Education- External social class- cultural explanations

Question 1

Cognitive development: How could it be argued WC children are less intellectually developed? What could this be due to?

Answer 1

-WC parents do engage as much and stimulate their children as much as MC parents do
-Lack of books, and educational toys (because of financial situation)

Question 2

Linguistic development: What does Bernstein argue about the two distinct elaborative codes?

Answer 2

-Elaborated code- having a wide vocabulary range and sophisticated grammar which means explanations can be clearly understood
-Restricted code- characterised by limited vocab and grammar which means explanations are not clearly explained by everyone and will need more description be supplemented by nonverbal cues

Question 3

Linguistic development: Which codes do Mc, WC and teachers use?

Answer 3

MC= Can switch easily between one or the other
WC= Limited to restricted code
Teachers=Elaborative code

Question 4

Linguistic development: Where is the elaborative code also used? Who does this give an advantage to?

Answer 4

-Textbooks
-University interviews
-Middle-class students

Question 5

Who argues that different social classes have different values and attitudes towards education?

Answer 5

Sugarman (1970)

Question 6

Subcultures: What are the values of the WC subculture?

Answer 6

-Immediate gratification
-Fatalism
-Low parent interest

Question 7

Subcultures: What is meant by immediate gratification?

Answer 7

-Members of the WC tend to want gratification/ rewards in the moment rather than making sacrifices for the future
-Such as Job= money= immediate benefits
-Rather than waiting to gain qualifications and get a better job

Question 8

Subcultures: Why do the middle class opt for deferred gratification?

Answer 8

-So their children can have better career progression and have greater financial rewards later down the line

Question 9

What is fatalism (fate)?

Answer 9

-WC children accept their social and economic position in life as they do believe that if they put work in it will change

Question 10

What is meant by low parent interest?

Answer 10

-WC don’t look at the long-term advantages of education so value it less
-WC parents are less likely to keep in contact with school teachers or attend parents’ evenings

Question 11

What does Bordeiuo argue about cultural capital?

Answer 11

The middle class use their economic capital in education
-Helps their children to obtain good qualifications
-This is done by sending them to private schools or paying for private tuition
-Leads to a highly-paid job
-Reproduced and passed on to the next generation

Question 12

Evaluate

Answer 12

-Educational Maintenance Allowances, Pupil Premiums, free school dinners, Surestart and government-introduced policies to try and combat the influence of external factors but they didn’t last long enough and did not majorly shift the statistics
-The government cannot prevent people from paying for private education/tuition or buying extra resources
-Language distinction is too simple, there are differences in the use of elaborative and restrictive codes within families so it is difficult make generalisations as they use language in different ways