Class Differences in Achievement - External Flashcards
What is material deprivation?
The inability to afford basic resources and services.
Who found a correlation between low household income and poor educational achievement?
Gibson and Asthana (1999).
Which ways did Gibson and Asthana find material deprivation affected a child’s performance in school?
- Colder and damper living conditions cause more illness and therefore, more time off.
- Worse diets make it harder to focus in school.
- The family can’t afford the ‘hidden costs’ of school like school books and uniform.
- Smaller homes often mean children share rooms making it harder to focus on revision.
- Children living with material deprivation are less likely to attend nursery.
- Children are more likely to take up part time work which conflicts with their education.
What are some reasons students from wealthy families do better in education?
Hirsch found that wealthier students were more likely to engage in structured extracurricular activity which teach new skills and time management. They also have more space to do homework and are more likely to access private education.
Give some pieces of evidence for the effect of material deprivation and the sociologists that found it.
Connor et al (2001) and Forsyth and Furlong (2003) both found that university tuition fees put working class children off attending in fear of debt.
Leon Feinstein (2003) found that low income is related to low cognitive reasoning skills at a young age.
How is the cost of living crisis having an effect on material deprivation?
More families can’t afford the basic necessities causing more material deprivation. This means more children will perform worse.
Is there a link between the pandemic, education and material deprivation?
In 2019, the National Education Union found that almost all schools reported the pandemic was most difficult for poor children, having an effect on their achievement.
Evaluate the role of material deprivation.
- It is too deterministic to say poverty causes poor educational achievement since some poor people end up doing very well in life.
- There are other inequalities which may have an effect on achievement such as cultural deprivation
- It is difficult to separate material deprivation’s effect and the effect of other factors.
Suggest one policy change to lessen the effects of material deprivation?
The government could invest in universal Free School Meals.
What is cultural deprivation?
The idea that some groups, such as the working class, have inferior norms, skills and values which put them at a disadvantage in education.
How might cultural deprivation disadvantage children in education?
- Working class parents may show a lack of interest in their child’s education as they feel it failed them.
- Working class parents are less able to help their children with homework.
- According to Bernstein, the working class are more likely to speak in restricted speech code. This is less suited to the education environment, which demands the middle class elaborated speech code.
- Sugarman said children are more concerned with immediate gratification rather than long-term success.
- Philips argued the working class have a higher proportion of single-parent families.
Explain the theory about the value system of different classes.
Hyman (1967) argued that the lower class value system is a self imposed barrier which prevents them from achieving. The working class place less value on education and achieving high occupational status, and believed there was less opportunity for social advancement. Therefore, the working class were less motivated.
Explain the theory about immediate and deterred gratification.
Sugarman argued there were 4 differences in values between the middle and working class:
1. The working class were more focused on immediate gratification.
2. The working class are more fatalistic (accept that there situation is unchangeable).
3. They are more present-time oriented.
4. They are more collectivist and “stay loyal to the group”.
Explain some evidence for cultural deprivation.
Connor et al (2001) interviewed students to find that most working class children avoid university to stay out of debt (immediate gratification) and because they have little confidence in their ability (fatalism)
Hubbs-Tait (2002) found that middle class parents using more sophisticated language around their children improved their cognitive performance.
Feinstein (2008) found middle class parents are more likely to use challenging language and consistent praise.
Bereiter and Engelman (1966) found that language in working class homes is deficient.
What is the myth of cultural deprivation?
Keddie (1973) claimed cultural deprivation theory was victim blaming because we couldn’t blame failure by the education system on working class culture.
Troyna and Williams (1986) claimed there was a problem with schools’ attitudes towards working class language, not with the actual speech - this forms a speech hierarchy.
Blackstone and Mortimore (1994) said working class families were interested in their children’s education, they were just put off by the middle class environment.
