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Can education change destiny? Why do children from certain families always have better opportunities?
Social mobility, or so-called social status change, is a complex but crucial topic that concerns both individuals and the entire family. In our society, many people believe that education is the golden key to changing one's destiny. Yet why do children from some families have unparalleled opportunities while others seem to be trapped in poverty? What is the reason behind this?
Social mobility is generally defined as the movement of an individual or household between social classes, either upward or downward.
Social mobility is the movement of people across the social gradient, which reflects changes in an individual's social status. Depending on different definitions, social mobility can be divided into intragenerational mobility and intergenerational mobility. Intragenerational mobility refers to changes in social status within the same generation, while intergenerational mobility refers to differences between different generations. Relatedly, education is seen as a major pathway to upward social mobility, but equity in education is not equal across social classes.
According to research, children from poor families are often at a disadvantage from an early age. For example, current information shows that children living in low-income families have significant developmental gaps in cognitive and non-cognitive abilities compared to middle-class and upper-class children.
Families above the middle class can usually provide better educational resources, which directly affects their children's chances of academic success.
Although college graduation rates for children from the lowest-income families have increased in recent years, these reflect only small improvements. In contrast, the graduation rate for children from high-income families increased by almost 20%. This imbalance stems directly from the impact of a family’s socioeconomic status on their children’s educational abilities, as well as the degree to which the family invests in their children’s education.
In addition to economic conditions, differences in educational culture are also an important reason for unequal educational opportunities. Education scholars point out that middle-class and upper-class parents usually adopt a "cultural cultivation" education method, emphasizing the development of children's abilities in all aspects. Compared with the "natural growth" method of low-income families, the latter often lack the emphasis on education. of sufficient attention.
Over the past three decades, educational inequality caused by the gap between the rich and the poor has gradually widened in the United States, further limiting the social mobility of children from low-income families.
Cultural capital, social capital and economic capital in the social structure jointly affect social mobility. Cultural capital refers to the knowledge and skills that enable children to improve their status in society; social capital involves interpersonal relationships and social networks; and economic capital refers to money and other material resources. The integration of these three types of capital determines the family's investment in the child's education, and therefore also determines the child's future opportunities.
Interestingly, many studies have found that there is also a close relationship between socioeconomic status and health status. Individuals of high social status generally enjoy better health, which in turn may affect opportunities for social mobility.
Health status determines, to a certain extent, an individual's productivity and affects his or her position in society.
Looking at the current social structure, education remains the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, but the reality is that a family’s socioeconomic status profoundly affects a child’s opportunity to receive an education, and this impact may last a child’s entire life.
So, can education really change one’s destiny? As we think about this, are there any concrete actions that can promote fair opportunities for all children?
