"I Need Help!" Social Class and Children's Help-Seeking in Elementary School

被引:240
作者
Calarco, Jessica McCrory [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Penn, Dept Sociol, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
关键词
education; stratification; children; social class; SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY; ACADEMIC-ACHIEVEMENT; SOCIOECONOMIC-STATUS; REPRODUCTION; INVOLVEMENT; INEQUALITY; ADVANTAGE; TEACHERS; PARENTS; POVERTY;
D O I
10.1177/0003122411427177
中图分类号
C91 [社会学];
学科分类号
030301 ; 1204 ;
摘要
What role do children play in education and stratification? Are they merely passive recipients of unequal opportunities that schools and parents create for them? Or do they actively shape their own opportunities? Through a longitudinal, ethnographic study of one socioeconomically diverse, public elementary school, I show that children's social-class backgrounds affect when and how they seek help in the classroom. Compared to their working-class peers, middle-class children request more help from teachers and do so using different strategies. Rather than wait for assistance, they call out or approach teachers directly, even interrupting to make requests. In doing so, middle-class children receive more help from teachers, spend less time waiting, and are better able to complete assignments. By demonstrating these skills and strategies, middle-class children create their own advantages and contribute to inequalities in the classroom. These findings have implications for theories of cultural capital, stratification, and social reproduction.
引用
收藏
页码:862 / 882
页数:21
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