Class-external factors

Question 1

MATERIAL DEPRIVATION

1)Poor diet and health

Answer 1

Howard:

• in working class families it is common for children to have a deficient diet->lack minerals and vitamins
• lack energy in school so are unable to concentrate in lessons as are tired and distracted by hunger
• leads to poor immune system so are vulnerable to illnesses which leads to absences in school so fall behind
• all lead to poor performance in school

Question 2

MATERIAL DEPRIVATION

2)Poor housing

Answer 2

living in poor quality housing can go on to impact their performance in education
1)Overcrowding at home.Due to high cost do living,w/c are likely to live in small houses-> small space for children to do work undisturbed ->leads to them falling behind as struggle to do work in peace at home
2)poor quality of sleep.Due to maybe having share bedrooms with siblings
-left feeling tired which impacts their ability to concentrate
3)may move house more frequently
-particularly families living in social housing, may be required to move on by the council if their circumstances change
4)living in an accommodation which is damp or cold
-can lead to health issues which results in absence from school
-noted that children from poorer households are more likely to have accidents around the home resulting in injury
All effect educational success

Question 3

MATERIAL

3)cost of education

Answer 3

There is a number of additional and hidden costs for education which w/c find difficult to manage
Tanner:
huge amount of expenses such as books, school uniform and equipment for practical subjects
-poorer children have hand me downs from other people which is thought to have a negative impact on their self esteem
-embarrassed to accept the free school meals as it identifies to other children they are from a poorer backround->leads to hunger and inability to concentrate
-don’t have access to private tutours and extra curricular activities
-more likely to have a part time job at an earlier ages>less time to spend on school work

Question 4

CULTURAL

speech and language

Answer 4

The way children communicate at home can impact their overall academic profession.Link between how effectively a child can communicate verbally and in writing and their overly academic ability
Bernstein:
identifies two types of language codes for middle class and working class
restricted code:used by working class,has limited vocabulary,unfinished grammatically incorrect sentences-context bound
elaborated code:used by middle class,wider vocabulary,grammatically more complex sentences-context free
EVALUATION:
-problem isn’t with the child’s language but schools attitude towards it

Question 5

CULTURAL

Parent education

Answer 5

working class parents own experiences of education influences their children
Fernstein:
-middle class parents have high levels of education and therefore encourage their own children to be successful in their own careers
1)parenting styles
-m/c parents are more likely to express high expectations of their children and use discipline in order to ensure they doing school work effectively
-w/c parents are ineffective at discipline as they are inconsistent with approach,either to strict or too relaxed
2)Parents educational behaviours
-m/c parents are more aware of what is needed to help their childrens progress in school.EG-educational days out and reading.Attend parents evening->more likely for children to achieve as there is better communication between teachers and parents
EVALUATION:
-working class parents might not attend parents evenings not because of lack of interest but because they work longer or less regular hours

Question 6

CULTURAL
working class subculture

Answer 6

Sugarman:
w/c people described as a subculture which possesses attitude and values which are at odds with mainstream society
WORKING CLASS:
fatalistic:future path cannot be altered,no point trying to change the possible outcome
collectivism:values being part of a group above their own achievements
Immediate gratification:wanting to have fun now,rather than make short term sacrifices for the greater gains in long term
present time orientation:live for the here and now rather than thinking to the future