EDUCATION - EXTERNAL Class differences in achievement Flashcards
MATERIAL DEPRIVATION
What does it mean?
Refers to poverty and the lack of material necessities such as adequate housing etc.
As of late 2021, the no. of children in England receiving FSM has soared to more than 1.7 million, with more than 1m being aged between nursery and primary school.
MATERIAL DEPRIVATION
HOUSING
poor housing = directly and indirectly affects pupil’s achievements
overcrowding = less room for studying
disturbed sleep = educational difficulties
temporary accommodation = moving around constantly
greater risks of accidents, ill heath from damp, more psychological distress
MATERIAL DEPRIVATION
DIET AND HEALTH
Richard Wilkinson
poor nutrition = immune system impacted, lower levels of energy which leads to higher absence.
among 10 year olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders.
MATERIAL DEPRIVATION
COST OF EDUCATION
David Bull
Children who cannot afford the academic and educational opportunities offered by schools are disadvantaged.
Bull - ‘the costs of free schooling’
hand-me-downs and unfashionable equipment leads them to being stigmatised.
MATERIAL DEPRIVATION
FEAR OF DEBT
W.C students saw debt negatively and try to avoid it.
university applications to uni were based on debt.
UCAS 2012, the year when student fees increased to £9000, the number of applicants fell by 8.6% in comparison with the previous year.
more than half of universities in England have fewer than 5% of poor WHITE WC students - Cambridge and Oxford had some of the least number of white WC students.
MATERIAL DEPRIVATION
Drop out rates
- 6% dropout rate for London Met university (W.C dominated)
- 5% dropout rate for Oxford (M.C dominated)
MATERIAL DEPRIVATION
Cultural or material debate
Mortimore and Whitty
Feinstein
Mortimore and Whitty believe that material inequalities have the greatest impact on achievement.
but poor kids DO succeed so material deprivation can only explain so much.
cultural, religious, political values of the family may also contribute to motivating the child to study.
Feinstein - regardless of income, educated parents contribute more to their child’s educational success; it is the MOST important factor on achievement.
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
Language
Feinstein 2008
communication is fundamental…. parents who use challenging language that allowed children to evaluate their own understanding improves cognitive performance.
Feinstein found that educated parents are more likely to speak like this and so they encourage individual competence.
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
Speech codes
Bernstein 1975 - cultural deprivation theorist that doesn’t just blame the wc but acknowledges how school should do more to assist students with the elaborated code.
Identified the differences between the two forms of speech code:
Restricted code - limited vocabulary, based on the short and grammatically simple sentences. It is descriptive and not analytic. It assumes that whoever is listening has the same set of experiences.
Elaborated code - usually used by the M.C and has a wide range of vocal, is longer and uses more grammatically complex sentences which can be used to communicate an abstract set of ideas. This is mostly used by teachers, in textbooks and in exams. M.C pupils feel at home in school
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
Parent’s education
Douglas
Blackstone and Mortimore
found that W.C parents placed less value on education and so were less ambitious, less encouraging, and less interested in their child’s education. They didn’t attend parents evenings etc.
B+M actually found that W.C parents attended fewer parent’s evenings not because they do not care but because they work longer and unreliable hours - the W.C schools struggled to maintain successful parent-teacher contacts.
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
Parenting styles
educated parent’s parenting style is very much disciplinary and places high expectations on their children.
this supports achievement as they encourage exploration and learning. W.C parenting styles are more physical and emphasise blind authority with no challenge or question which removes independence from the child which leads to poorer motivation and interaction issues with teachers.
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
Parent’s educational behaviour
educated parents KNOW what their child needs to excel and progress.
they engage in behaviour such as reading, singing or painting.
they establish better relationships with the teacher and the school.
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
Use of income
Bernstein and Young
having access to higher incomes mean that better educated parents can utilise this income to benefit their children’s educational success.
B + Y found M.C mothers were more likely to buy educational toys and books that stimulate educational thought. W.C children often start schools in debt of the intellectual skills needed.
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
Class, income, and parental education
Feinstein
also notes that parental education has an influence on attainment regardless of class or income because better educated parents tend to have children who are more successful… this explains why not all children from W.C families do poorly and not all children from M.C do great.
CULTURAL DEPRIVATION
W.C SUBCULTURE
Barry Sugarman 1970
Believes that the W.C subculture has four principle features that provide a barrier:
FATALISM
COLLECTIVISM
IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION
PRESENT TIME ORIENTATION
The W.C students internalise these beliefs through primary socialisation and face discrepancies at school because their mindset is completely different.
Sugarman argues that M.C parents have secure careers where there is continuous prospect for individual advancement. this encourages ambition.
W.C parents tend to have less secure careers and no advancement and so they often peak at early ages.
cultural deprivation sociologists argue that they are passing their values of their class to their children via primary socialisation. M.C values equip children for success.
