Social Class and Life Chances
Life chances are a person's opportunities to gain the things valued in society, such as good health, educational success, secure employment, decent housing and a long life expectancy.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Define life chances precisely: the opportunities a person has to access things society values, such as health, education, employment and housing.
- Learn Weber's point that life chances flow from market situation, a person's bargaining position in the labour market based on their skills and qualifications.
- Learn at least three concrete indicators of the class gradient in life chances: health/life expectancy, educational attainment, and employment security or type of job.
- Apply a named perspective to explain the gradient: Marxists point to structural inequality built into capitalism; Functionalists point to a broadly meritocratic system rewarding effort and ability; interactionists point to labelling by teachers and employers.
- Where a question gives data (e.g. a table comparing classes), read the direction of the gap first, then use the correct sociological term (e.g. 'cultural capital', 'material deprivation') to explain it, rather than only describing the numbers.
- For evaluation questions, weigh a structural explanation (class position causes the gap) against an individual/cultural explanation (choices or attitudes contribute to the gap), then give a supported conclusion.
Worked example
A survey found that in Social Class A (higher managerial and professional occupations) average life expectancy at birth was 82 years, while in Social Class E (routine occupations) it was 76 years. Calculate the gap in years between the two classes, and give one sociological explanation for why this gap might exist.
- Subtract to find the gap: 82 - 76 = 6 years.
- State the answer clearly: there is a 6-year gap in average life expectancy between Social Class A and Social Class E.
- Recall a relevant explanation: material deprivation, meaning routine occupations are more likely to involve physically demanding or hazardous work, lower income, and less access to good-quality housing and healthcare.
- Link the explanation to the outcome: lower income and harder working conditions over a working life can contribute to poorer health, explaining part of the gap in life expectancy between the two classes.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Define 'life chances'.Show answer
Answer: A person's opportunities to access things valued in society, such as good health, educational success, secure employment, decent housing and a long life expectancy.
Q2According to Weber, what determines a person's life chances?Show answer
Answer: Their market situation, meaning their bargaining position in the labour market based on their skills, qualifications and the demand for their labour.
Q3Give two indicators sociologists use to measure differences in life chances between social classes.Show answer
Answer: Any two of: life expectancy or health, educational attainment, type and security of employment, or quality of housing.
Q4How might a Marxist explain the class gap in life chances?Show answer
Answer: As a structural feature of capitalism: the working class lacks the capital, connections and bargaining power that protect the interests of the wealthy, so inequality in life chances is built into the system rather than a result of personal failings.
Q5How might a Functionalist explain some of the class gap in life chances?Show answer
Answer: As reflecting a broadly meritocratic system in which people with more ability, effort or qualifications are more likely to gain better-paid, higher-status jobs, which then improve their other life chances.
Q6Explain why a child's family background can affect their educational life chances even before they start school.Show answer
Answer: Wealthier families can afford better early years resources, books, private tuition and stable housing, and often have more 'cultural capital' (knowledge of how the education system works), giving their children an advantage before formal schooling begins.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two ways in which social class can affect a person's life chances.
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Discuss the view that a person's social class is the most important factor affecting their life chances. In your answer you should refer to sociological evidence and at least one alternative factor.
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See real GCSE Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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