In this presentation I focus on vocational school students lay perceptions of inequality and social class. I examine their subjective sense of inequality (Bottero 2020) and how they see themselves positioned in a stratified society. The theoretical framework draws upon Merton's (1967) reference group theory, Bourdieu's (1984) theoretical class model, and empirical reflections on the subjective dimension of class and inequality (Bottero 2020; Irwin 2018; Skeggs 2004; Snee & Devine 2018). From previous research we know that class identities are fundamentally ambivalent. Further, young people tend to see themselves as agents capable of controlling their own lives, and they have been accused of being blind to the existence of structural constraints arising from gender, ethnic, or class divisions (‘epistemological fallacy’ by Furlong and Cartmel 2007). Instead of adopting a restricted focus on how young people fail to grasp inequalities, my presentation deals with both identifying and downplaying of differences. I pay special attention to the vocational education as a context for discussing social class and ask, how the educational track that can be argued to prepare young people for working class positions and careers allows them to reflect the fabric of society. What kind of a “view from a place” does that offer. The presentation contributes to the understanding on how both material and symbolic boundaries and hierarchies are articulated by young people and what consequencies these hierarchies are seen to have in their lives.  

The presentation draws upon thematic analysis of interview data produced among 17–19-year-old vocational school students (N=26) in four municipalities in Eastern Finland between 2023-2024. The interviews were single and pair interviews and were conducted mainly in the premises of vocational schools. The data were produced as part of a cross-disciplinary research project ‘LINSOC - Linguistic variation, social class and experiences on inequality in Eastern Finland’.

While a clear majority thought that class differences existed, there was a lot of hesitation in young people’s ways to articulate social class as a position or as a structure. One explanation for this is the strong Nordic cultural narrative of equality that may blur the perception of inequalities. Further, there was lot of reluctance to pigeonhole and value other people and sometimes this was motivated by the fear to be pigeonholed by others. Middle class position was seen to represents ordinariness, normality and that was a safe position to take to the extend that working class as a position or category was almost absent in the interviews.

Bottero, W. (2020) A Sense of Inequality. London: Rowman & Littlefield. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: a social critique of the judgement of taste. Routledge & Kegan Paul. Furlong, A. & Cartmel, F. (2007). Young People and Social Change: New Perspectives, 2nd edn. Buckingham: Open University Press. Irwin, S. (2018) Lay Perceptions of Inequality and Social Structure. Sociology, 52(2), 211–227. Merton, R. K. (1967) Social theory and social structure. Rev. a. enl. ed. New York: The Free Press. Skeggs, B. (2004) Class, self, culture. London: Routledge. Snee, H. & Devine, F. (2018) Fair chances and hard work? Families making sense of inequality and opportunity in 21st century Britain. British Journal of Sociology 69(4), 1134–1154.