Class Differences In achievement - External Factors

Question 1

What are external factors and how many are there?

Answer 1

External factors are factors outside the education system, such as the influence of home and family background and wider society.

• Cultural Deprivation
• Material Deprivation
• Cultural Capital

Question 2

What is cultural deprivation?

Answer 2

Cultural deprivation is the theory that the W/C lack the necessary attitude and support that is needed to succeed within education. This is because the M/C are the dominant social group and thus get to dictate what is needed for educational success.

According to CD theorists many W/C families fail to socialise their children adequately. These children grow up ‘culturally deprived’.

Question 3

What are the 3 main aspects of Cultural deprivation?

Answer 3

• Language
• Parents
• Working class subculture

Question 4

How does language affect W/C children in underachievement?

Answer 4

Bernstein argues that the W/C and the M/C use 2 different language codes. The W/C code however is ‘different ‘ in terms of education and it thus contributes to W/C failure in education.

The MC are advantaged as the education system uses the elaborated code (Text, Books, Exams, Teachers). Working class children may grow up incapable of abstract thinking and unable to use language to explain, describe, enquire or compare.

W/C: The Restricted Code:

• Limited Vocabulary
• Grammatically simple
• Gesticulations
• Context bound
• Particularistic

M/C: The Elaborated Code

• Large Vocabulary
• Grammatically complex
• Fully Elaborative
• Abstract
• Universal

Question 5

How does parenting style affect M/C children?

Answer 5

Educated parents’ parenting style emphasizes consistent discipline and high expectations of their children, and this supports achievement by encouraging active learning and exploration.

Question 6

How does parenting style affect W/C children?

Answer 6

Less educated parents’ parenting style is marked with harsh or inconsistent discipline that emphasises ‘doing as you’re told’ and ‘behaving yourself’. This prevents the child from learning independence and self-control, leading to poorer motivation at school and problems interacting with teachers.

Question 7

How does parents’ work affect WC children?

Answer 7

They lack the time to engage with their children having inflexible and late work hours. As soon as they come home they may have to do the bills or cook so very little time or no time is spent with children. Only when they are disruptive or in harms way will parents interact with them meaning they are lacking interaction with their parents which is crucial for young children to practice their language and communicative skills.

Question 8

How does the use of income affect WC children?

Answer 8

Better educated parents tend to have higher incomes and use that income in ways that promote their children’s educational success.

Bernstein and Young found, middle class mothers are more likely to buy educational toys, books and activities that encourage reasons skills and stimulate intellectual development. Working class homes are more likely to lack these resources and this means children from such homes start school without the intellectual skills needed to progress.

Educated parents also have access to more nutritious food and recognise its importance in child development whereas working class parents have to buy the cheapest which may not be nutritious and be in small portions making them more lethargic and sleepy and incapable of concentrating for long periods of time.

Question 9

How does parental education influence children’s achievement?

Answer 9

Feinstein notes that parental education has an influence on children’s achievement in its own right regardless of class or income. Thus, even within a given social class, better educated parents tend to have children who are more successful at school. This may help to explain why not all children of working class parents do equally badly, and why not all children from middles class families are equally successful.

Question 10

How does parents’ educational behaviours affect MC children?

Answer 10

MC parents are more aware of what is needed to assist their children’s educational progress so engage in behaviour like reading to their children, teaching them letters, numbers, songs, poems and nursery rhymes, painting and drawing, helping with homework and being actively involved in their schooling.

They are better able to get expert advice on child-raising, more successful in establishing good relationships with teachers and better at guiding their children’s interactions with school. They also have the ability to give their children enriching experiences by visits to museums and libraries.

Question 11

How does the working class subculture affect WC children?

Answer 11

WC parents have gone through education themselves suffering the prejudices and benefitting very little from education at all and they project this anti-school view onto their children. Cultural deprivation theorists argue that that lack of parental interest in their children’s education reflects the subcultural values of the working class. (Bourdieu calls this Habitus).

Hyman and Sugarman argues that working class subcultures has four key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement:

• Fatalism: A belief in a fate - that ‘whatever will be, will be’ and there is nothing you can do to change your status. This contrasts with middle class values which emphasise that you can change your position through your own efforts
• Collectivism: Value being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual. Contrasts with middle class view that an individual should not be held back by group loyalties.
• Immediate gratification: Seek pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future. By contrast, middle class values emphasise deferred gratification, making sacrifices now for greater rewards later.
• Present-time orientation: Don’t plan and don’t think about the long term so don’t have long term goals.

Question 12

What is compensatory education?

Answer 12

Compensatory education programmes aim to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas. Interviewing early in the socialisation process allows them to compensate children for the deprivation they experience at home.

Operation Head Start in the US is a multi-billion dollar scheme of pre-school education in poorer areas introduced in 1960. Its aim was ‘planned enrichment’ of the deprived child’s environment to develop skills and instil achievement motivation. Included improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes and home visits by educational psychologists.

In Britain, there have been several compensatory education programmes such as Education Priority Areas, Education Action Zones and Sure Start, a nationwide programme aimed at pre-school children and their parents.

Question 13

What does Nell Keddie think about cultural deprivation?

Answer 13

Nell Keddie argues Cultural deprivation is a ‘myth’ and sees it as a victim-blaming explanation. She dismisses the concept that failure at school can be blamed on a culturally deprived home background. She thinks that a child cannot be deprived of its own culture and argues that working class children are simply culturally different not culturally deprived. They fail because they are put out an instant disadvantage by middle class values.

Keddie argues that rather than seeing working class culture as deficient, schools should acknowledge and build on its strengths and should challenge teachers’ anti-working class prejudices.

Question 14

What do Barry Tryona and Jenny Williams think about culture deprivation?

Answer 14

Tryona and Williams argue that the problem is not the child’s language but the school’s attitude towards it. Teachers have a ‘speech hierarchy’: they label middle class speech highest, followed by working class speech and finally black speech.

Question 15

What do other critics think about cultural deprivation?

Answer 15

Other critics reject the view that working class parents are not interested in their children’s education.

According to Tessa Blackstone and Jo Mortimer, they attend fewer parents’ evenings, not because of a lack of interest, but because they work longer or less regular hours or are put off by the school’s middle class atmosphere. Though they may want to help their child progress, they might lack the knowledge and education to do so. Also, there’s evidence that schools with mainly working-class pupils have less effective systems of parent - school contacts. This makes it harder for parents to keep in touch about their children’s progress.

Question 16

What is material deprivation?

Answer 16

Material deprivation refers to poverty and a lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income.

Question 17

How is poverty closely linked with educational underachievement?

Answer 17

• According to the Department for Education (2012), barely a third of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) achieve five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and maths, as against nearly two thirds of other pupils.
• According to Jan Flaherty (2004) , money problems in the family are a significant factor in younger children’s non-attendance at school.
• Children excluded from school are unlikely to return to mainstream education, while a third of all persistent truants leave school with no qualifications.
• Nearly 90% of ‘failing’ schools are located in deprived areas.

Question 18

What are the three main aspects of material deprivation?

Answer 18

• Housing
• Diet and Health
• Financial Support

Question 19

How does housing affect underachievement in WC children?

Answer 19

Poor housing can affect pupil’s achievement both directly and indirectly. For example, overcrowding can have a direct effect by making it harder for the child to study. Overcrowding means less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework, disturbed sleep from sharing beds and so on.

Especially for young children, development can be impaired through lack of space for safe play and exploration. Families living in temporary accommodation may find themselves having to move frequently, resulting in constant changes of school and disrupted education.

Poor housing can also have indirect effects, notably on the child’s health and welfare. For example, children in crowded homes run a greater risk of accidents. Cold or damp housing can also cause ill health. Families in temporary accommodation suffer more psychological distress, infections and accidents. Such health problems mean more absences from school.

Question 20

How does diet and health affect underachievement in WC children?

Answer 20

Marilyn Howard notes that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals. Poor nutrition affects health, for example by weakening the immune system and lowering children’s energy levels. This may result in more absences from school due to illness, and difficulties concentrating in class.

Children from poorer homes are also more likely to have emotional or behavioural problems. According to Richard Wilkinson, among ten year olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders, all of which are likely to have a negative effect on the child’s education.

Jo Blanden and Stephen found that children from low income families were more likely to engage in ‘externalising’ behaviour (such as fighting and temper tantrums), which are likely to disrupt their schooling.

Question 21

How does financial support affect underachievement in WC children?

Answer 21

Children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that would enhance their educational achievement. Bull (1980) refers to this as the ‘costs of free schooling’. A study by Tanner et al found that the cost of items such as transport, uniforms, books, computers, calculators, and sports, music and art equipment, places a heavy burden on poor families.

As a result, poor children may have to make do with hand-me-downs and cheaper but unfashionable equipment, and this may result in being isolated, stigmatised or bullied by peers. Yet, for many children, suitable clothes are essential for self-esteem and ‘fitting in’.

According to Flaherty, fear of stigmatisation May also help explain why 20% of those eligible for free school meals do not take up their entitlement.

Smith and Noble add that poverty acts as a barrier to learning in other ways, such as the inability to afford private schooling or tuition, and poorer quality local schools.

Lack of funds also means that children from low-income families often need to work. Ridge found that children in poverty take on jobs such as baby sitting, cleaning and paper rounds, and that this often had a negative impact on their schoolwork.

Question 22

How does financial support affect the future of underachieving WC children?

Answer 22

Going to university usually involves getting into debt to cover the cost of tuition fees, books and living expenses. Attitudes towards debt may deter WC students from going to university.

Using data from a nationwide questionnaire survey of nearly 2000 prospective students, Callender and Jackson (2005) found that WC students are more debt averse - that is, they saw debt negatively, as something to be avoided and they also saw more costs than benefits. WC were over five times less likely to apply than most debt to,errant students (typically MC).

Furthermore, WC students who do go to university are likely to receive less financial support from their families. A National Union of Students (2010) online survey of 3863 university students found that 81% of those from the highest social class received help from home, as against only 43% of those from the lowest class. Fear of debt and more limited financial support help to explain why only about 30% of uni students come from WC backgrounds, despite that this group accounts for about 50% of the population.

Reay found that WC students were more likely to apply to local universities so they could live at home and save on travel costs, but that this gave them less opportunity to go to the highest status universities. They were also more likely to work part-time to fund their studies, making it more difficult for them to gain higher-class degrees.

Question 23

What is cultural capital?

Answer 23

Bourdieu defines Cultural Capital as - the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, taste & abilities of the middle class. He sees MC culture as a type of capital because like wealth, it gives an advantage to those who posses it. He argues like Bernstein that through their socialisation MC children acquire the ability to grasp, analyse express abstract ideas. They are more likely to develop intellectual interest and an understanding of what the education system requires for success.

Ultimately education favours (& therefore rewards) MC cultural traits and devalues WC culture, seeing it as rough and inferior. WC students get the message and see education as not for them.

Question 24

What are the types of capital and what are they?

Answer 24

• Social Capital: Social capital is the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships, a shared sense of identity, a shared understanding, shared norms, shared values, trust, cooperation, and reciprocity.
• Economic Capital: When wealthy parents use their economic resources to help their children in education. This happens when they send their children to private schools and pay for extra tuition. MC parents are more likely to be able to afford a house in a catchment area of a school that is highly placed in the league tables.
• Educational Capitol: Qualifications are the best example of EC. MC parents have them as they do well on the exam system. The MC use their own educational advantages to help their children. This could include help with school work, guiding children & help with University selection.

Question 25

Who’s study is: How MC mother’s make cultural capital work for their children?

Answer 25

It’s Diane Reay.

Reay states that, it is mother’s who are making cultural capital work for their children. Her research is based on interviews with the mothers of 33 children at two London primary schools. She found that the WC mothers worked just as hard as the MC mothers. But it was not simple hard work that counted. In addition, it was the amount of cultural capital available. And the MC mothers had most.

MC mothers had more educational qualifications and more information about how the educational system operated. Where the MC mothers had the confidence to make demands on teachers, the WC mothers talked in terms of ‘plucking up courage’. Where MC mothers knew what the school expected from their children and how to help them, WC mothers felt they lacked the knowledge and ability to help their children.

MC also have more material capital, ie, more money. Over half the MC mothers had cleaners, ‘nannies’ or both.

According to Diane Reay, it is mothers who have the influence on their children’s education. Their effectiveness depends on the amount of cultural capital at their disposal. And this depends on their social class.

Question 26

What was Alice Sullivan’s study?

Answer 26

Alice Sullivan studied 465 pupils at four secondary schools, all in year 11.

She tested cultural capital by looking at a range of activities such as reading, TV viewing habits, and whether they visited art galleries, museums and theatres.

She found that those who read complex fiction and watched serious TV documents developed a wider vocabulary and greater cultural knowledge, indicating greater cultural capital.

Sullivan concluded that the greater resources and aspirations of MC families explain the remainder of the class gap in achievement.

Question 27

What did Sharon Gewity study?

Answer 27

Privileged-skill choosers:

• put their cultural capital to good use when selecting a school for their children
• mainly professional MC parents
• attend open evenings and parents’ evening
• leave gables
• quality of teachers
• extra curricular activities
• understand admissions
• afford travel costs

Disconnected local choosers:

• mainly WC parents
• less cultural capital at their disposal
• find it difficult to understand school admissions
• more attracted to the quality of the facilities than league tables

Question 28

What are the critics of Bourdieu?

Answer 28

• Bourdieu has been criticised particularly by Marxists, for what they see as his downplaying of certain material factors. In particular economic exploitation and oppression.
• Places too much emphasis on the structure of society shaping people’s behaviour rather than looking at how individuals can change and transform society. Alice Sullivan: ‘Bourdieu’s theory has no place not only for individual agency, but even for individual consciousness’.
• concepts such as cultural capital and habitus have been criticised as vague, lacking in precision and difficult to operationalise - put into a form which can be measured.
• Sullivan’s test of Bourdieu’s theory suggests that cultural capital explains only a part of educational attainment.

Strength:
- Bourdieu’s work has been extremely influential. It has informed many students in many countries, and has influenced many important research projects.