Differential Educational Achievment: Class (external Factors)

Question 1

What does cultural deprivation mean?

Answer 1

Having inferior norms and values, skills and knowledge that make it difficult to access education.

Question 2

What does material deprivation mean?

Answer 2

Not having the resources or space available to do well in school - linked to poverty.

Question 3

What are external factors?

Answer 3

Factors outside the school environment which affect educational achievement.

Question 4

What 3 factors make up cultural deprivation?

Answer 4

• Language.
• Parents education.
• W/C subculture.

Question 5

Language

Answer 5

• The way parents communicate with children is an essential part of cognitive development.
• Hubbs-Tait - parents who challenge children to evaluate their thinking are more likely to have higher cognitive ability.
• Feinstein- more likely to happen in families where pants are educated and m/c.
• Bernstein - w/c and m/c have different language codes - elaborated and restricted code. Puts M/C at an advantage as teachers, schools and textbooks use the Alamo rated code.

Question 6

Parents education

Answer 6

• Douglas - parental attitudes to education and their own level of education has a big impact on educational achievement.
• W/C parents place less value on education and ae less likely to push their children academically and visit school less leading to children having lower levels of motivation.
• Feinstein - parents levels of education impact achievement as m/c parents socialise children differently in particular in terms of parenting styles where m/c parents are more consistent in discipline and educational behaviours.

Question 7

W/c subculture

Answer 7

• Sugarman - w/c/ have different culture which is a barrier to educational achievement.
• 4 Elements:
  1. Fatalism
  2. Collectivism
  3. Immediate gratification
  4. Preset time orientation.
• This leads to underachievement.
• Links this to security of m/c jobs which have room for progression and a courage’s ambition and long term planning which is socialised into children who apply it to their education.

Question 8

What factors make up material deprivation?

Answer 8

• Cost of education
• Housing and health

Question 9

Overview of material deprivation

Answer 9

• Refers to poverty and lack of material necessities which aid educational achievement.
• poverty and lack of material necessities is linked to social class as it is more likely that w/c are going to have a low household income and inadequate housing which can lead to low educational achievement.

Question 10

Cost of education

Answer 10

• Education in the UK is free at the point of services there are many hidden costs to education that can leave w/c pupils at a disadvantage.
• Tanner - cost of transport, books, computers, uniforms, equipment and field trips can place a heavy burden on w/c families.
• Flaherty - suggests there is a stigma attached to those on FSM preventing some from taking up entitlements.
• Smith and Nobel suggests w/c pupils are at a disadvantage as they cant afford private tuition or schools.
• Ridge highlights the w/c pupils might need to take on paid work whilst in school to help the household which takes times away from studying.

Question 11

Housing and health

Answer 11

• Can have a direct and indirect affect on educational achievement. E.g. overcrowding can have a direct effect in terms of lack of space for study, disturbed sleep and lack of developmental play. It can also have an indirect effect in terms of child’s health and welfare as cold and damp housing can cause ill health.
• onward - children from poorer families have poorer diets and nutrition leading to a lack of energy and higher abscence rates.
• Wilkinson - points out there is a higher rate of hyperactivity and ADHD amongst 10 year olds who are from lower income backgrounds which can lead to issues with education.

Question 12

Bourdieu’s 3 types of capital

Answer 12

• There are 3 interlinked types of capital which combine material and cultural factors to explain why m/c students do better than w/c.
• Cultural capital - knowledge, attitudes, values, language and abilities of m/c.
• Economic capital - money and household income.
• EDucational capital

Question 13

Conversion

Answer 13

• Bourdieu argued the 3 types of capital can be converted from one and another and are interlinked. For example m/c have economic capital to provide cultural experiences such as holidays which can lead to academic achievemnt and educational capital.
• Economic capital can be used for private schooling and tutors to increases academic attainment.

Question 14

Sullivan

Answer 14

• Assessed students cultural capital using questionnaires.
• 456 pupils across 4 schools completed the.
• Those who showed greater cultural capital were children of graduates and more likely to succeed at GCSE however cultural capital wasn’t only part of the reason for differences in educational achievement by social class, access to resources and greater aspirations also had an impact.