| Sumario: | Differential willingness to defer gratification is one possible factor contributing to class differences in the achievement of young person. Deferment, however, is a relevant concept only where a person is confronted by a time conflict, to. a situation in which a preferred immediate activity is perceived to be incompatible with the realization of a preferred non-immediate outcome. The present study is concerned with the extent to which middle and working clan male high school students perceive college-going as an activity which involves a time conflict and requires deferment on their part. Interviews were conducted with 73 middle class and 71 working class mate Juniors in public high schools in St. Paul, Minnesota. Three types of information were elicited: (1) evaluation of the desirability of alternate immediate post-high school activities, (2) evaluations of the desirability of sets of high and medium prestige occupations, and (3) beliefs regarding the likely occupational implications of alternate post-high school activities. Relatively few youths from either middle or working class backgrounds foresaw a time conflict in the immediate post-high school period. Middle class students, in particular, tended to rate college as their preferred post-high school activity. College would require deferment for a higher proportion of working than middle class students. The findings suggest that at least from the perspective of the youths involved, possible differences is willingness to defer are largely irrelevant as an explanation of class differences in rates of initial college attendance. The data have bearing on the aspect of the Davis-Moore functional theory of stratification concerning the presumed sacrifice required for the realization of highly ranked positions.
|
|---|