7. Material Factors And Deprivation As Cause Of Under-attainment

Question 1

What does Leonard Feinstein discuss on material poverty

Answer 1

In 2003 Feinstein analysed data from the 1970 Birth cohort study and found that test scores at 22 months predicated educational attainment at 26 years and were related to family backgrounds.

Children from poor backgrounds achieved well at 22 months were over taken by the poor strainers from wealthy backgrounds.

Question 2

Which children experience material deprivation

Answer 2

• ethnic minorities
• children from benefit depending families
• children from lone parent families
• children from workless households
• children with unstable families
• large families
• children who have poor levels of parental education and skills

Question 3

How does poverty and policy link to attainment

Answer 3

Government data shows there’s a link between childhood and adult poverty as people find it hard to escape poverty.

The largest predictor of adult poverty is the educational qualification of the father as ONS suggest that children have a 7.5 higher chance of poor educational attainment if their fathers also did badly in school

Education is the best route out of poverty so the government tries to tackle this and improving education is the highest priority

Government report stated that “children who grow up in poverty all too often become the parents of the next generation to live in poverty. Where a child starts in life shouldnt determine where they end up

Question 4

What do the new right argue about the environmental factors contributing to low educational attainment.

Answer 4

They argue the key issues affecting low school attainment is long parenthood but other sociological perspectives would tend to claim that the issues linked to poverty and material deprivation is based on the evidence from studies

Question 5

What are the environmental factors contributing to low educational attainment. (1)

Answer 5

• parenting qualifications may impact as they can limit the child’s ambitions and encourage them to leave school early or to resent school discipline also homes may lack books and quiet space
• housing stock in cities is poor and can cause poor health as a result. Scottish government data in 2010 found that over-crowding and homelessness affect health and social behaviours. These areas have high crime rate, poor transport and a lack of resources such as youth centres or health centres affecting how children study and their attitudes

Poor health such as smoking in-front of children can cause a poor health for children or a lack of exercise can cause low attainment as well as poor nutrition causing more sick days.

Question 6

What are the environmental factors contributing to low educational attainment. (2)

Answer 6

• Poor nutrition can contribute. There’s a link between obesity and poverty this can link to poor nutritional practice and bad diet. The Avon longitudinal study in 2011 found that there was a link between a diet high in fat and reduced intelligence in children.
• in the Uk there’s is a relationship between the number of people in a household, the economic position of the parents and the financial situation of the family. Lone parents tend to be poor and housing is expensive and easier to deal with in dual income.
  Government statistics suggest that for the children of lone parents there’s 1 and a half chance they’ll have low attainment.

Question 7

What are the environmental factors contributing to low educational attainment. (3)

Answer 7

• recent research into child poverty done by Goodman and Gregg for the Joseph rowntree foundation suggest that poor families have weak learning environments so there’s little reading and fewer computers for children
• there is evidence that the poor are vulnerable to bullying due to the lack of quality of items and clothes
  Archer in 2007 pointed out the significance of style in the culture of young people.