Cultural Factors (social class)

Question 1

What internal factors do social class face?

Answer 1

Labelling
The SFP
The A-C economy and educational triage
Setting and streaming
Anti school subcultures
The middle class habitus of the school and symbolic violence/ Nike Identity

Question 2

What external factors do social class face?

Answer 2

Cultural factors : language, speech codes, the parent’s own education, working class values and the ideas of Bourdieu on cultural, social and symbolic capital

Material factors: housing, diet and heath, lack of resources and fear of debt

Question 3

What is cultural development?

Answer 3

Cultural differences in children’s development and achievement

Question 4

What is material deprivation?

Answer 4

Refers to poverty and lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income

Question 5

Who talks about language?

Answer 5

Feinstein

Question 6

What did Feinstein find about language?

Answer 6

Found that educated parents are more likely to use praise which encourages children to develop a sense of their own competence

Question 7

How do educated parents use language?

Answer 7

Parents use language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities and improves cognitive performance

Question 8

How do less educated parents use language?

Answer 8

Less educated parents use language in ways that only require children to make simple descriptive comments.

Question 9

What do cultural deprivation theorists see about language?

Answer 9

See differences in how parents use language as linked to social class.

Bereiter and Engelmann claim that language used in lower-class homes is deficient - they communicate by gestures, single words or disjointed phrases.

As a result, children grow up incapable of abstract thinking and unable to use language to explain, describe, enquire or compare. This means they are unable to take advantage of opportunities school offers.

Question 10

Who talks about speech codes?

Answer 10

Bernstein

Question 11

What two speech codes does Bernstein identify?

Answer 11

The restricted code and the elaborated code

Question 12

What is the restricted speech code?

Answer 12

The speech code typically used by the working class. It has limited vocabulary and uses simple sentences.

Question 13

What is the elaborated speech code?

Answer 13

Typically used by the middle class. It has wider vocabulary and is based on longer, gramatically more complex sentences.

Question 14

Why does speech code give MC children an advantage at school?

Answer 14

The elaborated code is the language used by teachers, textbooks and exams. Middle class children are socialised into the elaborated code which means they are already fluent users and are more likely to succeed.

However WC lack the code and so are likely to feel exhausted and be less successful.

Question 15

What did Douglas find about parents’ education?

Answer 15

Found that WC parents placed less value on education - this meant they were less ambitious for their children, gave less encouragement, visited schools less often and were less likely to discuss their children’s progress with teachers.

As a result, their children had lower levels of motivation and achievement.

Question 16

What did Feinstein argue?

Answer 16

Middle class Parents’ own education gives children an advantage by how they socialise them.

This occurs in a number of ways:
Parenting style
Parents’ educational behaviours
Use of income
Class, income and parental education

Question 17

How does parenting style give middle class children an advantage?

Answer 17

Educated parents’ parenting style emphasises consistent discipline and high expectations - this supports achievement by encouraging active learning and exploration.

However less educated parents’ parenting style is marked by harsh or inconsistent discipline that prevents the child from learning independence and self-control - which leads to poor motivation at school and trouble interacting with teachers.

Question 18

How does parents’ educational behaviours give middle class children an advantage?

Answer 18

Educated parents are more aware of what is needed to assist their child in educational success. They read to their children, teach letters and numbers and help with hw.

They’re also better able to get expert advice on childrearing, they establish good relationships with teachers and recognise the educational values of activities such as visits to museums and libraries.

Question 19

How does use of income give middle class children an advantage?

Answer 19

Bernstein and Young found that MC mothers are more likely to buy educational toys and activities that stimulate intellectual development.
Also have a better understanding of nutrtition which is important for a child’s development.

Question 20

How does class, income and parental education give middle class children an advantage?

Answer 20

Better educated parents tend to have children who are more successful at school.

Question 21

What do cultural deprivation theorists say about working class?

Answer 21

Argue that large sections of the WC have different goals, beliefs, attitudes and values from the rest of society and this is why their children fail at school.

Question 22

What does Barry Sugarman say?

Answer 22

Argues that WC subculture has four key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement

1. Fatalsim
2. Collectivism
3. Immediate gratification
4. Present time orientation

Question 23

What is fatalism?

Answer 23

A belief in fate. “Whatever will be will be” and there is nothing you can do to change it

Question 24

What is collectivism?

Answer 24

Valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual.

Question 25

What is immediate gratification?

Answer 25

Seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future.

Question 26

What is present-time orientation?

Answer 26

Seeing the present as more important that the future and so not having long term goals or plans.

Question 27

Why do working class children underachieve? (WC subcultures)

Answer 27

They internalise the beliefs and values of their subculture through the socialisation process and this results in them underachieving at school.

Question 28

Why do differences in values exist?

Answer 28

Sugarman argues they stem from middle class jobs being secure and offering prospects for continuous individual advancement which encourages ambition to gain qualifications.

In contrast, working class jobs are less secure and have no career structure through which individuals can advance. There are few promotions.

Question 29

What do compensatory education programmes do?

Answer 29

Aim to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas. They intervene early in the socialisation process to compensate children for the deprivation they experience at home.