class differences in achievement - external factors Flashcards
what causes cultural deprivation within families?
according to cultural deprivation theorists many working class families fail to socialise their children adequately and as a result they grow up ‘culturally deprived’.
how does cultural deprivation affect students achievement?
being ‘culturally deprived’ means they lack the cultural equipment needed to do well at school, so they underachieve.
what are the three main aspects of cultural deprivation?
language, parents education and working class subculture.
what evidence shows cultural deprivation having a negative impact on children?
a nationwide study by the centre of longitudinal studies found that by the age of three, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already up to one year behind from those privileged.
how does difference in speech codes link to social class?
Bernstein identifies that differences between working class and middle class language influences achievement.
- the restricted code is used by the working class and uses limited vocabulary and is context bound.
- the elaborated code is used by the middle class and has wider vocabulary and is context free.
how do these codes create class differences in achievement?
the differences in speech codes give middle class children an advantage at school and put working class children at a disadvantage - this is because the elaborated code is the language used by teachers and exams, and early socialisation into the elaborated code means middle class children are already fluent and familiar users of the code when they start school.
In contrast, working class children are more likely to feel excluded and be less successful, from the beginning of joining school.
what else does Bernstein argue influences children’s achievement?
school - he argues that working class pupils don’t just fail due to cultural deprivation but because schools fail to teach them how to use the elaborated code.
how does parents education affect students achievement?
working class parents placed less value on education and as a result they were less ambitious for their children and gave them less encouragement towards it - this led to children having lower levels of motivation and therefore underachieve.
what evidence shows that working class parents placed less value on education?
an early study by Douglas.
what are the different ways in which parents education affects their child’s achievement?
parenting style - educated parents parenting style emphasises consistent discipline and high expectations of their children which encourages active learning.
use of income - better educated parents tend to have higher incomes and spend their income in ways that promote their children’s educational success e.g Bernstein and Young found that middle class mothers buy educational books and toys that stimulate intellectual development - working class home are more likely to lack these resources so they start school without the intellectual skills needs to progress.
how do subcultures act as a barrier to educational achievement?
according to cultural deprivation theorists, large sections of the working class have different have different goals, beliefs and attitudes from the rest of the society and this is why their children fail in school.
Barry Sugarman argues that working class subculture has four key features: fatalism, collectivism, immediate gratification, present time time orientation.
working class children internalise the beliefs of their subculture through socialisation and this results them in underachieving.
what is fatalism and how does it affect students achievement?
fatalism - the belief in 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.
working class children don’t believe they can improve their position through their own individual effort, which causes them to underachieve.
what is immediate gratification and how does it affect students achievement?
seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices to get rewards in the future - working class tend to focus on the short term rather than long term plans and therefore don’t work as hard as middle class who emphasise deferred gratification.
what is present-time orientation and how does it affect students achievement?
seeing the present as more important than the future so not having long term goals or plans - working class emphasise this idea which causes them to not work as hard for their future.
what is the myth of cultural deprivation?
Nell Keddie sees cultural deprivation as a victim blaming explanation - she points out that a child cannot be deprived of its own culture and argues that working class children are simply culturally different not culturally deprived.
