Class Flashcards
What are the two types of people?
disadvantaged/working class: manual occupations which traditionally include skilled workers, semi-skilled workers & unskilled workers
advantages/middle class: non-manual occupations traditionally including professionals
Class & Educational Achievement key statistics
WC kids more likely to:
- start school unable to read
- do vocational courses
- placed in lower streams (4x for bottom set)
- be out of work by aged 21
- earn less in jobs despite similar qualifications
WC kids less likely to:
- do well in tests
- get a place in top performing state schools (90% of failing schools in deprived areas)
- achieve good exam results (75% of MC achieve 5 A*-C compared to less than 1/3 WC)
- go onto university
- do the EBacc
What did the Sutton Trust study find out about Oxbridge places?
+ FSM children achievement statistics
Pupils from 8 schools (6 private, 2 grammar) filled 1,310 Oxbridge places over 3 years, compared with 1,220 from 2,900 other schools
+ only 29% achieved 5+ in English and Maths compared to 57% on non FSM pupils in 2022
+ non FSM pupils 2x as likely to pass both English & Maths compared to FSM kids
What are the external school explanations for class differences in educational achievement?
+ what are the internal school explanations?
1) Material deprivation
2) Cultural deprivation/capital
- cultural attitudes, beliefs & views
- socio-linguistics
- cultural capital
+ Interactionist/Labelling Theories:
- stereotyping, labelling & self-fulfilling prophecy
- setting & streaming
- unequal access to classroom knowledge
- Pupil subcultures
- ‘wider’ educational policies
What is material deprivation?
+ who was the main sociologist involved in this theory & what are his ideas?
+ what else did he observe?
Lacking necessary material and economic means to function effectively & comfortably
Douglas
Material deprivation factors linking parental support to educational achievement:
- overcrowded home
- poor diets
- low income/unemployment
- lack of nursery provision
- taking up a part-time job
- disadvantaged, poverty stricken areas
+ children from lower WC backgrounds were less likely to stay in school
+ MC parents more likely to encourage their children to succeed & socialise them more effectively to achieve
What type of research methods did Douglas use?
+ how can his study be evaluated?
Longitudinal Study (1964)
of 5362 children born in the first week of March in 1946 continuing until they were 16
- divided into groups based on ability measured through IQ tests
- sub-divided into 4 social class groups
+ IQ tests unreliable
+ cultural capital misrepresents ability of WC children
+ common high drop out rate in long studies
How did Howard (2001) say class affects educational achievement?
+ what did Tanner et al (2003) say?
- young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins & minerals
- poor nutrition affects health which may lead to increased school absences
+ lack of financial support means children have to do without equipment & educational experiences
+ costs place burden on poor families
How did Wilkinson (1996) say class affects educational achievement?
+ statistics which show teachers are supporting struggling families?
- children from poorer homes often have behavioural and/or emotional problems
- among ten year olds, lower social class equates to higher rates of hyperactivity, anxiety & disorders
+ approx 34% say their school is helping with teeth brushing
+ approx 15% say they have spent their own money to provide food for them
How does Sugarman suggest cultural deprivation is affecting working class educational achievement?
There are extreme differences between WC & MC extreme subcultures
- WC vs MC:
+ fatalism vs optimism (due to role models)
+ collectivism (e.g trade unions & Labour voting) vs individualism
+ immediate gratification vs deferred gratification (e.g uni, investments etc)
+ present-time orientation vs future orientation - MC occupations have more opportunity for promotion which is the opposite for WC jobs which is why they value the here and now
What research method did Sugarman use?
+ Weaknesses of his view?
Interviews & questionnaires (longitudinal) 1970
+ responses may not reflect true reality
+ is it not quite difficult for the WC to not be fatalistic?
+ victim blaming (Keddie)
How does Bernstein suggest cultural deprivation is affecting working class educational achievement?
Suggests that the WC & MC use different linguistic codes
- WC (restricted code) vs MC (elaborated code):
+ limited vocab vs large vocab
+ grammatically simple vs gramatically complex
+ gesticulations vs fully elaborative
+ context bound vs abstract
+ particularistic vs universal - MC are advantages and education & MC professions rely on the elaborated code e.g textbooks
- WC are unable to fully engage as their code is ‘deficient’ & therefore teachers assume their ability is lower
What research method did Bernstein use?
+ Weaknesses of his view?
Used two five year old boys from different social classes to explain a series of four pictures (experimental)
1961
+ hardly representative
+ simplistic approach
+ little evidence
How does Bourdieu suggest cultural capital is affecting working class educational achievement?
- Each class possesses its own cultural framework (habitus) which is ideas about what is good/bad etc
- Dominant group get to impose theirs on society:
+ Education favours & rewards MC cultural traits and punishes WC traits. WC kids alienated and clash culturally
WC: (opposite for MC)
Low cultural capital + low economic capital + low educational capital = failure
- this reproduces inequality
What happened to England during the 1980s?
+ how has this impacted social mobility?
- end of the golden age of social mobility
- manufacturing industry disintegrated
- divide between rich and poor widened by 60%
- ‘hourglass economy’ created
+ now in the UK approx 50% of earning power is down to effort and the other 50% down to your financial position at birth
Statistic which show the people of higher classes get the best jobs
- 3/4 judges went to private school
- 1 in 3 politicians went to private school
- 2 in 3 of house of Lords went to it
- more than 1/2 of top doctors went to it
- medical courses take in 2x as many wealthy people as others
- only 1/7 of those accepted on medical courses are from lowest 50% of wealth
