cultural factors

Question 1

Douglas

Answer 1

• found that a variety of factors affected attainment such as the students health, size of family, the school
• most significant factor was the degree of parents interest in their education
• the middle class parents were most likely to encourage attainment and progression
• judged this based on the indicator of more frequent visits to the school to discuss their Childs progress

Question 2

feinstein

Answer 2

• parental interest was a significant factor in educational attainment
• class differences existed in terms of support
• measured parental interest by asking for the teachers assessment/ judgement of how much interest parents showed in their Childs education

Question 3

criticism of Douglas and Feinstein

Answer 3

• alot of working class parents will work more than one job or potentially shift work
• this can mean that due to the nature of their working hours and lack of choice to book time off
• this means that attendance to school is not necessarily due to the lack of interest in their Childs progress

Question 4

Bernstein

Answer 4

• the importance of language upon educational attainment in relation to social class
• the middle class are able to use both the codes ‘restricted code’ and ‘elaborated code’ (speech patterns) whereas the working class only have access to the restricted code
• restricted code: informal situation and lacks in depth descriptions. dialogue is unplanned (working class students)
• elaborated code: formal and educated situations (middle class students)
• therefore, due to students using the elaborated code within education, they can outperform the working class
• this is because they can engage more with class and higher levels of discussions but also can be used to enhance their answers in exams etc…

Question 5

sugarman

Answer 5

• working class formed a different subculture and were characterised by the following characteristics:
• fatalism: see their future of manual labour work and lack of academic success, accepted their situation and did not attempt to change it
  -** immediate gratification:** leave education with the aim of going into work for financial reasons; would rather have money now than work hard towards degrees etc
  -** present time orientation: **too focused and distracted by getting involved in what is happening at the time rather than focusing attentions towards work and progressing to improve future prospects
• collectivism: peer group culture leads students to get involved in anti-school subcultures rather than focusing on themselves and their futures. they were loyal to the peer group rather than being concerned with competing against each other for academic achievement

Question 6

bourdieu

Answer 6

• education system is systematically biased in favour of the future of the dominant social classes, devaluing the norms, values and knowledge of the working classes
• linked to the concept of cultural deprivation theory
• there is something lacking or inferior about the culture of the working classes whereas cultural capital does not.
• middle class children have more cultural capital
• working class cultural attributes re rejected because the education system is defined by and for the middle classes who in turn succeed by default rather than greater ability
• their cultural assets are see as worthy of investment and reward which is why they have greater value as cultural capital

Question 7

gerwitz

Answer 7

• competition between schools benefits the middle class who can get their children into more desirable schools
• differences in economic and cultural capital leads to class differences in how far parents can execerise choice of secondary schools
• professional middle class parents tend to be privileged skill choosers who understand how the schools admissions producers work and can use this knowledge to access the best schools
• middle class parents have more economic capital meaning they can move house into areas with better schools.