talk at a much-generalised level: not always tying into their experiences or their own families. They continuously engage with a dialogue with the ads, and often compare an idealised earlier period with “now” which they consider problematic. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.), Vol. 68(2), 2023, pp. 175-192

“Not what I Can, but what I Should”

Educational inequalities associated with differences in social class backgrounds remain stable in many Western societies, where students from lower social classes generally have lower academic prospects. Previous research suggested that psychological barriers could explain part of this social class attainment gap. This study aimed to investigate the role of identity compatibility in explaining the relationship between high school students’ socioeconomic background and their educational aspirations. Identity compatibility is defined as perceived compatibility between students’ socioeconomic background and a stereotype of a university student. A total of 362 high school students from Croatia completed an online survey that measured their subjective socioeconomic status, identity compatibility, educational aspirations, and their school achievement. The results showed positive associations between the students’ subjective socioeconomic status and identity compatibility, which was, in turn, positively associated with their educational aspirations. The parallel multiple mediation model confirmed the significant indirect effect of subjective socioeconomic status on educational aspirations via identity compatibility, while the path via school achievement was not significant. These findings suggest that part of the social class educational aspiration gap could be explained by the perceived lack of compatibility between one’s social class identity and future university student identity, potentially leading to lower university enrolment rates among lower social class students. Practical considerations of study results are discussed in terms of the potential of socio-psychological interventions in reducing the social class educational aspiration gap.

Media use and Chinese national social class identity: based on the mediating effect of social capital

Media use and Chinese national social class identity: based on the mediating effect of social capital

Discrimination as a relational matrix of analysis: race, gender, age, social class, immigration, religion, politics, and civil identification: a case study of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The general objective of this research is to analyze how and to what extent racist, patriarchal, classist and political arguments are interlocked and mutually reinforced in multiple residual forms today. This article adopts Foucault’s concepts of biopower and normalization to analyze the persistence of racism surrounding unequal and discriminatory power relations and the oppression of racialized, gender, and social inequalities (Foucault 1994; Koopman 2013). A representative survey was applied to 759 urban inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who answered a questionnaire asking for their socio-demographic characteristics, perceptions, expectations, attitudes, practices, and intergroup relationships regarding racism, patriarchalism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, class discrimination and political-ideological self-identification. The multivariate method of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied, and the results show the predominance of patriarchal values against women, LGBTQ+, Black, youth and poor persons, through explicit racism and the legitimation of the use of violence for both, men and women. Women primarily reject providing sex education at school, agree with their domestic role as wives and with the idea that females’ behavior causes their own rapes, reject LGBTQ marriage, and discriminate against youths, while men rank first the domestic role of women, explicit racism and criminalization of Black people.

Identifying different ‘types’ of participants in the Chilean student movement: A latent transition analysis of collective action intentions, social class and movement identification

AbstractAround the world, we witness not only growing levels of economic inequality but also the rise of protests whereby people from different social classes are demanding a more equal society. Our research uses a person‐centered approach to examine subgroups of participants in a social movement against inequality on the basis of their social class, intention to participate in conventional and/or radical collective actions, and social identification with the movement. We used longitudinal data from the Chilean student movement (two time points; total N = 1226) to conduct latent profile and latent transition analysis. We identified four profiles of participants: (1) inactive supporters (mostly from the upper class), (2) low radicals (mostly from the middle class), (3) moderate radicals (mostly from the middle class), and (4) high radicals (mostly from the middle class). The four profiles were generally stable over the one‐year period. We further found that group efficacy and a “nothing to lose” mindset predicted the profile membership of participants. Group efficacy also predicted transitions of participants between different profiles. Our findings highlight the key role that the middle class plays in diverse forms of collective action.

Finding Moral Value through Maintaining a Working Class ‘Mentality’: Student Teachers from Working Class Backgrounds (Not) Becoming Middle Class

This article examines the perspectives of student teachers from working class backgrounds about not becoming middle class. Little attention has been paid to conceptualisations of social class in teaching. In the context of drives internationally to diversify teaching populations, research is needed about the experiences of student teachers from working class backgrounds in their upwardly mobile trajectories. This article draws on a constructivist grounded theory study about the social class identities of 21 student teachers from working class backgrounds as part of a wider teacher diversity project in Ireland. Distinguishing between class ‘mentality’ and materiality, participants emphasised that one could not change class completely, rejected the middle classness of a teacher’s social status and positioned working class ‘mentality’ as morally superior. Those from working class backgrounds do not simply relinquish aspects of their identity through upward social mobility, suggesting that habitus may not always be divided upon traversing class boundaries.

Studi Social Climber Gen-Z dan Perilaku Ekonominya

This research explains the phenomenon of Gen-Z social climber behavior towards the development of coffee shops in Palopo city. This research aims to find out the meaning of coffee shop for Gen-Z life, Coffee Shop as a Marker of Gen-Z Social Identity, and Efforts to Fulfill Gen-Z Lifestyle Needs towards Social Climber Formation Behavior. The type of research used is a qualitative data processing method through a phenomenological approach and data collection is carried out with 3 methods, namely observation, interviews, and documentation with 5 informants. Data collection techniques in this study were carried out using purposive sampling techniques. Data analysis techniques used in this research are data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. From the results of the research, it can be obtained a general picture that Gen-Z in Palopo city visits and makes coffee shops as secondhome with the intention of showing their lifestyle as a symbolic message to someone who sees it, because other people's judgments are seen from what is shown. The lifestyle of hanging out in coffee shops displayed by them is solely to please or satisfy themselves for the recognition of their social class identity. The efforts they make to fulfill this lifestyle include working and saving.

Is everyone really middle class? Social class position and identification in Alberta.

In defining social class, researchers often rely on measures of objective class position, even though subjective perceptions of social class identity can better account for the creation of social class boundaries. We explore the relationship between measures of objective class position and subjective class identity using data from an online survey of 1155 residents in Alberta, Canada, a conservative province dependent on a fluctuating energy sector. We find that although most Albertans identified as middle class, the strength of class identity and views regarding linked social class fates varied across categories with poverty class and uppermiddleclass respondents standing out. In reporting class identity, respondents considered measures related to objective class position, especially their income and economic security levels, but gaps still remained. We then use the results of this exploratory study to advocate for more comprehensive measures of social class.

Religion and Subjective Social Class in the United States

Abstract Subjective social class identities—lower, working, middle, and upper—are conditioned by culture and social interactions. I argue that conservative Christianity influences subjective class identification because conservative Christian social networks are highly insular, and its culture prioritizes lower- and working-class ideologies. Using nationally representative data, I find that conservative Christians—operationalized with views of the Bible and religious tradition—are relatively likely to identify as lower and working class, and unlikely to identify as middle and upper class; that these associations are partially but not wholly mediated by higher education and family income; and that there are robust associations between religion and subjective class among those with a bachelor’s degree and above-average family incomes, but not among less-educated and lower-income Americans. These results indicate that conservative Christianity promotes a specific class culture, and that this class culture more closely aligns with biblical literalism than with affiliation with evangelical Protestant churches.

Development and Validation of the Privileged Social Class Attitudes Scale (PSCAS)

The goal of the study was to develop a scale to assess the social class attitudinal profiles of people with social class privilege. Based on social class theory and other models of privileged identities, we generated an item pool reflecting different attitudinal profiles. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis revealed a scale with four core social class attitude subscales (Social Class Prejudice, Acknowledgement, Awareness, and Action) and three additional scales reflecting independent social class constructs (Social Class Identity Centrality, Guilt, and Fortune). In Study 2, we found that the subscales fit together in a multifactor correlational model and established construct validity. However, the Action subscale surprisingly correlated positively with the Prejudice scale. Post hoc analyses revealed this correlation existed only for those high in just world beliefs. Taken together, the Privileged Social Class Attitudes Scale provides a new tool for investigating the attitudinal profiles of people with social class privilege.

Snapshots of ID Week 2022

Snapshots of ID Week 2022

The radicals watched from the sidelines or the ambivalent citizens’ relations to radicalism in a poor Montreal neighbourhood

ABSTRACT This analysis seeks to understand the appropriation or rejection of radicalism by two groups in a poor and immigrant neighbourhood of Montreal. Yet although both defend the same causes and share the same progressive dimension, one presents itself as a group of non-radical citizens while the other presents itself as a group of radical activists. So for each group, what do these different definitions of identity enfold: citizens versus militants, non-radicals versus radicals? More than the acceptance and the use of violence, the investigation’s results reveal that the divergences observed illustrate a different construction of the intersection between social class, cultural or ethnic identity, and global and local boundaries. These different ways of conceiving the intersection shape specific democratic practices and relations to politics. This analysis outlines the relevance of not restricting the reflection on radicalism to a focus on the repertoire of collective action but rather exploring its meanings for citizens in their daily lives and its implications for their relations to politics. Finally, it also offers a concrete picture of left-wing ideological tensions and debates and how some grass roots organizations try (or do not try) to resolve them.

Chameleoning to fit in? Working class student teachers in Ireland performing differential social class identities in their placement schools

ABSTRACT This paper is about social class and the teaching profession. While class has long been a core focus in the Sociology of Education, little attention has been paid to how it is conceived and enacted in the context of the professions, including teaching. While research in the area is increasing, we know relatively little about “the daily class work” of teachers, and student teachers, in schools. In the context of drives internationally to diversify the teaching profession, attention is needed to the experiences of those from lower socio-economic groups in their (generally) upwardly mobile trajectories. This paper draws on a constructivist grounded theory study about the social class identities and experiences of 21 student teachers from working class backgrounds as part of a wider teacher diversity project in Ireland. I present the concept of class chameleoning that was constructed from the data, being “different people” in different contexts, a behaviour that was reported by the participants as being very common, and in which the vast majority recounted participating, in their placement schools. This behaviour was motivated by a strong desire to fit in and to not be looked down upon, but resulted in significant bifurcation of the self. The analysis is interrogated using Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis of social life and Bourdieu’s habitus clivé (divided habitus), as well as key findings from research in teacher education. I end by pointing to the ethical implications of diversifying the teaching profession for under-represented groups without concomitant adaptation of the culture of the profession and schools.