Socio-economic and cultural factors in English proficiency: Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University case

Dealing with the educational issues from sociological perspective is as crucial as addressing them from a pedagogical point of view. Outcomes that will be obtained from the investigation of the interrelation between sociology and pedagogy will contribute to both parties and more importantly to the society. From this point forth, this study aims to make a sociological analysis on whether there is a relation between socio-economic status of the students and their proficiency of English and educational success and thus to make a contribution to the understanding of education and social mobility. By placing concepts like stratification, mobility, capital and culture on a path from concepts of class and status to inequality, the conceptual framework of this study was built. Questionnaires applied to 428 participants selected via random sampling from Bilecik Şeyh Edabali Üniversitesi which constitutes the population of the study displayed that family income, the tools available at home and gender effect educational success. Based on these results, it was concluded that people who have social and economic capital will always have more proper and better schooling experience than the poor, and accordingly education at school only becomes the new measurement tool of the established social differences. Social status is translated as success or failure through education.