elite social class – Globally Elite

The Gamemakers

Deekayla Thomas / Globally Elite / elite schools, elite social class, eliteness, qualifications, rules /

April 19, 2021

When you Google the definition of “elite”, there are two interpretations that stand out. The first definition concerns itself with the superiority of a select group that exceeds “in terms of ability or qualities” (Oxford Languages). The second definition, on the other hand, is more about the perception of an elite group. An elite group is “seen as having the greatest power and influence within a society…because of their wealth and privilege” (Oxford Languages). The Urban Dictionary defines elites as those that hold disproportionate amounts of control over the lives of others (“Urban Dictionary: Elite”). In this sense, the elite group which controls those without elite status is controlled from within by key players, more distinguished elites with an even higher status. So according to these definitions, being elite is just being better than other people at whatever level and gaining notoriety and power for existing under the category.

But in practice, what does being elite truly mean? Who decides what the qualifications for being elite are in specific eras and regions? And, how has the characterization of eliteness been transformed in response to social changes through history? Well for starters, many sociologists and researchers consider there to be different types of “elites”. According to John Higley, there are two main categories: political elites and cultural elites (“Elites”). To give a quick example, Bernie Sanders is a political elite and, through the association of elite institutions, students at Colby College or Olive Grove Academy (a pseudonym) are cultural elites. As a Colby student though, it is quite difficult to see this school as an elite institution, and even more difficult to see myself as an elite individual. To me, Colby College is just an expensive college in Maine that offers extremely interesting classes. Since taking this class, however, I am beginning to see the various ways Colby falls into the elite category. This is why I ask about the qualifications and conditions of being an elite individual or other entity.

One of the main reasons I find it difficult to consider myself elite is because I am a Black woman from a low-income community in the South. In no sense of the word do I consider myself to be a person with notoriety or power. And it is nearly impossible to look back at a time in history where a Black woman with my political and economic standing would be elite. In the first civilizations, as the practice of patriarchy grew, men were the only people considered elite. After this, eliteness became connected to money, wealth, and land leading to the expansion of colonization. As colonization efforts grew and more settlements began to be concreted, status was not only tied to sex, wealth, and land but also religion and perceptions of race. Now, being elite can entail a variety of characteristics and behaviors. Still, I feel it heavily concerns race and wealth, but I feel the definition has grown so that those with high levels of education and those with other great achievements can be included. This history brings me back to my question of who exactly determines the qualifications of elite standing?

It can be assumed that the guidelines the elite population use to conduct themselves are formulated within the group by those key players mentioned before. I would think that these key players base many of the elite characteristics they seek off of the behaviors and attitudes they observe in undesired communities. By looking at these communities, they see everything they do not want in their exclusive group of powerholders. But, more important than who is actually making the rules of eliteness is finding out who gives them their power. I fully believe that the elite population is only elite because the general public allows them to be. If the non-elite population decided to no longer recognize elite people and institutions as power holders, sure there would be class conflict for a while, but eventually, there would be no choice but to enact change.

“elite.” languages.oup.com. Oxford Languages. Web. March 2021.

“Elite.” UrbanDictionary.com. Urban Dictionary, 2018 Web. March 2021.

Higley, John. “Elites”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Nov. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/topic/elite-sociology. Accessed 30 March 2021.

Homogeneity – What the data was telling us all along

Thomas Barry / Globally Elite / Chile, Chilean Education System, Elite, elite schools, elite social class, habitus, homogeneity, homogenous, Inequality, Pierre Bourdieu, social class /

November 17, 2016

When I wrote my last blog post, my research group had yet to conduct an interview with our assigned student at the Croft School. At that point, we wanted to focus our research on extracurricular activities.

However, after analyzing the transcripts for our 3 interviews, I noticed a common theme running through the data: homogeneity. To support my analysis of the Croft School in this post, I include relevant questions and responses from our interviews in bold below.

According to the Croft School student we interviewed, most students at the school come from similar backgrounds. Croft School students often come from families that encourage and expect them to attend university. Since this school does not offer financial aid or scholarships, all students at this school come from families that can afford the school’s tuition—in other words, from a high socioeconomic class.

Interviewer: So does the Croft offer scholarships to students who can’t pay the full tuition?

Student: No.

This doesn't exist at the Chilean School! — **This doesn’t exist at the Croft School!**

Since Chile is so economically and socially inequitable, it is not surprising that Croft School students like our interviewee live in areas concentrated with upper-class families, and rarely interact with lower class people.

I: No scholarships? Oh. And then where you live in Santiago, did you grow up exposed to people of different social classes, or do most people who live in the area are from the same social class?

S: All from a similar social class.

I: How often do you interact with people who are not in your group?

S: Not often.

igualdad — **Yup, that looks pretty unequal to me!**

Since a majority of students attending the Croft School come from similar backgrounds/social classes, it appears they also share a habitus. Pierre Bourdieu defines habitus as a system of embodied dispositions that organize the way individuals perceive and react to the world around them. These mental habits, schemes of perception, classification, appreciation, feelings, and actions are shaped by social interactions and personal histories. As a result, different groups (such as a social class) share a habitus.

While students appear to share a habitus before they enter the Croft School, the headmaster’s message and our interviews indicate that the school also teaches an institutional habitus. Institutional habitus is the impact an organization, such as the education system, has on an individual’s behavior. This organization typically reflects the values of a particular cultural group or social class. In this case, the Croft School reflects upper class values.

The Croft School’s curriculum is organized to prepare students for university, and reinforces the expectation that they will attend. The school encourages students to pursue certain high-paying careers (including engineering, law, medicine, economics, and architecture) after attending university. Through an “all-rounder”, holistic education, students are taught the school’s values—the spirit of service, good manners, and fair play. While not explicitly a Croft School value, our research also indicates that the school encourages competition.

According to our interviewee, the Croft way of thinking is synonymous with the Croft values.

I: Many of the Croft thinking is based on competition with others. Like because one of the key elements of school is like sports, sports you have competition. Like I want to get to the first team, things like that. Ummm that’s reflected on like almost every aspect of the Croft, like in aspects where there should be no competition

I: Yes. And that is like the main aspect of the Croft kind of thinking, competition.

Our interviewee also told us that students are rewarded for sharing the same views as their teachers.

I: … There is like discussion groups in my school that are called colloquials, and there is this teacher that organizes it… she like chooses like who has to go… she chooses the students that are friends with her.

I: … Its not popularity… its about thinking the same as the teacher.

Since the Croft School strongly encourages its students to adopt a particular way of thinking, Bourdieu would argue that this school (like most elite schools) acts as a miniature, closed off society that shares a single lifestyle—one that is reflected in the shared goals, opinions, and values of its students.

**If you do not share the same habitus as us, you shall not enter!**

Elite schools like the Croft School attempt to select, and develop within students, a specific habitus. Ultimately, homogenous groups lead to cultural insulation, and reinforce the dispositions and values shared by all classmates. This environment allows the Croft School to produce graduates that will have the necessary capital to join the elite social class.

Citations:

Bourdieu, Pierre. The State Nobility. Stanford University Press: Stanford, 1996. Print

Thomas, Liz. “Student retention in higher education: the role of institutional habitus.” J. Education Policy,vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 423-442, http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.476.2444&rep=rep1&type=pdf. Accessed 16 Nov. 2016.