Sociological Study of the Effects of Social Capital and Quality of Educational Services on the Feeling of Social Inequality (Case Study: Secondary School Students in Izeh City

Social inequality has been considered by social scientists from the past to the present time. There are several factors that cause formation and spread of inequalities in societies. In the present study, the effects of social capital and quality of educational services on the feeling of inequality among secondary school students were investigated. Feeling of inequality is closely related to deprivation. In this case, it can be said that a gap would be created between people's expectations (feeling of what they should have) and their perceptions (what they have alresdy received) if facilities and resources are distributed unequally in a society. This would ultimately create a feeling of social inequality. In explaining the impact of social capital on the feeling of social inequality, we can say that membership in a family, group, or organization through kinship, friendship, and trust gives individuals an access to facilities and resources. This process creates a feeling of inequality and deprivation in people, who have been deprived of these relationships. In this way, social capital creates a feeling of social inequality. Numerous studies have been conducted on the factors affecting this feeling. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of social capital and quality of educational services on the feeling of social inequality among high school students in Izeh City. In line with the research objectives, two general questions were raised: 1) What state of inequality has been created among the male and female high school students in Izeh city? 2) Is there a significant relationship between social capital and quality of educational services and the feeling of social inequality among the students?  

This research was based on a survey method and the statistical population included all secondary school students (6345 students) in Izeh City in the academic year of 2019-2020. From among them, 362 students were chosen by using a stratified random sampling method. A questionnaire was employed to collect the data. In this regard, the variables of inequality and social capital were respectively examined in the 4 dimensions of feelings of economic, political, gender, and educational inequalities and 3 dimensions of structure, communication, and cognition (Nahapiet and Goshal questionnaire), along with the quality of educational services (model SERVQUAL), at the 5 levels of physical, trust, accountability, guarantee, and empathy. According to the measurement level of the research variables, Pearson correlation test was utilized to analyze the data by using SPSS16 software. Also, to measure the validity of the conceptual model and test the hypotheses, the method of structural equations and factor analysis were applied together with the Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) tool. The results obtained from the data analysis through Pearson correlation test, structural equations, and factor analysis confirmed the two mentioned hypotheses, as well as the effects of social capital and quality of educational services on the feeling of social inequality. 

The aim of this study was to investigate the feeling of social inequality among the mentioned secondary school students. Using Bourdieu's theory of social reproduction, it could be said that the students' access to educational resources and facilities through relationship and acquaintance had led to the deprivation of other people and this process had created a feeling of social inequality among the students. Deming believes that when there is a gap between a customer's expectations and his/her perceptions, a feeling of dissatisfaction is formed in him/her. Accordingly, it can be noted that unequal distribution of educational facilities leads to a gap between students' expectations and their perceptions and the continuation of this process creates and expands a sense of social inequality. The results obtained from the data analysis corroborated the research hypotheses and overlapping of the research achievements with the mentioned theories (Bourdieu, Deming) and the past research (Jaston Baugh, 2017; Barglowski, 2018; Linglin, 2020).