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
how do Blackstone and Mortimer disagree with De Franje?
- reject the view that w/c parents are not interested
- rather their failure to attend parents evening is due to long/irregular work hours
- w/c don’t assist their children due to lack of knowledge, not lack of interest
as a result of research into educational underachievement, what has the government done?
- government has introduced policies and schemes aimed at increasing opportunities for disadvantaged pupils
- (compensatory schemes)
eg; pupil premium
give a statistic regarding material deprivation
-in 2006, only 33% of pupils on FSM gained 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C
- however, 61% of pupils who are not on FSM got this
what are the 3 main reasons for the link between material deprivation and educational underachievement
- housing
- diet
- hidden costs of education
what did Douglas say in regard to material deprivation
suggests there is a link between underachievement and housing.
- poor living conditions, such as mold, may lead to poor health which leads to poor attendance in school
what does Howard’s research say about diet?
- shows that poor diet and undernourishment can lead to poor educational performance
- poor health and attendance has direct impact on achievement
what does Bull say regarding material deprivation/(hidden costs of education)
- says there are multiple costs of ‘free schooling’
- these costs often mean w/c families go without equipment and experiences that would enhance their success
how do Mortimore and Whitty support the material deprivation theory?
- claim that material inequalities have the greatest effect on achievement
eg: no access to technological resources
what does Robinson argue regarding material deprivation?
robinson argues that ending child poverty would be the most effective way to boost w/c achievement
eg: through compensatory schemes
what does Ridge say regarding material deprivation?
w/c pupils may take up paid work during school in order to help the household, which takes time away from study
why might some families not take compensatory education?
- some parents may not be aware of the scheme/not understand
- stigma towards taking free school meals
what does Bourdieu’s term ‘cultural capital’ refer to?
refers to knowledge, atiitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of middle classes
how does cultural capital help the m/c do well in education?
- helps gain things in society/education to get higher status and higher paid positions
give an example of bourdieu’s cultural capital
- exposure to middle class ideology
eg: museums, holidays…
what are the three types of capital?
- cultural capital
- social capital
- economic capital
what did Bourdieu say about the 3 types of capital?
- 3 types of capital could be converted to one another
- inexorably linked
give an example of how the three types of capital are inexorably linked
- economic capital = cultural experiences such as museums, which leads to educational achievement
- additionally, economic capital can be used for private schooling thus increasing achievement
- this is known as conversion
describe Sullivan’s evidence to support the role of cultural capital in education
- carried out survey on 465 yr 11 pupils to asses their cultural capital
- used questions to determine social class, vocab range, whether they visited museums etc…
- found that those who watched documentaries and read complex fiction had higher levels of cultural capital
- those with higher capital were more likely to be m/c
what did Robertson find in regard to cultural capital?
- possession of cultural capital is in the form of participation in certain activities
eg: museums, playing musical instruments, theatres
what does social capital refer to?
social capital refers to the networks and relationships a person possesses based on class memberships, which enables you to build and maintain relationships with others
how might social capital be useful to m/c pupils?
work experience may be more accessible
what is the halo effect
- attributing positive characteristics to the ‘ideal pupil’
- m/c teachers looking more favourably upon m/c pupils
what do internal factors refer to?
factors within the education system which influence the differential achievement by different social groups
what are the 3 internal factors that affect class differential achievement?
- labelling
- self fulfilling prophecy
- subculture
what is the impact of setting and streaming on a teacher’s perception of a student?
- may effect how hard they push you
- may not challenge lower set as much
what did Rist find in regard to labelling?
- teacher used info about pupils background+appearance to separate into groups
-G1=tigers–> m/c, neat appearance, seated closer to teacher
-G2/3=cardinals and clowns–> lower book levels, fewer opportunities, seated further away
what did Becker find in regards to labelling?
- based on interviews with 60 teachers, found that teachers judged pupils based on how closely they fit an image of ‘ideal pupil’
- pupils work and appearance were key factors influencing judgements
-teachers sat m/c ppl closer and w/c ppl further away as they viewed them as badly behaved
how does Mirza criticise labelling theory?
labelling approach is too deterministic
give an A03 of labelling regarding consistency
- too many teachers for labels to be applied consistently
- secondary school = multiple teachers
- inconceivable that all teachers will label students the same way and treat them accordingly
what is meant by self fulfilling prophecy?
- teacher’s expectation of pupil begins to be embraced by pupil
- label comes true
describe Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s research regarding self fulfilling prophecy
- all students did an IQ test
- randomly picked 5 students and told teachers they were ‘late bloomers –> teachers believed they were smartest
- at the end of the year the 5 ‘late bloomers’ got top grades
- this shows SFP–> by accepting prediction, teachers brought it about
describe Ireson and Hallam’s supporting research of self fulfilling prophecy
- setting/streaming can have negative effect
- may raise standards of top groups, but not lower groups
eg; they found that low achievers in streamed maths performed worse than similar pupils in mixed ability groups
describe setting and streaming
setting= based on academic ability per subject
streaming= based on ability grouped for all subjects
give an A03 on self fulfilling prophecy regarding determinism
- too deterministic
- assumes all pupils who are labelled must fulfil the prophecy
however…
Fuller studied black yr 11 girls who were in low sets but achieving highly - this suggests labelling theory does not always lead to underachievement
what is a pupil subculture
- group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns
- emerge as a response to the way they have been labelled
what are the characteristics of a pro-school subculture
- commited to school values
- gain approval through academic success
- involved in wider school life
what are some characteristics of anti-school subcultures?
- lower streams
- rejection of school values
- disruption
- not doing homework
what are the two types of subcultures described by Mac An Gail
- the academic achievers
- the new enterprisers
describe Mac An Gail’s academic achievers subculture
- seek to achieve academic success
- focus on traditional subjects such as english math and science
describe Mac An Gail’s new enterprisers subculture
- rejected traditional academic curriculum eg english and maths
- motivated to study subjects such as business and computing
- see this as the route to success
why are w/c ppl more likely to form anti-school subcultures
- they have lost status–> attempting to regain it
- “status frustration”
what is an A03 point of subcultures regarding Archer?
- nike identities
- girls gain symbolic capital from peers through construction of hypersexual femininity
- combines black urban American styles with unisex sportswear, sexy clothes and makeup
