FROM CLASSES AND SOCIAL-STATUS TO LIFESTY LES - SIGNIFICANCE OF RECENT RESEARCH ON INEQUALITY FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

Considering social change, the author criticizes the fact that the soc ial strata model is still being used as the focal point of present day educational sociology and research on inequality. He, instead, propos es models used in research on life styles and milieus conducted within the framework of empirical social research. These models would allow to register the manifold ways in which the emerging groups react to si milar of differing social conditions. Two studies are presented which focus on individualization, aspects specific to milieu, and life world s. On the basis of these studies, the author shows that, on the one ha nd, structures of class and social strata still exist, but that, on th e other, their impact on an individual's actions should not be overest imated.