Class and educational achievement

Question 1

Webber and Butler

Answer 1

Large-scale statistical research by Webber and Butler (2007), involving more than a million pupils, found that the best predictor of achievement was the type of neighbourhood that pupils lived in. The more middle-class and affluent the area, the more successful the school tended to be. More than half of the school’s performance could be explained by the type of pupils who attended.

Question 2

Jerrim

Answer 2

Jerrim analysed government statistical data on class and test results. He found that even the most talented were being left behind in education if they came from a lower-class background. This suggests that, without class advantages, talent is often not enough to succeed.

Question 3

Hirsch

Answer 3

Hirsch found that students from better-off backgrounds had a variety of advantages including:

> more likely to have structured out-of-school activities such as music lessons and going to theatre groups.

> more space (such as their own bedroom), making it easier for them to do homework successfully.

Question 4

Reay et al.

Answer 4

According to a questionnaire by Reay et al. (2005) many working-class students intended to apply to their nearest university because they felt they could not afford the costs of travel and accommodation away from home.

Question 5

Britland

Answer 5

According to Mike Britland (2013) the use of private tutors is booming in Britain. They are increasingly used not just for exam preparation, but also during the summer holidays to ensure that children do not slip backwards educationally during the long break.

Question 6

Sugarman

Answer 6

According to Barry Sugarman (1970):

> Working-class people are oriented towards the present time, and are unable to defer gratification. As a result, they are unlikely to sacrifice immediate income by staying on in education in order to gain higher wages and a better job in the long-term.

> The fatalism of the working-class means they do not believe they can improve their prospects through their own hard work.

> Their collectivist approach makes it less likely that they will pursue individual success through the education system; instead they will seek it through collective action, e.g. trade unions.

Question 7

Feinstein

Answer 7

Leon Feinstein found that financial deprivation had some effect on achievement, but that cultural deprivation was much more important. The crucial factor was the extent to which parents encouraged and supported their children. This largely determined how well they did.

Question 8

Bernstein

Answer 8

Basil Bernstein (1972) believes that a particular aspect of culture - speech - shapes educational achievement. He distinguishes two types of speech pattern: restricted codes, which involve simpler use of language, and elaborated codes, which involve more complex use of language.

In education, elaborated codes are necessary for exam success in many subjects. As many teachers are middle-class, they are more likely to use elaborated codes.

Question 9

Mortimore

Answer 9

Mortimore (1994) argue that research has not measured parental interest in education adequately. Instead, teacher assessments have often been used and these may not reflect the real level of interests by parents. Furthermore, working-class parents may feel less able to visit schools because they feel uncomfortable interacting with middle-class teachers.

Question 10

Evans - working-class mothers

Answer 10

Qualitative research by Gillian Evans (2007) who carried out observations and interviews on a working-class council estate in London found that most working-class parents placed a very high value on education and did encourage their children to do well.

Question 11

Gaine and George

Answer 11

Bernstein has been criticised by Gaine and George (1999) who argue that he oversimplifies the difference between middle and working-class speech patterns. They claim that class differences in speech patterns have declined since Bernstein did his research.

Question 12

Evans - middle-class mothers

Answer 12

Research by Gillian Evans (2007) found that middle-class mothers were able to use their cultural capital to give their children a head start. The mothers tended to have high-level educational qualifications themselves and a good understanding of how children could be stimulated to learn in pre-school years. They used their own educational knowledge to incorporate more learning activities into their children’s play.

Question 13

Ball et al.

Answer 13

Ball et al. (1994) showed how middle-class parents are able to use their cultural capital to play the system as to ensure that their children are accepted into the schools of their choice. The strategies used included attempting to make an impression with the headteacher on an open day, and knowing how to mount an appeal if their child was unsuccessful in their application to a particular school.

Question 14

Sullivan

Answer 14

Alice Sullivan found that pupils’ cultural capital was strongly correlated with parental cultural capital, which was closely linked to their social class. Graduate parents in higher professions had children with the most cultural capital and these children were more successful in exams.

Question 15

Hargreaves, Hester and Mellor

Answer 15

Hargreaves, Hester and Mellor (1975) found that factors such as pupils’ appearance, how they respond to discipline, how likeable they are, their personality and whether they are deviant leads to teachers labelling pupils as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Question 16

Ireson and Hallam

Answer 16

Research by Ireson and Hallam (2009) measured how likely it was for pupils in different sets to have a positive self-concept. They used questionnaires to study pupils aged 14 and 15 in 23 secondary schools. They found that those in higher sets were more likely to have a positive academic self-concept (for example, believing that they could learn things quickly). This also made them more likely to look positively at staying on in education.

Question 17

Keddie

Answer 17

Nell Keddie (1971) observed classes from different streams studying the same humanities subjects in a London secondary school. In the lower streams, teachers simplified the content to the extent that learning was largely based on common-sense ideas. Higher streams were taught more in terms of abstract concepts, giving them a greater opportunity to develop their understanding. Questions from pupils in higher sets were taken seriously and answered in detail, but in lower streams those answering questions were often misinterpreted and their questions seen as an attempt to disrupt the class. As a result, they were often ignored or dismissed as irrelevant.

Question 18

Gillborn and Youdell

Answer 18

Research by Gillborn and Youdell (1999) in two London secondary schools found that working-class and black students were more likely to be placed in lower sets than middle-class and white students even when they had been gaining similar results. The pupils in lower sets were often denied the chance to sit higher-tier GCSE exams, meaning that they could not get the GCSE grades above a C grade, so it would be more difficult for them to progress on to some higher level courses.

Question 19

Whitty

Answer 19

Whitty (2002) believes that compensatory education schemes tend to place blame for failure on the child and their background and ignore the effects of inequality in society as a whole.

Question 20

Lloyds

Answer 20

Research by Lloyds found clear evidence that well-off parents were paying extra to live in the catchment areas for the most successful state schools. Houses near the best performing state secondary schools cost an average of £31,000 more than houses in neighbouring areas outside the school catchment areas.

Question 21

Gillborn and Mirza

Answer 21

Gillborn and Mirza (2000) have estimated that class has twice the effect on educational achievement of ethnicity and five times the effect of gender.