Stratification Based on Social Class Today (AQA GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Raj Bonsor

Written by: Raj Bonsor

Reviewed by: Cara Head

Updated on

The Registrar General's classification

  • Social class is seen as the main form of stratification in Britain

  • Occupation is often used to measure social class as it is related to factors like pay, social status and life chances

  • Subjective class refers to how people see themselves in class terms

  • There are three social classes in Britain:

    • the working class

    • the middle class

    • the upper class

  • The Registrar General's social class scale was the official class scale in the UK between 1911 and 1998

    • It distinguishes between manual and non-manual occupations

      • Manual occupations require some physical effort and can be skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled and are seen as working-class

      • Non-manual occupations require no physical effort and include intermediate and professional occupations, which are seen as middle-class

  • Classes I, II and III (non-manual) were seen as middle class and III (manual), IV and V were seen as working class

The Registrar General's Social Class Scale

I

Professional occupations, e.g., solicitors and doctors

II

Managerial and technical occupations, e.g., teachers, nurses and pilots

III (N)

Skilled non-manual occupations, e.g. clerical workers, secretaries and receptionists

III (M)

Skilled manual occupations, e.g. bus drivers, electricians and hairdressers

IV

Partly skilled occupations, e.g., postal workers, bar tenders and caretakers

V

Unskilled occupations, e.g., labourers and clearners

Criticisms of the Registrar General's scale

  • Measuring social class based on occupation cannot include retired or unemployed people, particularly people who have never worked

    • Although New Right commentators would argue that Britain has an underclass

  • The class position of a family or couple based on a man's occupation was challenged when more married women went into paid employment in the 1970s

  • Occupational class scales reveal nothing about an individual's inherited wealth or property

  • It is unclear where the wealthy upper class or National Lottery millionaires should be placed

  • There are vast differences in the wealth, income and status of individuals who have the same job title

The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC)

  • The NS-SEC has replaced the Registrar General's scale as the UK's official classification

  • The NS-SEC is also based on occupation but it includes unemployed people

  • It groups occupations that have similar:

    • rewards from work such as pay, benefits (e.g. company car), career prospects and job security

    • employment status, i.e., employer, employed or self-employed

    • levels of authority and control, i.e., responsibility for other workers

The NS-SEC Class Scale

1

Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations, e.g., senior sales managers and solicitors

2

Lower managerial, administrative and professional occupations, e.g., social workers and teachers

3

Intermediate occupations, e.g., secretaries and computer operators

4

Employers in small businesses and own account workers (self-employed), e.g., farmers

5

Lower supervisory and technical occupations, e.g., car mechanics

6

Semi-routine occupations, e.g., cooks, bus drivers and sales assistants

7

Routine occupations, e.g., waiters, clearers, and labourers

8

Never worked and long-term unemployed

You've read 0 of your 5 free revision notes this week

Sign up now. It’s free!

Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams

the (exam) results speak for themselves:

Did this page help you?

Raj Bonsor

Author: Raj Bonsor

Expertise: Psychology & Sociology Content Creator

Raj joined Save My Exams in 2024 as a Senior Content Creator for Psychology & Sociology. Prior to this, she spent fifteen years in the classroom, teaching hundreds of GCSE and A Level students. She has experience as Subject Leader for Psychology and Sociology, and her favourite topics to teach are research methods (especially inferential statistics!) and attachment. She has also successfully taught a number of Level 3 subjects, including criminology, health & social care, and citizenship.

Cara Head

Author: Cara Head

Expertise: Biology Content Creator

Cara graduated from the University of Exeter in 2005 with a degree in Biological Sciences. She has fifteen years of experience teaching the Sciences at KS3 to KS5, and Psychology at A-Level. Cara has taught in a range of secondary schools across the South West of England before joining the team at SME. Cara is passionate about Biology and creating resources that bring the subject alive and deepen students' understanding