Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Social Contexts Matter 3
Culture, Conditions, and Constraints: Themes and Variation in Explanations for Social Reproduction 5
Defensive and Strategic Parenting: An Illustration 8
Data 11
Overview of the Book 15
1. Worlds Vastly Different: The Neighborhood and School Contexts of Middle-Class and Working-Class Families 21
The School Contexts in Which Middle-Class and Working-Class Children Learn 21
The Residential Contexts of Middle-Class and Working-Class Parents 25
Summary 41
2. Networks to Get Ahead and Networks to Get By 43
Measuring Social Networks 44
Class Differences in Social Network Resources 46
Class Differences in the Utilization of Social Network Resources 53
From Getting by to Getting Ahead 64
Summary 67
3. Navigating Adolescence in Unequal Contexts 69
Vigilance Among the Working Class 69
Fostering Autonomy Among the Middle Class 79
Summary 85
4. Opportunities to Participate: Unequal Contexts and Social Class Differences in Structured Activity Participation 87
Studying Parents’ Engagement With Structured Activities 89
Social Class Differences in Structured Activity Participation 91
Parents’ Expressed Cultural Logic 94
Schools as Equalizing Institutions 104
Financial and Institutional Constraints on Non-School Activities Among the Working Class 109
Summary 113
5. In Search of a Good School: Middle-Class and Working-Class Parents’ Navigation of the High School Application Process 119
Universal Participation in the Application Process 121
The Middle-Class Pursuit of an Elite Public Education 123
Working-Class Parents’ Avoidance of Dangerous Schools 127
Teacher Assistance in Choosing Schools 134
Social Class Differences in High School Selectivity 137
Summary 137
6. Unequal Contexts and Parents’ Educational and Occupational Expectations 141
Educational Expectations 142
Occupational Expectations 145
The Meaning of Adolescent “Mistakes” 154
Summary 156
7. The American Shift to Child-Centered Parenting 161
Child-Centered Parenting 163
Summary 172
Conclusion 175
Child-Centered Parenting 175
To Strategize and Defend 177
The Privilege to Live One’s Values 180
What Can We Do? Policy Recommendations 181
Appendix A: Sociodemographic Characteristics of Sample 185
Appendix B: List of Occupations Used in the Position Generator 187
Appendix C: Selected Characteristics of Individual Study Participants 188
Appendix D: Methodology 191
Appendix E: Re-Analysis of Social Class Differences in Structured Activity Participation Using a Multidimensional Measure of Social Class 203
Notes 213
References 221
Index 233
About the Authors 241
