Research into parents' secondary-school choices suggests that many middle-class parents are keen to secure a middle-class peer group for their children. This article reports the findings of a small-scale, qualitative study into whether a similar phenomenon exists at primary-school level and, if so, why. In-depth interviews were conducted with 56…

In part prompted by a recent spate of media reports this paper explores the emergence of a "new squirearchy" in the English countryside. In doing so, it aims to both illuminate a particular facet of rural social life and help reignite interest in the cultures of rural class. Whilst relationships between rural class and culture were a…

This paper explores the class complexion of the English and Welsh countryside utilising the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (or NS-SEC), as well as reflecting on the value of this classification given claims as to the "death of class" as a meaningful subject of analysis. The paper situates analysis using the NS-SEC in a…

This article addresses an enduring concern in the sociology of education: how social class differences are reproduced through schooling. In particular it focuses on the functioning of pedagogy in this regard. The article presents a model that elucidates the inner logic of pedagogy in order to reveal the structuring of inequality with respect to…

Calls for redefinition of the "Black middle class," based on (1) measurement of Blacks and Whites by uniform criteria, and (2) consideration of a group's relationship to the means of production. Stresses the need for research on the role of structural factors in the development of racial and class consciousness. (Author/GC)