Way Class Works

Since the 1980s, the relationship between social class and education has been overshadowed by scholarship more generally targeting issues of race, gender, and representation. Today, with the global economy deeply immersed in social inequalities, there is pressing need for serious class-based analyses of schooling, family life and social structure. The Way Class Works is a collection of twenty-four groundbreaking essays on the material conditions of social class and the ways in which class is produced "on the ground" in educational institutions and families. Written by the most visible and important scholars in education and the social sciences, these timely essays explore the production of class in and through the economy, family, and school, while simultaneously interrogating and challenging our understandings of social class as linked to race, gender, and nation. With essays by distinguished scholars and questions for further reflection and discussion, The Way Class Works will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars in education, sociology, and beyond.

"The Way Class Works: Readings on School, Family, and the Economy is a compelling edited volume that explores the often overlooked influence class has on the lives of young people, their outlook, and their future opportunities." -- Fall 2008, Harvard Educational Review"Weis (sociology of education, State U. of New York at Buffalo) couples new research and classic pieces on the impact of social class in the arenas of schools, schooling, and family life in the United States. The volume's 24 articles are organized into sections that examine class formation and associated class practices; the ways parenting choices and practices are linked to class formation and associated educational outcomes; links between social class and educational outcomes; and the complex relationship between class, race, and gender." -- Book News Inc., August 2008The Way Class Works is both an impressive and timely achievement. Weis has pulled together a diverse group of both established and emerging scholars, working from an astonishing array of perspectives, to foster an intricate and crucial dialogue about class. One of the most significant accomplishments of the collection is in the diversity of scholarly traditions represented by the contributors." -- Nadine Dolby, International Studies in Sociology of Education, Vol. 18, Nos. 3-4, September-December 2008"...a good reader on how social class differences are made and experienced...Aimed at students, a list of discussion questions is included at the end of each article. The book should also be useful to teachers and scholars as an introduction to many of the best current studies in class and education, pointing to the larger works from which the readings come." -- B. Weston, Centre College, Annette Laureau, Professor of Sociology Temple University"I think it could make a useful contribution to the field. I would use it in my course; many of the authors are well very regarded and very important in their fields."Barbara Schneider, Professor of Sociology and Human Development University of Chicago" Ms. Weis has edited several volumes and is widely considered to be one of the leading scholars in the U.S. on issues of social class, gender, and race. Her books are widely read and often used as main text and supplementary text adoptions in college courses. This book much like her earlier work should also be a success. . . As I indicated earlier there are few books that could compete with this book and I think that the ones mentioned in the proposal are not as comprehensive or as compelling as the one suggested by Professor Weis. . . . I recommend this book for publication and would use the book in my courses."

Lois Weis is State University of New York Distinguished Professor of Sociology of Education at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.