Deck 7: Social Class, Post-Secondary Education, and Occupational Outcomes

Question 1

Why do some theorists like Daniel Bell (1973) argue that the importance of social class in Western industrial society has declined?

A) The economy has shifted from manufacturing to a knowledge economy.
B) The true cleavage in Western society is gender.
C) The true cleavage in Western society is race and ethnicity.
D) People no longer join unions or working associations.
E) Colleges and universities expanded rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

What concept best describes the process in which students' participation in school programs restricts or enhances their future educational pathway?

A) Social closure
B) Intragenerational mobility
C) Social capital
D) Streaming
E) Intergenerational mobility

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What concept best describes children from more affluent backgrounds being more likely to be exposed to the experiences and beliefs that are valued in the formal educational sphere?

A) Social closure
B) Social capital
C) Cultural capital
D) Human capital
E) Family capital

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What was the simple binary variable that was used to measure family socio-economic status in the Edmonton Transition Study?

A) Home ownership (yes/no)
B) Size of social network (large/small)
C) Social class (bourgeoisie/proletariat)
D) Parent completed a university degree (yes/no)
E) Managerial occupation (yes/no)

Question 5

What did researchers of the Edmonton Transition Study discover about perceptions of the usefulness of school for future employment?

A) Children of lower SES families think that education has no effect on future job quality.
B) Children of higher SES families think that education will help them get a good job.
C) There is no greater rejection of the value of formal education among young people of less advantaged backgrounds.
D) Children of higher SES families think that education will not help them get a good job.
E) Children of lower SES families think that education has a strong effect on their future employment

Question 6

What relationship between high school program, education of parent(s), and student achievement did researchers of the Edmonton Transition Study discover?

A) Almost nine out of ten students from lower SES families were enrolled in academic high school programs.
B) 60 percent of students from families in which at least one parent had completed university were enrolled in non-academic high school programs.
C) One-half of the survey respondents from families where at least one parent had acquired a university degree reported average grades of 70 percent or higher in their senior year.
D) 35 percent of the young people from families where no parent had acquired a university degree reported average grades of 70 percent or higher in their senior year.
E) There is no statistical relationship between education of parent(s), grades, and academic program.

Question 7

How can the amount of "cultural capital" available to youth help explain differences in school performance?

A) University-educated parents may encourage their children to forego formal education in favour of travel and immediate happiness.
B) University-educated parents may be less able to provide resources such as tutoring for their children.
C) Parents without a university education can give more advice that is consistent with school success.
D) Teachers may expect more from young people from more affluent families and, as a result, pay more attention to them.
E) Teachers may feel a commitment to young people from less affluent families and, as a result, pay more attention to them.

Question 8

Into what two categories were the many different occupational aspirations recorded by sample members in 1985 collapsed?

A) Managers/professionals and other occupational aspirations
B) Managers/professionals and low status occupations
C) Bourgeoisie and proletariat
D) White collar and blue collar/pink collar
E) Knowledge work and manual labour

Question 9

What did Edmonton Transition Study researchers discover when investigating the relationship between family socioeconomic status (SES) and young people's aspirations?

A) There is no relationship between family SES and aspirations.
B) Family SES matters for both educational aspirations and for career aspirations.
C) Family SES matters for educational aspirations but not for career aspirations.
D) Family SES matters for career aspirations but not for educational aspirations.
E) Family SES only matters for the aspirations of individuals in high SES families.

Question 10

What trend emerges when analyzing the relationship between family SES and educational attainment?

A) There is no relationship between family SES and educational attainment.
B) Children from low SES families are more likely to acquire at least some kind of post-secondary credential.
C) Those from high SES families are twice as likely to complete a university degree as individuals from low SES families.
D) Those from high SES families are twice as likely to complete a college diploma or technical diploma as individuals from low SES families.
E) Children from high SES families are more likely to stop their education with a high school diploma.

Question 11

Among Edmonton Transition Study participants who were employed, how was the occupational distribution patterned?

A) By gender
B) By race and ethnicity
C) By age
D) By marital status
E) By immigration status

Question 12

Almost half of all Edmonton Transition Study participants were employed in what kinds of jobs?

A) Science or engineering
B) Managerial or professional
C) Engineering professional
D) Health-care related
E) Lower-skill clerical, sales, or service

Question 13

Which factor best explains the match between occupational aspirations and outcomes?

A) Individual's university attainment
B) Individual's post-secondary attainment
C) Family SES
D) Personal aspiration
E) Each respondent who aspired to managerial/professional work attained his or her goal

Question 14

From a public policy perspective, what phenomenon are we investigating when we look carefully at how high school programs are organized and how students are channelled into them?

A) Social closure
B) Socioeconomic status
C) Streaming
D) Cultural capital
E) Social capital

Question 15

Which of the following is an irrelevant consideration in the debate about streaming in high schools?

A) Some youth just don't have the ability to complete highly challenging high school courses.
B) Young people who could complete challenging high school courses are sometimes discouraged from doing so.
C) High school programs that lead into non-university careers are useless and demeaning.
D) Our economy could be more productive if all individuals had an equal opportunity to compete for the best jobs.
E) The extent to which students can make choices while in their educational pathway

Question 16

What is one way that high school programs are being designed to allow the young people in them to continue to make choices?

A) Allowing youth to apprentice for trades while still obtaining the credits needed for university entrance
B) Eliminating non-academic streams from high school curriculums
C) Creating an additional school term for those wishing to gain an apprenticeship
D) Creating an additional school terms for those who wish to gain a university degree
E) Courses are being given that inform counsellors of the impact their advice has for youth

Question 17

Based on what was discussed in this chapter, what current phenomenon might amplify the relationship found between class effect and post-secondary educational attainment?

A) The increasing cost of a university education
B) The greater availability of college and university programs
C) The proliferation of high-status college and university programs
D) Streaming that occurs earlier than high school
E) The transition to a knowledge economy

Question 18

Elite United States universities have been giving preference to "legacy students" for decades. Who are "legacy students"?

A) High school students with wealthy parents
B) Children of alumni from prestigious universities
C) Children with high Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores
D) All relatives of alumni from prestigious universities
E) Wealthy young applicants

Question 19

One's social class is defined by their __________________.

A) wealth, occupation, and income
B) wealth and income
C) wealth, occupation, education, or income
D) occupation, education, or income
E) education and occupation

Question 20

Precarious forms of employment are __________________.

A) full-time & well-paying
B) full-time, well-paying, & secure
C) part-time & temporary
D) lower paying
E) both C & D

Question 21

The participants in the Edmonton Transitions Study (ETS) are considered to be in what generation?

A) Baby boomers
B) Generation Z
C) Generation X
D) Millennials
E) Silent generation

Question 22

A total of ____ follow-up surveys were conducted after the original Edmonton Transitions Study (ETS).

A) 5
B) 3
C) There were no follow-up surveys.
D) 8
E) 7

Question 23

In the 2017 follow-up survey, 72% of the sample members agreed that __________________.

A) "Overall, I have enjoyed my time in high school"
B) "Overall, I have not enjoyed my time in high school"
C) "Continuing my education will help me get a good job"
D) "Continuing my education will not help me get a good job"
E) None of the above

Question 24

University-educated parents may provide more encouragement to their children to do well in high school, and can likely provide __________________.

A) advice
B) payment for tutoring
C) additional resources
D) more cultural capital
E) both A & C

Question 25

Two-thirds of the total sample in 1985 hoped to be in a type of job that typically pays better, provides __________________, and is generally more rewarding.

A) more vacation time
B) better work-life balance
C) more fringe benefits
D) healthcare
E) end of year bonuses

Question 26

In the 2017 survey, only ____ had not gone beyond high school.

A) one in ten
B) one in 15
C) None of the participants had not gone beyond high school.
D) two in ten
E) one in 11

Question 27

Male ETS participants were ____ to have completed a degree or diploma.

A) much more likely
B) not likely
C) 5 times more likely
D) somewhat more likely
E) 2 times more likely

Question 28

Research shows that working-class youth typically report lower educational and occupational aspirations.

Question 29

The connection between individuals' educational accomplishments and their family of origin has decreased with the increasing levels of precarious employment in the labour market.

Question 30

Children from less affluent backgrounds are more likely to have been exposed to the belief that you need a university degree to be successful in life.

Question 31

In the Edmonton Transition Study, the binary variable-whether at least one parent owns a home-is used to measure family socioeconomic status.

Question 32

In total, almost three out of four of the Edmonton Transition Study's 2010 sample members stated that they "enjoyed their time in high school."

Question 33

Students from more advantaged backgrounds are more likely to be enrolled in academic high school programs compared to students from less advantaged families.

Question 34

There is a great deal of evidence to support the notion that young people from less advantaged backgrounds reject formal education.

Question 35

Teachers are likely to pay equal attention to students from all family backgrounds.

Question 36

When asked in 1985, virtually all of the Edmonton Transition Study sample members indicated that they intended to acquire a university degree.

Question 37

Only 6 percent of the Edmonton Transition Study sample members in 1985 indicated they intended to finish high school and nothing more.

Question 38

The relationship between family SES and educational aspirations is not statistically significant.

Question 39

When finishing high school, almost two-thirds of the total sample of the Edmonton Transition Study hoped someday to be in a managerial or professional occupation.

Question 40

Academic high school programs are beneficial mostly for the status they confer on students.

Question 41

When we look at Edmonton Transition Study sample members who did not get a university degree, those from more advantaged backgrounds were just as likely to hold managerial positions as those whose parents had not completed university.

Question 42

"Streaming" means that schools have different educational and occupational aspirations of students from lower and higher SES families.

Question 43

Regardless of fairness, high school programs that lead into non-university careers are useful and an important alternative.

Question 44

Material capital figures play a diminishing role in who is choosing to attend post-secondary institutions.

Question 45

The university admission scandal in the United States only involved wealthy parents paying large sums for someone else to write their child's SAT exam.

Question 46

Educational streaming could reflect the educational choices of working-class youth.

Question 47

Follow-up surveys of the Edmonton Transitions Study were conducted by phone in 1989 and 1992.

Question 48

41% of the original sample participated in the 2017 follow-up interviews.

Question 49

If we find that lower SES study participants eventually acquire less post-secondary education, it is likely not because they failed to recognize the value of higher education.

Question 50

In the 1985 Edmonton Transitions Study, nine out of ten students from higher SES families were enrolled in academic high school programs, compared to 38% from families in which neither parent had completed university.

Question 51

The 1985 survey participants wanted a career in varying fields, but since then, the specific occupational aspirations have been collapsed into two categories.

Question 52

In the 2017 survey, a total of 74% reported a diploma as their highest level of education.

Question 53

The gendered difference in completing a degree or diploma was not statistically significant.

Question 54

The additional cultural capital that would result from completion of an academic high school program was augmented by additional financial resources that more affluent parents could provide, with the result being that middle-class youth were much more likely to have obtained university credentials by 2017.

Question 55

What is streaming? How was streaming measured in the Edmonton Transition Study?

Question 56

Who among the Edmonton Transition Study sample members were the most likely to become high-status workers (managers/professionals)? How does this outcome vary by family SES?

Question 57

What do the 2017 findings reveal about the occupational outcomes of the survey respondents? Explain the gendered component of these results.

Question 58

Is socioeconomic status related to young people's aspirations? Outline the findings from the Edmonton Transition Study.

Question 59

How has the impact of one's family potentially changed since the time of the Edmonton Transition Study? How does this affect the relationship between social class and occupational outcomes?

Question 60

How is the transition to a post-industrial society related to social class and life chances? Briefly elaborate each perspective.

Question 61

Explain why class matters as a result of streaming into academic and non-academic programs in high school. Expand on your response by making connections to the college admissions scandal.

Question 62

How did your parents affect the educational choices you made? Was their input related to their educational attainment?

Question 63

Can you think of any times that non-formal education helped you in the formal educational system?

Question 64

What types of modifications can we make to our educational system to reduce the effect of cultural capital? Are such modifications necessary or even desirable?

Question 65

Can you think of any ways that future research might extend on this longitudinal survey?

Question 66

What do you think the gendered findings of occupational outcomes might say about the nature of female- and male-dominated careers?