Life is like a lottery.
– discuss this
statement.
Life chances
1.
2.
To define what is meant by life chances.
To explain how an individual's life chances are
influenced by gender, ethnicity, social class and age.
Connector
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What happened
to the famous
ship in the
picture?
When did it
happen?
Why did it
happen?
How were
people recued?
Who do you
think was
rescued first?
Have you heard the phrase ‘women and
children first’?
Do you think this principle was applied
to the rescue of people from the Titanic?
Titanic and life chances
Well, yes, women and children first was the
motto of the rescue of people from the
Titanic, but it was also first class first.
What do you think that means?
All passengers travelling first class had the chance to board
the life boats, while third class passengers were held below
deck at gun point. As a result, those travelling first class had a
much greater chance of survival, in fact, 45% of women
travelling 3rd class died, 16% of those travelling 2nd class and
only 3% of women travelling 1st class died.
 Therefore, the upper class women were the most likely to
survive the sinking of the Titanic as a result of their
favourable life chance of having been wealthy and female.

Life chances

Life chances refer to opportunities, advantages or disadvantages
people may have which can affect how well they succeed in relation
to their education, health, employment, income and housing.

Life chances are not distributed equally because factors such as class,
gender, age and ethnicity affect a person’s life chances.

Some say that inequality is inevitable in a capitalist society such as our
own in which competition creates both life’s winners and losers.
Here, some have higher life chances because society is organised in a
way that gives much to some and little to others.

On the other hand, some argue that anyone can improve their life
chances if they choose to. For example, a person born with low life
chances can use the free education system to improve their life
chances.
5 Mins
Task 1

Work in pairs.

Write a subheading: Social class and life
chances.

Complete the grid worksheet to show
how social class position affects the lives
of upper, middle and working class people.
20 Mins
Lifestyle and life
chances
Upper class
Middle class
Working class
Source and
amount of
income
Inheritance and
ownership of land, etc.
High.
Welfare system / benefits
Professional occupations
and ownership of land, etc. or low paid manual jobs.
Quite high.
Income – low.
Healthcare
Private healthcare
providers, e.g. Bupa.
Usually the NHS, but some can
afford private healthcare.
NHS.
Leisure activities
Skiing, attending dinner parties,
shooting, ‘lunching’, etc.
Galleries and museums, dinner
parties.
Cinema, pub, TV.
Type of
education
Public (very expensive, private
boarding) schools.
Oxbridge.
Can send their children
to top of the league
table state schools or
more affordable private
schools. University.
Local state schools.
Qualifications
Increasingly high, but not
always – don’t need it.
Own several homes, often
have a large estate.
Top jobs in private firms and
public sector, e.g. civil service.
Skiing, tropical islands abroad.
University and post-grad.
Harrods, Fortnum & Mason,...
M&S, Waitrose, John Lewis
Housing
Employment
Holidays
Shops they shop
in
Own 1 – 2 houses, e.g. one by
the seaside.
Professional occupations, e.g.
Teachers, doctors, accountants,
Summer and winter hols
abroad.
Increasingly also FE in colleges
or 6th Forms.
Traditionally not past
compulsory education.
Usually tenants. Also council
housing.
Manual jobs, high
unemployment.
UK based hols by the seaside,
Butlins, etc
Primark
Task 2

Write a subheading: Life chances of having
good health by gender and class.

Cut out the cards and sort them under
the headings to show who has better
health as a result of different life chances.


Glue them into your book.
20 Mins
Women
People of this sex are more
likely to suffer ill health.
People of this sex tend to live
longer.
Men
People of this sex are less likely
to seek medical help when ill.
Working class
Middle class
Babies of this class are more
likely to be born underweight,
stillborn and die in infancy.
People of this class end to be
healthier and live longer.
People of this class live in poor
quality housing, e.g. cold and
damp so tend to be more ill.
People of this class have higher
incomes so can afford a better diet
so tend to be healthier.
People of this class tend to need
more medical help, but it is not
always available to them.
People of this class tend to live in a
better natural environment which
helps to keep them healthy.
People of this class tend to live in
areas where there are more GP
surgeries and more dentists.
Exam questions
1.
Explain what sociologists mean by ‘life
chances’. (4 marks)
2.
Identify two social factors that affect life
chances and opportunities. (2 marks)
10 Mins
Home learning

Read the Item and answer the 4 questions
into your book (you will have to use your
own knowledge as well).

Due – next lesson.
What are different
forms of
stratification?
What is the
Functionalist view
on stratification?
What is social class?
How is social class
measured?
What is social
inequality?
What are life
chances?
Does social class still
matter?
How do we explain
poverty?
What is poverty? How is
it measured? Who is
likely to experience
poverty?
What is social
mobility? Does it
happen in the UK?
What is gender?
What inequalities are
based on gender?
What is ethnicity?
What inequalities
are based on
ethnicity?
How do Sociologists
study age? How do they
view youth and older
age?
Revision and end of
Topic exam question
How are wealth and
income distributed
in the UK?
Possible HW answers

See the following 2 slides.
Dental health
1.
2.
3.
4.
Working class children are more likely to have teeth decay than middle
class children.
The material factors that can affect this are that visits to the dentist, even
through the NHS, have to be paid for. Therefore, some working class
families may not be able to afford dental check-ups so their children suffer
tooth decay. Also, working class may not be able to afford fresh, healthier
food so their children eat more processed food which can be damaging to
their teeth.
The cultural factors that lead to working class children suffering tooth
decay are their parents’ values. Working class tend to hold fatalistic, ‘live for
today’, values so they do not think it’s important to take care of one’s
health for the long term health thus they may be more likely to not brush
their teeth regularly or avoid sugary foods.
The social environment factors that lead to working class children suffering
tooth decay are a lack of dentist surgeries in more deprived areas so even
if the parents want to take their child to the dentist, there may not be a
dentist in their area.
Smoking
1.
2.
3.
4.
Working class people find it a lot harder to quit smoking, even if they want
to and try to than middle class people.
The material factors that can affect a person’s chances of quitting smoking
are that buying cigarettes may seem like a treat, while buying anti-smoking
patches may seem like a medical expense so working class people may not
be prepared to spend the little money they have on the patches.
The cultural factors that can affect a person’s chances of quitting smoking
are the values they hold. Working class people value immediate gratification,
while middle class value deferred gratification so they are more likely to
persevere when it comes to trying to quit, while working class are more
likely to seek the immediate gratification of smoking a cigarette so they are
less likely to persevere. The middle class also have the cultural capital so
they know how the medical system works and what help is available to help
them quit smoking.
The social environment factors that lead to working class finding it harder
to smoke are the people around them who are more likely to be smokers
thus discouraging them from smoking. Also, middle class are more likely to
go to restaurants and work in places where smoking is banned which
encourages them to stop smoking.