Class Difference in Achievement- External Factors

Question 1

Define “pupil premium”.

Answer 1

A student which gets free school meals.

Question 2

Define “code”.

Answer 2

A way of speaking.

Question 3

Define “capital”.

Answer 3

Having a greater advantage.

Question 4

Are statistics reliable from schools?

Answer 4

They’re reliable because schools collect them all in the same way but they aren’t valid because schools could measure them differently or manipulate them.

Question 5

Define “validity”.

Answer 5

• The capacity of a research method, a true or genuine picture of what something is really like.
• Interpretivists question it, the statistics could be socially constructed.

Question 6

Define “reliability”.

Answer 6

• Continuously produces the exact same results.
• Positivists favour official statistics so they can be tested and re-tested against their hypothesis to discover cause and effect.

Question 7

Name some reasons as to why w/c kids get worse grades that m/c kids?

Answer 7

• Material deprivation
• Lack of encouragement
• Poor parental attitudes
• Subculture- fatalism
• Culture deprivation- absence of norms
• Elaborate speech code is used in schools but w/c kids have a restricted code
• Lack of culture capital
• Lack of social capital
• Middle class mums with large social networks have the most

Question 8

What are the 3 things which put a w/c kids behind before even attending school?

Answer 8

• Language
• Parental education
• W/c sub cultures

Question 9

How does ‘language’ affect cultural deprivation?

Hubbs-Tait
Bernstein

Answer 9

• The way the parents communicate with their children affects their cognitive (intellectual) development.
• Educated parents use more praise.
• Elaborated code (middle class, wider vocabulary, use universalistic language) vs restricted code (working class, poor grammar, limited vocabulary, gesticulate), this speech code, could give middle class children an advantage school.

Question 10

How does ‘parental education’ affect cultural deprivation?

Feinstein
Douglas

Answer 10

• Working class parents are less ambitious for their kids education as they didn’t attend school for as long as most middle and upper class parents.
• Children have lower levels of motivation and achievement.
• Use of income, prioritize educational resources

Question 11

How do ‘w/c sub cultures’ affect cultural deprivation?

Sugarman

Answer 11

• A lack of parent interest reflects on subcultural values of the working class.
• Barry Sugarman: argues that working class subculture has four key features that act as a barrier to education and achievement:
• Belief in fate, (fatalism) “oh ill fail anyways might as well not try”
• Immediate gratification- seeking gratification now rather than taking risks in the future.
• Present time orientation- being in the moment, going out now rather than revising.
• Collectivism- Valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual.

Question 12

What are Sugarman’s 4 w/c sub culture features?

Answer 12

• Belief in fate, (fatalism) “oh ill fail anyways might as well not try”
• Immediate gratification- seeking gratification now rather than taking risks in the future.
• Present time orientation- being in the moment, going out now rather than revising.
• Collectivism- Valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual.

Question 13

What did Hubbs-Tait find?

Answer 13

• Found where parents use language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities, cognitive performance improves.
• Educated parents use more praise.

Question 14

What did Feinstein find?

Answer 14

He says that parents don’t show up to parents evening it discourages the child.

• They visit schools less often, so they’re less likely to discuss their kids progress with teachers.
• Children have lower levels of motivation and achievement.
• Middle class parents give their children an advantage based on how they socialize them.

Question 15

What did Bernstein find?

Answer 15

He looks at elaborated code (middle class, wider vocabulary, use universalistic language) vs restricted code (working class, poor grammar, limited vocabulary, gesticulate), this speech code, could give middle class children an advantage school.

Question 16

What did Douglas find?

Answer 16

• He found that working class parents placed less value on education.
• Use of income, prioritize educational resources

Question 17

What was Keddie’s criticism of Cultural Dep?

lack of socialisation

Answer 17

Cultural deprivation theories are simply a way of ‘Blaming the Victims’. A child cannot be deprived of it’s own culture: working class culture is simply different, not deficient in any way. Focus should be on challenging teachers.

Question 18

What was Troyna and Williams criticism of Cultural Dep?

language

Answer 18

Supports Keddie’s view by suggesting that working class ‘Restricted Code’ is not to blame- it is also the teacher’s reaction to different language styles that is to blame.

Question 19

What was Blackstone and Mortimore’s criticism of Cultural Dep?

(w/c parents)

Answer 19

W/c parents are not disinterested they just might not be able to help their children because they might not know the answers themselves. They might not go to parent’s evenings because of work commitments or transport issues.

Question 20

What is Material deprivation?

Answer 20

Where somebody has a lack of materials or economic resources.

Question 21

What is Cultural deprivation?

Answer 21

When a person has inferior norms, values, skills and knowledge that the dominant class.

Question 22

What was Douglas’s ‘The Home and the School’ theory?

Answer 22

He argues that lower income families are disadvantaged in education for many reasons such as overcrowded homes (damp, cold, no space), poor diets (hungry they can’t concentrate, long term no vitamins so low on energy), low income/unemployment (no spare money for revision resources), lack of nursey provision (early learning stages affected), taking up a part time job (older student having to provide for their family, making you tired at school and not being able to concentrate as much), illness (more prone to disease), disadvantaged/poverty-stricken areas (not as good schools)

Question 23

What was Wilkinson’s ‘Poorer homes and Hyperactivity thoughts?

Answer 23

Low income family children are more likely to have emotional and or behavioural problems.

Question 24

What is the average cost of a uniform for secondary schools?

Answer 24

The average cost for a uniform for secondary school is £340 but specialist shops are £410 and for a primary is £250.

Question 25

What do Smith and Noble believe about poverty being a barrier to education?

Answer 25

The inability to afford private tuition, and poorer quality local school suggests poorer students also have to work which gives a negative impact of education.

Question 26

What is Sure start?

Answer 26

• Government policy to tackle poverty and social exclusion.

- Centres provided integrated education, care, family support, health services and support with parental unemployment.

Question 27

What is Compensatory education?

Answer 27

Extra education that makes up for lack of norms and values you would usually learn at home (positive discrimination).

Question 28

What are the aims of Sure start?

Answer 28

• The aim is to work with parents to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children who are disadvantaged to break the cycle of disadvantage.
• They aim to improve children ability to learn by encouraging high quality environments that promote early learning, provide stimulating and enjoyable play and improve language skills.

Question 29

What statistic did the Audit office (2002) find about debt in uni?

Answer 29

Found that working class students spent double the amount of time in paid employment in order to pay off debts than middle class students.

Question 30

Why are the w/c putting off going to uni?

Answer 30

• Due to ‘poverty aspirations’ (which is when they aspire to be something and their family, friends and teachers tell them its not suitable and they’re aiming too high) and structural, social and cultural factors.
• Family finances are another reason why working class kids don’t attend higher education because many feel like they need to get a job to start help paying the family bills.
• Working class instant gratification- they’d rather be earning than learning.

Question 31

What did Reay (2005) say about w/c students and location of uni?

Answer 31

WC students are more likely to apply to universities at home so they don’t have the extra housing fees.

Question 32

As a %, what percent of poor white students attend uni?

Answer 32

5%

Question 33

Define “cultural capital”.

Answer 33

An individual’s social assets (education, intellect, style of speech, dress, etc.) that promote social mobility within a stratified society.

• Motivation to achieve a lot and do well.
• Parents value education.

Question 34

What did Bordieu believe about cultural and material deprivation?

Answer 34

He believed they are linked and are why w/c kids don’t usually carry on to higher education.

Question 35

Who said that culture in education gives “an inbuilt advantage to the middle class”

Answer 35

Bordieu

Question 36

What is habitus/ cultural framework?

Answer 36

Something which contains ideas about what is good/ bad taste, good/ bad knowledge, good/ bad attitudes, etc. The dominant group get to impose their habitus onto society.

Question 37

What is “educational capital”?

Answer 37

Selection by mortgage (choosing your house location to get into a good school).

Question 38

What is “economic capital”?

Answer 38

• How rich the parent is.

- The better off you are the more likely you can afford educational toys, tuition/ private school fees.

Question 39

How many out of 3 w/c children get 5 good GCSE’s?

Answer 39

1/3 of children in working class get 5 good gcses in comparison to the 2/3 middle class children getting 5 good gcses.

Question 40

What evidence did Sullivan find out about cultural capital in achievement?

Answer 40

Found that GCSE students who read complex fiction and serious TV documentaries and who had Graduate parents developed wider vocabularies and achieved higher than other students- these students tended to be from middle-class income families.