Locations of Economic Inequality: How Elementary School Teachers Describe Social Class Division in Their Everyday Lives and Schools

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Examining School Contexts and Student Experiences (Table 38)

Abstract

This project analyzes the process of elementary school teachers in New York City as they materialize a more robust understanding of class formation as a part of their teaching experience. We asked 57 New York City teachers in grades 1-5 to share responses to Likert and open-ended questions along two primary lines of inquiry: In what ways does social class appear in your classroom? Describe a moment in your classroom or school when social class mattered. Through constructivist grounded analysis, we surface four overlapping locations: 1) disparities in material possessions and access among students; 2) tensions between teachers, parents, and families; 3) inequalities built into school-based structures and practices; and 4) teachers’ own subjective histories with social class.

Authors

• Debbie Sonu, Hunter College - CUNY

• Karen Zaino, Miami University (OH)