Education as a Prime Factor of Social Mobility

In every known Caribbean society, there are forms of social and economic inequalities such as education, race, gender, health care, and social class, etc., this came about from events which took place years ago. German sociologist Max Weber believed that various groups in society were affected by these differences. Social Stratification can be grouped under the systems of plantation and social mobility. Intergenerational social mobility is defined as the relationship between the socioeconomic status of individuals as compared to their parents, for example, a father goes to work in a factory and sends children to school to gain an education to become doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. This occurs when the social position changes from one generation to another. The change can be described as upwards or downwards of the social ladder. Other types of social mobility are horizontal mobility, this occurs when an individual changes their occupation, but social status stays the same. Vertical mobility this is the change in occupation, religion, or political status of an individual that causes a change in their societal position. One of the necessities for modern-day society and a tool for socioeconomic development for classes victimized due to their lack of purchasing power is referred to as education. The Caribbean thinkers today have developed various points of view on the structure of the Caribbean society.

Functionalists such as Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons believe that education provides unity and cohesion. It is said to have a positive impact on society. Education also prepares people for work in the future and teaches important skills.  They focus on the creation of social solidarity, teaching core values and social norms. According to Durkheim, education is the methodical socialization of the young generation. On the other hand, Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore looked at an education based on role allocation, sorting and placement, and functional importance. They view society as meritocratic, believing that everyone has an equal chance to attain mobility. Education allows individuals to obtain skills and knowledge for their jobs. The conflict perspective sees the education system as maintaining social inequalities and having the ruling class dominate society. Bowles and Gintis believe the main objective of education is to produce a workforce utilized without resistance by the ruling class.

The interactionalist perspective looks at school, it focuses on the interaction between teachers and students highlighting the ways in which students are evaluated by teachers. The idea of teacher expectations is key. Problems which may arise in this perspective are typing, labeling and the self-fulfilling prophecy, streaming and banding, pupil adoption, and subculture. Teachers may not expect much from poor students, hence providing little encouragement. Thus, the chances of poor children moving up the social ladder are slim. The interaction which takes place within the school's premises will also constitute the larger society. The benefit of the interactionalist perspective is that it is based on many examinations using direct views of the teacher and student from the class view active. The success of education is reflected based on a variety of areas, such as parents, schools, teachers, and students. The downside is they do not consider factors such as parents, habitat food, and interest to succeed. Only part of the curriculum will occur at school. In the 1960s Becker studied the ideal pupil. This perspective is becoming irrelevant in modern education society.

Families and kinship structures help ground values and tradition in society. Factors that include slavery, indentureship, and colonialism have contributed to today's family forms. Going back to the earlier centuries education in the Caribbean evolved in the British West Indian society. The development of the stratification system for East Indians were varied based of race and color. The historical development of education in the Caribbean is pre-emancipation, post-emancipation, and political independence. It is said in the days of slavery education was limited to the whites and was not available to the enslaved (the blacks). This is because they would be costly on the economy if labor were away from the plantation and teaching slaves how to read and write may result in revolts on the plantation. The plantation society can be defined as a closed society there is little to no opportunity for social mobility. Limited social mobility is derived from the rigid pattern of social stratification based on a caste system that separates owners and managers (normally white people of European extract) from the workers (normally Africans or East Indians). Education was used to maintain the status of classes in the Caribbean society. Planters sent the children abroad or got tutors to educate them. The black population views education as a tool through which their children can make social and economic progress in society, which is here the intergenerational social mobility begins. Black nationalists such as Bustamante (Jamacia), Adams (Barbados), and Williams (Trinidad and Tobago) trust that education funding would in addition bring economic prosperity in the region. This belief is supported through the utilization of the functionality of human capital theory. This wondering promotes the principle that training and teaching will, in the future years, make larger productiveness and prolong the requirements of living. In Trinidad, if one were once now not of a specific complexion it would be challenging to personal positions as a pilot or stewardess. However, as Trinidad transitioned into current instances through works carried out by

political events such as PNM, organizations like the blacks, Indians, and combined humans began experiencing some structure of upward mobility as they received extra, get admission to job possibilities and education, whilst the whites skilled downward mobility. Therefore, changes in familial and kinship structures due to modernization and urbanization have diversified. Contemporary issues which impacted Caribbean families are unemployment and education, and individuals who migrated from their homelands. The nuclear families were those mostly from the upper class. There are so many single-parent families in the Caribbean therefore this is why poverty is a major issue. Women can now gain an education. In the Caribbean families and kinships are mostly women-centric as women are more educated. Thus, these issues have impacted their families greatly.

Education is one of the major ways to achieve social mobility. Caribbean writers, Gordon and Beckford use education access to Marxist. Gordon, for instance, perceives schooling as being frequently influenced via colonialism. As such, she says that it keeps the privilege of whites over different social strata. The Caribbean has assisted in advertising some diplomas of social mobility. Based on the meritocracy computing device it is mentioned that college students have an equal risk to excel in the tutorial device and should acquire upward social mobility. Alternatively, there is additionally conflict and interactionist point of view that the possibility of educational life is also inconsistent with all class views. Ishmael J. Baksh studied the effects on social mobility of students in Trinidad and Tobago. He found out that color is no longer a determinant of social equality in society, education also acts as a function in which restricts and controls social mobility from the lower classes. The system also discriminates against members of the lower socioeconomic classes in the sectional process. Gender was also a major issue with education. In a school setting, the children are directed to orient towards each gender formally. The boys are directed to play games which are more muscular, whereas girls must play games which are more sensitive. In the earlier days' girls where learned home economics, cookery, and needlework. Girls' ability was underestimated, and boys were allowed to dominate classroom discussions, and boys negatively labeling girls was tolerated. The contributions of girls were ignored and acted as if they were not present in the classroom. But this has reduced significantly in the education system today. Females' priority is now focused on gaining an education and their occupation rather than marriage and families. In the Caribbean girls are more educated than boys. Teachers and parents are now encouraging girls to become academically successful. It is said that in the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) girls perform better, they achieve better results than boys. According to Errol Miller in the Caribbean women tend to dominate the teaching profession, which as increasingly become state-controlled. Due to the feminization of teaching, we can now say that many boys do not have role models after whom they can pattern their lives.

In conclusion, education had become a prime factor because the senior generation is keen on sending their children to educational institutions and allowing them to achieve access, so it leads to intergenerational social mobility. But intergenerational mobility is still limited. The individuals from marginalized sections and indigenous communities are still poor and are facing several barriers to making quality education accessible to the younger generations. Poverty prevailing in the indigenous person leads the younger generation to abstain from gaining access to quality education. There is still a continued inequality among the classes. Thus, the people in the Caribbean region, mostly from the migrant groups, have intergenerational social mobility. But individuals from marginalized sections and indigenous ethnic groups are still far away in accessing mobility.

References:

1. Mustapha, N (2013). Sociology For Caribbean Students 2nd Edition. Kingston,JA:                                  Ian Randle Publishers.
2. Reddock, R., & Barrow, C. (2001). Caribbean Sociology: Introductory Readings. Ian Randle Publishers. Unit Five Reading, (n.d). Retrieved 3 April 2020, from https:2020.tle.courses.open.uwi.edumodresourceview.php?id=70255
3. Reddock, R., & Barrow, C. (2001). Caribbean Sociology: Introductory Readings. Ian Randle Publishers. Unit Eight Reading, (n.d). Retrieved 3 April 2020, from https:2020.tle.courses.open.uwi.edumodresourceview.php?id=70296
4. Social mobility - Definition, origin of the concept, and types. (2020, May 18). Retrieved March 16, 2021, from https:corporatefinanceinstitute.comresourcesknowledgeothersocialmobility#:~:text=Inter%2Dgenerational%20mobility%20happens%20when,a%20lawyer%20or%20a%20doctor
5. Thompson, A. (2019, January 09). The functionalist perspective on education. Retrieved March 16, 2021, from https:revisesociology.com20150126functionalist-perspective-education