Social Class and Parental Values

Middle-and working-class parents share a broadly common se of values-but not an identical set by any means. There appears to be a close fit between the actual workings-class situation and the values of working-class parents; between the actual middle-class situation and the values of middle-class parents. In either situation the values that seem important but problematic are the ones most likely to be accorded high priority. For the working class the "important but problematic" centers around qualities that assure respectability; for the middle class it centers around internalized standards of conduct.