class differences in achievement Flashcards
general trends of class achievement
middle class children are 2-3 times more likely that working class children to get five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and five times more likely to go to university
what is cultural deprivation theory?
working class parents fail to transmit the appropriate norms, values, attitudes, knowledge, skills etc that are needed for educational success
what does Bernstein say about cultural deprivation?
working class use restricted code - limited vocabulary, simple sentences, particularistic because assumes the listener shares the particular meanings the speaker holds
middle class use elaborated code - wide vocabulary, complex sentences, universalistic, speaker spell out meaning explicitly doesn’t assume listener shares them
elaborated code is used in education by teachers and textbooks giving middle class students an advantage
what are the three main aspects of cultural deprivation?
language
parents’ education
working-class subculture
what does Feinstein say about cultural deprivation?
parents own education affects children’s achievement, middle-class parents tend to be more educated giving their children an advantage
parenting style - educated parents emphasise consistent discipline, high expectations, active learning and exploration
parents educational behaviour - more aware of what helps children progress e.g. form good relationships with teachers, attend parents evening
use of income - e.g. educational toys and trips
what does sugarman say about cultural deprivation?
working-class subculture have aspects that contribute to their underachievement
immediate gratification - wanting rewards now rather than making sacrifices and working hard for future rewards (deferred gratification)
fatalism - ‘what will be, will be’, they don’t believe they can improve their position through their own individual efforts (lack of ambition)
(passed on to children through primary socialisation)
what is being done to limit the effects of cultural deprivation?
compensatory education programmes:
education action zones
aim higher programmes
criticisms of cultural deprivation theory?
Keddie says it is a victim-blaming explanation, the working class are not culturally deprived, they have a different culture from the school which puts them at a disadvantage
why does material deprivation cause working class underachievement?
poor housing - overcrowding means nowhere quiet to do homework
poor diet - lead to illness, absence from school and lack of concentration due to hunger
what is the cultural capital theory?
Bourdieu says middle class pupils are more successful because parents possess more capital which comes in two forms:
economic capital - wealth that middle class families own cultural capital - attitudes, values, skills knowledge of middle class
they use their economic and cultural capital to help them obtain educational capital (qualifications) thus gaining better jobs and economic capital, reproducing class inequality
Bourdieu shows how material and cultural factors are not separate but link together to produce class inequalities in achievement (educational capital)
criticisms of material deprivation theory?
not all poor children fail, those with supportive parents may have high levels of motivation
internal factors for class differences in achievement?
labelling
streaming
self fulfilling prophecy
pupil subcultures
what is labelling?
labels are meanings attached to students based on teachers’ stereotypes e.g. middle class pupils labelled as bright, motivated, cooperative
what does Becker say about labelling?
teachers label middle-class children as ideal pupils
an example of the power of labelling and self fulfilling prophecy
Rosenthal and Jacobson gave students an IQ test and randomly picked 20% of the students which they told the teachers would spurt ahead
a year later half of those had made significant progress
teachers conveyed their beliefs to pupils through the way they interacted with them
