Classified out of society? How educational classification induces political alienation through feelings of misrecognition

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5609364
AutoresJ Van Noord (0000-0002-2351-0260, Department of Social Psychology University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands, autor correspondente), Bram Spruyt (0000-0003-0573-724X, Department of Sociology Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussel Belgium), Toon Kuppens (0000-0002-7056-4288, Department of Organizational Psychology University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands), Russell Spears (0000-0001-5244-0575, Department of Social Psychology University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands)
Ano2023
Volume74
Fascículo5
Páginas858-872
Data de publicação2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoBritish Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0007-1315 • E-ISSN: 1468-4446
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1468-4446.13040
PMID37309055
OpenAlexW4380422781
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências citadas50

Less educated citizens are both descriptively and substantively outnumbered by higher educated citizens in political and societal institutions. While social science has devoted much time to explain why such education effects exist, it has largely neglected the role of feelings of misrecognition in inducing political alienation among less educated citizens. We argue that education has become so central in processes of economic and social stratification that it is likely that less educated citizens feel misrecognized due to their marginal presence in societal and political institutions, which would then lead to their political alienation. This would in particular be the case in societies that are more 'schooled', that is, societies where schooling is a more dominant and steering institution. We analysed data from 49,261 individuals in 34 European countries and found that feelings of misrecognition were strongly related to political distrust, dissatisfaction with democracy, and vote abstention. These relations explained a significant part of the difference between higher and less educated citizens in political alienation. We also found that this mediation effect was larger in countries that are more schooled

Alienation · Democracy · Distrust · Feeling · Institution · Political economy · Political efficacy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology