SOCIAL-CLASS AND PARENTAL ATTITUDES TOWARD EDUCATION - RESISTANCE ANDCONFORMITY TO SCHOOLING IN THE FAMILY

This study investigates the impact of social class on parents' attitud es toward their children's education. The results suggest that two con cepts-resistance and conformity-are central to understanding parental attitudes toward education and the process by which those attitudes ar e shaped. The data indicate that the probability parents will conform to or resist the meritocratic ideology of acquiring a college degree t o help ensure occupational success tends to depend on parents' social- class background and, concomitantly, on whether they have experienced ''hidden injuries of class.'' A more inclusive sampling strategy prove d useful in documenting the varied attitudes found among working-class and middle-class parents. The attitudes of parents toward higher educ ation have the potential to influence their children's attitudes towar d education, their children's chances of obtaining a college degree, a nd their own chances of ret urning to school, This research suggests t hat the family is an important site for cultural production and social reproduction.