Which explanation of poverty focuses on access to opportunities (including employment and education)?

• A. Symbolic interactionist perspective.
• B. Individualistic explanation.
• C. Functionalist perspective.
• D. Structural explanation.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the key perspectives on poverty in sociology. These include symbolic interactionist, individualistic, functionalist, and structural explanations.
2. Step 2: Recognize that the symbolic interactionist perspective focuses on daily interactions and meanings, not primarily on access to opportunities.
3. Step 3: Note that the individualistic explanation attributes poverty to personal failings or choices, rather than structural factors like access to education or employment.
4. Step 4: Understand that the functionalist perspective views poverty as serving a function in society, such as motivating people to work, rather than focusing on opportunity access.
5. Step 5: Identify that the structural explanation emphasizes how social structures, such as unequal access to education and employment opportunities, create and maintain poverty.