differential achievement- class ✅ Flashcards
why do sociologists find class differences significant?
- there is a strong trend of w/c underachievement
- social class appears to be the biggest factor that accounts for differences in achievement
describe middle class
- higher paid, non manual jobs
- traditional professionals such as doctors or teachers
- ‘white collar’ office workers
describe working class
- jobs that don’t pay well
- traditionally this included;
skilled workers eg: plumbers
semi skilled eg: waitresses
unskilled eg: cleaners
give statistics regarding class achievement
at age 18, w/c students are 20 months behind
what do cultural deprivation theorists argue?
- we aquire the basic attitudes, skills and values needed for educational success during primary socialisation (family)
- basic cultural equipment includes things such as language, self discipline and reasoning skills
what are the 3 main aspects of cultural deprivation?
- cognitive development
- linguistic deprivation
- attitudes and values (subculture)
according to some sociologists, why do m/c children lack the opportunities for intellectual development that the middle classes enjoy?
- because w/c children do not recieve the books or educational toys required to stretch their intellectual skills
what did Young and Bernstein find regarding cognitive development?
- a mother’s choice of toy affects their child’s intellectual development
- m/c mothers tend to choose toys that encourage thinking and reasoning skills
why does Young and Bernstein’s findings lead to differences in achievement for m/c and w/c pupils?
- m/c parents can afford to buy toys that are intellectually stimulating
how does research from the Institute For Education(2007) support Young and Bernstein’s findings regarding cognitive development?
- found that ‘home learning’ climate strongly predicts child’s intellectual development by age of ten
- m/c parents stimulate/engage more in terms of dialogue and play–> leads to m/c doing better
what is an A03 point of cognitive development?
- too deterministic–> if poverty was such a problem, why don’t all w/c children fail?
what are the two language codes established by Bernstein?
- restricted language code
- elaborated language code
describe restricted language codes
- limited vocab
- short simplistic sentences
- colloquialism
- swear words
describe elaborated language codes
- wider vocab
- longer complex sentences
- used by teachers/exam boards
why do different language codes result in differences in educational outcome?
- m/c can switch between the 2 codes, w/c is limited to restricted
- exams are strictly elaborated code
- teachers may create bias towards pupils and not push w/c
how do Bereiter and Englemann support linguistic deprivation?
- highlighted importance of language for achievement
- w/c language is deficient, communication is through gestures and single word disjointed phrases
- as a result, w/c fail to develop necessary language skills to succeed in education
how does Rosen criticize Bernstein’s language codes?
- claims Bernstein creates a ‘myth of superiority’ around m/c speech
- Bernstein homogenises both m/c and w/c
- there is likely diversity within the classes
why does Labov criticise linguistic deprivation as an explanation for differences in educational achievement
- investigated low-income afro-Caribbean American children
- concluded that their speech patterns were not inferior, just different
how do Troyna and Williams agree with Labov regarding linguistic deprivation?
- they argue w/c language is not the problem, but its the m/c teacher’s attitudes towards it
what does Douglas find regarding attitudes and values?
- found that w/c parents do not place a high value on education compared to m/c parents
- w/c tend to be less ambitious for child’s career
- w/c show less encouragement for educational achievement and take less interest in education
what 4 elements of w/c subculture does Sugarman discuss
- fatalism
- collectivism
- immediate gratification
- present time orientation
describe fatalism
a belief in fate, what will be will be, nothing you can do can change it
describe collectivism
the belief that being part of a group is more important than individual success
describe immediate gratification
- pursuit of an instant reward regardless of the long term consequences
give an example of immediate gratification
going straight into paid employment instead of pursuing higher education for a higher wage later on
describe present time orientation
- seeing the present as more important than the future
give an example of present time orientation
- w/c children more likely to mess in class, not do homework, not revise…
- all of which affects their chances of long term educational success
how does De Franja support attitudes and values as a factor of differential educational achievements?
- found that m/c pupils do better because m/c parents are more ‘pushy’
- m/c parents are more prepared to put time and effort into helping with homework, reading bedtime stories, attending parents evening…
- all of this encourages children to do well and succeed in school