Education- Material Factors Flashcards
External factors: outside of school
One explanation for social class differences in attainment is material deprivation
Material deprivation is the inability to afford basic resources, which can impact a pupil’s educational achievement
This will mean pupils are unable to afford things like sufficient food, heating or clothing and educational resources, which is subsequently very likely to affect educational performance and lead to underachievement
Material deprivation
Smith and Noble conducted research in 1995 and suggested that material deprivation was an explanation of working class under achievement in schools
They refer to the ‘hidden costs’ of education which working class households struggle to fund (e.g. textbooks, trips)
Material deprivation therefore acts as a ‘barrier to learning’ resulting in a ‘poverty penalty’ which ultimately prevents working class pupils from fulfilling their potential
Smith and Noble identify for key barriers to success…
Key barriers to success according to smith and noble
Insufficient funds- uniforms, trips and visits, transport to and from school (this might impact the school they are able to choose as well), classroom materials, and textbooks. The impact of this can sometimes be social isolation and bullying.
Ill health- working class people in general tend to suffer from poorer health. This can impact children in that they may miss lessons, and therefore have gaps in their knowledge.
Home environment- Cold, damp and mouldy housing (link to health). Insecure housing (e.g. temporary accommodation). Lack of a desk, educational toys/activities, books, and a private quiet space to do work.
Marketisation- Poorer children tend to be concentrated in unpopular and underperforming (and therefore less well funded) schools
Poor and insecure housing
Direct-Overcrowding may mean that the child does not have a quiet place to study or complete homework.
They may also be sharing a room and have poor quality sleep.
Families may be moving frequently due to insecure and temporary housing, meaning disrupted education and moving schools.
Indirect-Health and wellbeing may be impacted by cold and damp housing. Unsafe living spaces may lead to increased accidents
Children may also experience mental health problems if exposed to insecure living situations like homelessness and temporary accommodation.
This can lead to increased absences from school
Diet and health
Marilyn Howard (2001), another material deprivation theorist, focused her study on the poor diets of working class children
Their diets lack vital vitamins and nutrients when compared with the diets of their middle class peers
She also found that working class pupils often attend school having had no breakfast resulting in a lack of focus which consequently contributes to academic underachievement.
In 2022, around 12% of children in the UK were experiencing food poverty (defined as families who “cannot acquire an adequate quality or sufficient quantity of food”
The cost of education
Sociologists such as Smith and Noble and Gibson and Asthana have pointed to the difficulties working class families have in paying for the costs of state education, such as textbooks, computers, uniforms, and school trips
We have also seen that working class children are more likely to have to work part time to contribute to the household income
Emily Tanner also conducted research on this area, and found that poorer children often have to make do with hand-me-downs, and cheaper “unfashionable” equipment
This can lead to feelings of social isolation, stigmatisation, and even bullying
Gibson and Asthana (1999)
Found a correlation between low household income and poor educational performance. There are a number of ways in which poverty can negatively affect the educational performance of children:
Higher levels of sickness in poorer homes may mean more absence from school and falling behind with lessons.
Less able to afford ‘hidden costs’ of free state education: books and toys are not bought, and computers are not available in the home.
Tuition fees and loans would be a greater source of anxiety to those from poorer backgrounds.
Poorer parents are less likely to have access to pre-school or nursery facilities.
Young people from poorer families are more likely to have part-time jobs, such as paper rounds, baby sitting or shop work, creating a conflict between the competing demands of study and paid work.
The Impact of Covid-19 - The Sutton Trust (2020)
Pupils from private schools were twice as likely to take part in online lessons every day
Less than 50% of parents without higher education qualifications said they felt confident directing their child’s learning
1/3 of children with parents earning over £100k a year reported they had spent over £100 on their learning
60% of private schools and 37% of schools in the most affluent areas had an online platform to receive work, compared to 23% in the most deprived schools
Fear of debt
Going to university usually involves getting into debt due to tuition fees, books and living expenses. This may prevent working-class students from attending university.
Callender and Jackson (2005) found that attitude to debt was important in deciding whether to apply to university .
The working-class students were five times less likely to apply than most debt tolerable students (typically middle-class students).
Increases in tuition fees to £9250 per year mean that the increased debt burden will deter more working-class students from applying to university
