Middle Class Identity

Middle Class Identity

1. Family

   • Encourages achievement with regards to education
     • Deferred Gratification
   • King and Raynor
     • They reinforce attitudes and values about the importance of educational success
       • Positive and negative sanctions
   • King and Raynor
     • child centered parenting is a distinctive feature

2. Education

   • Hidden Curriculum rewards middle class values
   • Bourdieu
     • school helps to socialise into middle class identities
       • Role models. Imitation, rewards and sanctions
   • Bourdieu
     • They have values, knowledge, leisure interests and levels of language skills at home that are similar to how school is set up.
       • Cultural Capital

3. Peer Group

   • Constantly striving and hence compete with peers for recognition
   • Goodwin
     • middle class mothers define their identities by peer approval. Yummy Mummies defined by peer approval on maternal capabilities, glamour and styles and the experiences of their children
   • Saunders
     • Consumption

4. Media

   • They target the middle class because they have the highest disposable income
   • Saunders
     • Conspicuous consumption buying products to show of your wealth

5. Workplace

   • Wright
     • Occupy a contradictory class position. They are both exploited and exploit

6. Traditionally Professional or managerial careers