1. Measuring social class
Learning objective: All to be able to describe the two scales used to measure social class in the UK.
How is social class measured?

2. Connector Work in pairs.
Rank (highest at the top, lowest at the bottom) and write into your book the 12 occupations on the cards in order of:
Income
Status (respect) in society
Power / influence
Class
Extension – could the gender and ethnicity of the people doing these jobs influence their income, status or power? How? Why?

3. Connector example Income Status Power Class Dentist - high Dentist
Dentist – upper middle class
Road sweeper - low
Housewife
Housewife - none
Road sweeper
Road sweeper -lower working class
There isn’t necessarily ‘the right’ answer. The point is for students to consider how income, status, etc. affect class and how difficult it is to assign people into the class structure in the UK today. To save time, students can be given fewer than 12 cards.
Housewife = depends on the partner’s income, status, etc. she could be well educated, but quit working for the children’s sake.
Housewife and road sweeper – the same – the right to vote.

4. Connector continued...
What are the differences in how you ranked these people in relation to income, status, power and class?
Could the gender and ethnicity of the people doing these jobs influence their income, status or power? How? Why?

5. Measuring social class
Occupation is used to measure a person’s social class position. This is because people of the same occupation will often have similar:
Income
Level of education
Manner of dressing and speaking
Values and patterns of behaviour
Status
There are two scales used to measure social class:
The Registrar General’s Scale
The National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC)
Students take notes

6. Task 1 Work in pairs. Use the textbook, pages 286 – 287.
Use the reading to complete the worksheet.
Complete the section on the Registrar General’s Classification and the NS-SEC.
Extension - Which scale is a more accurate measure of a person’s class position and why?

7. Measuring social class
The Registrar General’s classification – was used to measure class between 1911 and 1998 based on occupation. It distinguished between manual and non-manual occupations.
Manual occupations are jobs that involve physical effort such as being a construction worker. These can be skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled. These are seen as working class occupations. These occupations are known as blue collar.
Non-manual occupations require no physical effort such as working in an office. They can be skilled, intermediate and professional and are seen as middle class occupations. These occupations are also known as white collar. It dates back to the times when manual workers in factories wore blue overalls with blue collars and the non-manual workers wore white shirts and ties.
1. Professional – solicitors, surgeons.
2. Managerial – teachers, nurses, etc.
3. Skilled non-manual – secretaries.
3. Skilled manual – bus driver, electrician.
4. Partly skilled manual – caretakers, postmen.
5. Unskilled – refuse collectors, cleaners.

8. Problems with the Registrar General’s classification
It ignored people without jobs such as students, retired and unemployed. Retired and unemployed tend to be classified according to their most recent occupation, but some still can’t be classified, e.g. young unemployed.
Women who were housewives were classified according to their husbands’ occupation.
It did not account for a person’s wealth or property so, for example, the very rich people who do not work are not included, e.g. the Royal family, Lottery winners. Therefore, wealthy upper class who do not work are difficult to classify.
Some people in the same occupation classification may not have the same level of wealth, income, status or qualifications, e.g. farmers – some may own the land they farm, while others may be tenants.

9. Measuring social class
National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) – is the current official classification of social class. It is based on occupation, but it is an update of the Registrar General’s classification because it takes account of unemployed people. It is also able to predict health and educational outcomes. It groups together occupations that have similar:
Rewards from work such as pay, career prospects, job security and fringe benefits, e.g. company car.
Employment status, e.g. self-employed, employee and an employer.
Levels of authority and control, e.g. supervising the work of others.

10. Discussion
Both of these images show doctors’ surgeries so the scales would put the doctors working there in the same class.
However, how could the incomes, lifestyles and status of the doctors working there be different?
What does this tell us about the scales used to measure class?
GP surgery, Southall
Harley Street clinic, London

11. Task 2 Match the key word with its definition. Manual work
Where blue denim overalls are worn because the job involves getting dirty.
Non-manual work
Physical work/people work with their hands using muscle power.
Blue collar worker
Routine work in offices and shops which does not involve physical work (may wear a shirt).
White collar worker
Uses occupation to measure class, but ignores those who are out of work.
Registrar General’s Scale
People who wear shirts and ties to work.
Embourgeoisement
This is the current official classification of social class. It is based on occupation, but it is an update of the Registrar General’s classification because it takes account of unemployed people.
Proletarinisation
This is a process through which some members of the working class go through upward social mobility and become middle class.
National Statistics Socio-economic Classification
This is a process through which some members of the middle class go through downward social mobility and become working class.

12. Task 3 Work on your own to answer this exam question into your book:
Describe one way in which sociologists might allocate an individual to a social class and explain why this method might not be accurate. (5 marks)
One way in which an individual may be allocated to a social class is This is when
This method may not be accurate because

13. Review
According to the Registrar General’s scale what social class do each of these people belong to? Why?
Would the ranking be different according to the NS-SEC? Why?
Hospital nurse
Hospital doctor
Hospital cleaner