Social class and education". It opens by discussing research conducted in the 1960s in an attempt to identify factors that contribute to differences in the academic achievement of Blacks and Whites (Banks & Banks, 2013). Researchers hypothesized that achievement gaps were primarily the result of disparities in school resources and characteristics, but found that there is a high correlation between achievement and socioeconomic status (SES) (Banks & Banks, 2013). Furthermore, attention is drawn to the class stratification that exists in our education system and works to maintain inequality through exclusionary strategies such as grouping and ability tracking (Banks & Banks, 2013). Evidence of the correlation between social class and education is presented with a look at our higher education system. Despite significant expansion in the number of postsecondary institutions and an increase in overall enrollment of low-income students, they are more likely to enroll in two-year, rather than four-year, institutions, and the attendance of privileged students at highly selective institutions is increasing . (Banks & Banks, 2013). The unintended consequence of the expansion of higher education institutions is an increase in class inequality, rather than a decrease, as more privileged students seek admission into more selective institutions, excluding less privileged students (Banks & Banks, 2013) . Greater access to top universities helps privileged students maintain their class status, regardless of their individual qualities. As a result, privileged students have greater access to higher-quality resources than less privileged students attending less selective institutions, thus inhibiting movement up the social ladder… middle of paper… your study was based on narratives of the students interpreted subjectively by the researchers. This subjectivity could be seen in the portrayal of students as “hesitant to position themselves or describe themselves in class terms” (Field & Morgan Klein, 2013, p. 167). Yet the answer may not actually be a hesitation to identify with a certain social class, but rather a student who does not actually identify with a certain social class. Another limiting factor of the study is that it was conducted in the United Kingdom and race was largely ignored. It is widely accepted that race has an influence on individual perceptions and would undoubtedly influence perceptions of social class and whether it is seen as an oppressive or temporary state. As a result, the same study conducted in the United States could have very different results and implications in practice.