Class difference in achievement

Question 1

Cultural Factor

Answer 1

these include class differences in norms and values acquired through socialisation, attitudes to education, speech codes etc.

Question 2

Material Factor

Answer 2

these are the physical necessities of life, such as adequate housing, diet and income.

Question 3

Cultural Deprivation Theory

Answer 3

‘culture’ refers to all norms, values, beliefs, skills and knowledge that a society or a group considers important.
Different classes socialise their children differently and this may affect their achievement.

Question 4

Factor of Cultural Deprivation Theory: Intellectual Stimulation

Answer 4

working-class parents are less likely to give their children educational toys and activities that will stimulate their thinking and reasoning skills- this effects their intellectual delevopment.

Question 5

Factor of Cultural Deprivation Theory: Language

Answer 5

working-class use restricted code: less analytic and more descriptive, limited vocabulary, simple sentences and more gestures. This is particularistic.
middle-class use elaborated code: more analytic, with wide vocabulary and complex sentences. it is universalistic. ( elaborated code is the one used in education, middle class has an advantage)
BERNSTEIN (1975) distinguished between elaborated and restricted speech codes.

Question 6

Factor of Cultural Deprivation Theory: Parent’s education

Answer 6

Parenting style: educated parents emphasise discipline, high expectations. less educated parents’ inconsistent discipline means their children have poorer motivation.
parent’s educational behaviour: educated parents are more aware of what helps their Childs progress
language: the way in which their parents communicate affects children’s cognitive development.
use of in come: educated parents spend their income to promote children’s development.
FEINSTEIN (2008) argues parents own education education most important factor effecting achievement- middle class have advantage.

Question 7

Factor of Cultural Deprivation Theory: working-class subculture

Answer 7

three aspects of working-class subculture that contribute to under-achievement.

1. immediate gratification: wanting rewards not rather than wanting to make sacrifices and work hard to receive future rewards.
2. fatalism: a belief “whatever will be, will be”- working class children don’t believe they can impress their position through their own individual efforts (social mobility)
3. low value on education: working class don’t value education, they don’t believe they’ll benefit from it so they don’t try- working class parents show less interest in their children’s education and give them less support.

Question 8

Criticisms of Cultural Deprivation Theory

Answer 8

1. it ignores the importance of material factors such as poverty.
2. it ignores the impact of school factors, e.g negative labelling by teachers
3. it blames the victim for their failure- can be argued that the working class are not culturally deprived- they simply have a different culture from the school, puts them at a disadvantage.

Question 9

Material Deprivation

Answer 9

material deprivation or poverty can cause working-class under-achievement because of factors such as:

1. poor housing- overcrowding or cold and damp means pupils cannot complete homework. homeless or temporary accommodation may mean constant moves and changes of schools.
2. poor diet- lead to illness, absences from school, lack of concentration in class due to lack of nutrients

Question 10

Material Deprivation: Financial costs of education

Answer 10

- poorer families can afford fewer educational opportunities- trips, computers, uniform- children may be bullied for clothing or lack of participation in fashion trends. 
tuition fees also, middle class children are more likely to attend university

Question 11

Material Deprivation: Cultural capital theory

Answer 11

this approach combines material & cultural explanations.
marxists BOURDIEU(1984) argue middle class pupils are more successful because their parents possess more capital or assets. these being:
economic capital: wealth that middle-class families own 
cultural capital: attitudes, values, skills, knowledge of the middle class

Question 12

School factors and achievement

Answer 12

factors and processes within schools and the education system influence class difference in achievement
interactionist focus on small interactions between teachers and pupils
they identify a number of causes of under-achievement
-labelling
-self-fulfilling prophecy
-streaming
-pupils subculture

Question 13

Labelling

Answer 13

labels - definitions we attach to someone to make sense of them 
BECKER (1961) Argus teachers label middle-class children as 'ideal pupils' and prefer to teach them rather then the working class children.

Question 14

The self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 14

prophecy- prediction made about someone or something.
the key feature of a self-fulfilling prophecy is that it simple comes true.
teachers can create SFP through the labels they attach to pupils.
‘what teachers believe, pupils achieve’ - while teachers believe middle-class pupils to be bright, working class pupils are likely to be labelled negatively thus resulting In negative outcomes.

Question 15

Streaming

Answer 15

streaming- extreme, institutionalised form of labelling.
works by putting pupils of similar ability into sets, or streams for all subjects.
LACEY(1970) describes streaming as ‘differentiation- separating sheeps from goats- educating them differently.
DOUGLAS found IQ of top sets students increased and IQ of bottom set students decreased.
student placed in lower streams may be denied access to same curriculum.

Question 16

Pupil subcultures

Answer 16

subculture- a group who’s beliefs, values and attitudes differ to some extent from the culture of wider society.
Pro-school subcultures: usually formed by pupils of higher streams- they accept school values and have goals of hard work, regular attendance, respect for teachers and authority, enjoy school etc.
Anti-school subcultures: often formed by pupils in lower streams-reject school values, often invert them (turn them upside down) dislike rules, disrespect teachers, avoid school and home work, sabotage uniform etc.

Question 17

Status and subcultures

Answer 17

LACEY argues lower stream pupils form or join anti school subculture as school deprives them of status by labelling them as failures- therefore these students create their own status hierarchy.
they gain status from their peers, by rejecting school values and rules.

Question 18

Class identities and achievement

Answer 18

ARCHER(2010) uses Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to understand relationship between pupils’ working class identities and underachievement.

1. habitus- a social class’s habitual way of thinking, being and acting. “what is normal for people like us?”
2. symbolic capital & symbolic violence- school commits symbolic violence by devaluing( seeing as inferior) working class pupils, duding clothing, accent and interest.
3. ‘Nike identities- symbolic violence leads to pupils creating alternative class identities to avoid judgement.
4. ‘losing yourself’- succeeding in school means being inauthentic, changing how you present yourself.

Question 19

Working-class identity and educational success

Answer 19

INGRAM(2009) found 'fitting in' was a problem for working class grammar boys as they experienced tension between their neighbourhood's habitus and their middle class school. the faced judgment- bullying etc 
self- exclusion from success - EVANS(2009) found that even successful working class girls faced hidden barriers. 
they felt their identity would not 'fit in' with the habitus of elite universities- girls often had strong attachment to their families thus remained home to study.

Question 20

Educational policies

Answer 20

what goes on in schools is not decided by the teachers- it is greatly influenced by government policies. this has an important effect on class differences in achievement. 
sociologist argue that marketisation policies have increased amount of streaming in school.
policies on issues such as grants, fees , maintenance allowances and the school leaving age have an impact on home background factors such as material or cultural deprivation.