Class and Differential Achievement Flashcards
What are the basic assumptions about class and achievement in education?
Students from professional backgrounds are more likely to enter higher education compared to those from unskilled backgrounds. Middle-class students typically take on A-Levels, while working class students study vocational courses.
Outline a process within the school that affects working class students’ achievement.
Negative labelling within the school leads to self-fulfilling prophecies and failure. Becker and Keddie argue that teachers evaluate pupils in comparison to the ‘ideal’ students by social class, appearance, personality and speech.
Negative labelling is a process within a school that affects working class achievement. Evaluate the extent of labelling.
Ball argues that students in the top streams are from higher social classes. Woods argues that anti-school subcultures are a working class response to negative labelling and status frustration.
There are several processes outside of school that affect working class educational achievement. List these processes.
Material deprivation
Cultural deprivation
Class attitudes
Material deprivation affects at least 1/10 students. Halsey found that the most important factor preventing working class students from staying in school was lack of financial support. Expand on this.
Douglas found that children living in unsatisfactory living conditions such as overcrowding, poor nutrition, lack of working space etc. don’t do as well as students from comfortable backgrounds.
What did Becker and Keddie say about negative labelling?
Labelling is a process whereby teachers evaluate or judge pupils by comparing them to ‘ideal’ pupils based on personality, social class, appearance and speech. Working class students thus get negatively labelled and this leads to self fulfilling prophecies and failure.
Ball argued that students in the top streams are from the higher social classes. Why is this?
Because working class students get negatively labelled which leads to self-fulfilling prophecies and failure.
How can material deprivation lead to cultural deprivation?
Material deprivation means that there isn’t any money for books, internet access, school trips etc. thus w/c students can’t easily acquire cultural capital. This hampers their access to education and upwards social mobility.
How does material deprivation affect w/c students?
w/c students live in unsatisfactory living conditions (Douglas) and so are less likely to succeed than students from comfortable backgrounds.
Material deprivation leads to cultural deprivation as w/c cannot afford books, internet access and school trips which provide cultural capital.
Students from middle-class backgrounds have an advantage of cultural capital from books, museum trips, internet access. How does the style of parenting affect educational achievement?
Douglas argued that the most important factor in educational achievement is parental interest. M/c parents are likely to come to parents evening and other events, whereas w/c parents cannot come as they may work overtime or may not be interested in the education processes.
Another factor affecting educational achievement across classes is the attitude towards education. How may this affect working class achievement?
Sugarman argued that pupils from working and middle-class backgrounds have different outlooks on gratification. M/c prefer deferred gratification over immediate gratification.
Who said that the values of the working class are a self-imposed barrier to improving their position and what does this imply?
Hyman argued that working class values are a self-imposed barrier from improving their position because they tend to place low value on education.
Bernstein and Bourdieu were the main thinkers behind differences in achievement. What did Bernstein investigate?
Bernstein investigated working class pupils in east London and found that they use restricted code whilst the middle-class student use elaborate code. The m/c are more able to identify with the language of the teachers and understand abstract concepts and ideas quicker.
Bernstein argued that the middle class uses elaborate code whilst the working class uses restricted code. Evaluate this.
Labov argued that elaborated code is just different. The form of language is different but conveys the same meaning and so working class pupils should not be at a disadvantage because of this.
What did Bourdieu say in support of cultural deprivation?
Bourdieu argues that middle-class students have an advantage in education due to their cultural capital - the language, skills, knowledge and attitudes towards education that come about from families culturally reproducing themselves.
