Perceptions of Class Inequality Among Undergraduate Students: the Case of the University of Granada

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.145

Keywords:

social class, perceptions of inequality, university students, social stratification, wealth distribution

Abstract

This study analyzes, through a survey based on validated questionnaires (FUNCAS, UCM), a sample of 1,437 undergraduate students from various faculties and degree programs at the University of Granada, focusing on their perceptions of social self-placement and their views on the distribution of wealth in Spain. The results reveal an overidentification with the middle class, limited awareness of actual inequality, and an idealized, more egalitarian vision that nevertheless concentrates wealth in the upper classes. The data also show the reproduction of familial educational capital and the underrepresentation of working-class students in higher education. The study concludes that there is a significant mismatch between students’ objective socioeconomic positions and their subjective self-perceptions, along with a clear tendency for resources to remain concentrated among privileged sectors. These findings highlight the need for universities to strengthen their critical and educational role in shaping socially aware, informed, and equity-oriented citizens.

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Author Biographies

Antonio M. Lozano Martín, Universidad de Granada

PhD in sociology and is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Granada. He is a member of the SEJ 131 Social Life Analysis Research Group, whose work connects training, teaching and research across two axes: social structure – inequality and social exclusion – and social conflict and mediation across diverse forms of social interaction at individual and group level, including the management and resolution of conflict through alternative peaceful procedures such as mediation in educational, family and intercultural contexts.

Victoria Aragón García, Universidad de Granada

PhD in social sciences from the University of Murcia. From 2010 to 2020 she was a lecturer in sociology at the University of Murcia and is currently a lecturer at the University of Granada. Her research focuses on water, sustainability, gender and communication. Since 2003 she has collaborated on research projects in both Spain and Mexico. She is a member of the RETYDES (Territorial Restructuring and Social Inequalities) research group at the University of Murcia and is currently affiliated with the group HUM-952: Network for Studies on Sustainability, Heritage, Participation, Landscape and Territory (STAND) at the University of Granada.

José Luis Paniza Prados, Universidad de Granada

With a PhD in sociology, José Luis Paniza Prados is a senior lecturer at the University of Granada, where he teaches Methods and Techniques of Social Research and Sociological Theory. His research focuses on education and tourism, and he has participated in numerous national and international projects, with over fifty publications to his name. He has also carried out research and consultancy work in these fields for various companies and for the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies.

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Published

2026-07-06

How to Cite

Lozano Martín, A. M., Aragón García, V., & Paniza Prados, J. L. (2026). Perceptions of Class Inequality Among Undergraduate Students: the Case of the University of Granada. CENTRA Journal of Social Sciences, 5(2), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.145

Issue

Vol. 5 Núm. 2 (julio-diciembre, 2026)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Antonio M. Lozano Martín, Victoria Aragón García, José Luis Paniza Prados

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