Chapter 3: The Distinctions Separating the Social Classes: An Examination of Noncognitive Variables in Educational Contexts

We argue that social class largely has been ignored by researchers investigating the effect of noncognitive variables on students’ attitudes, behavior, and achievement. This is unfortunate because social class exerts a potent influence on many noncognitive variables and this influence is difficult to change because social class roots go so deep. The desire to exert self-control, to delay gratification, to adopt a future time perspective, to seek help when needed, and to adopt academic achievement goals—all are affected by social class (Berger & Archer, 2016; Calarco, 2011; Guthrie et al., 2009; Machell et al., 2016; Milyavskaya & Inzlicht, 2017). However, the extent to which schools and teachers can induce students to adopt these attitudes and behaviors is limited. Interventions designed to enhance noncognitive variables tend to fade quickly (Bailey et al., 2017).