Education T3A- social class achievement

Question 1

How are free school meals viewed

Answer 1

Fsm are views as an indicator of economic disadvantage, and a way of measuring social class

Question 2

Perry and Francis view on social class

Answer 2

Perry and Francis say that social class is the strongest predictor of educational success

Question 3

Waldfogel and Washbrook input on disadvantaged childrens development

Answer 3

Waldfogel and Washbrook belive many disadvantaged students are already up to a year behind privileged students by the age of 3 and this inequality becomes greater as children move through school

Question 4

8 things working class students are likely to do

Answer 4

Working class students are more likely to:

• start school unable to read
• do less well in national tests
• struggle to get placed in the best schools
• be places in lower sets or streams
• get poorer exam results
• leave school at the minimum leaving age
• undertake vocational courses rather than academic
• avoid entering higher education

Question 5

What are external factors influencing educational achievement

Answer 5

External factors influencing education achievement include family//neighbourhood//sociology-economic status

Material explanations
Cultural explanations

Question 6

Internal factors influencing educational achievement

Answer 6

Internal factors influencing educational achievement == what happens inside school

Question 7

What is material deprevation

Answer 7

Material deprivation refers to poverty and a lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income

Poverty is linked to educational underachievement

Question 8

What did the department of education find about the success of people with fsm

Answer 8

Doe (2012) found that less than 1/3 of pupils eligible for fsm achieve 5 or more GCSEs at grade A-C,,, compared to 2/3 of non fsm students

Question 9

Who is more likely to receive exclusion and truancy marks

Answer 9

Students from poorer families are more likely to be excluded or receive truancy marks

Question 10

What are the affects of exclusion and truancy

Answer 10

Pupils excluded are unlikely to return to mainstream education, while a third of persistent truants leave school with no qualifications

Question 11

Flatherty view on poverty

Answer 11

Flatherty said money difficulties in the family is the most significant factor in younger children’s absence from school

Question 12

Robinson input in poverty factor

Answer 12

Robinson argues that tackling child poverty is the best way to improve achievement. Poorer parents have less access to pre school facilities - impacting child development

Question 13

Tanner et al view on the cost of “free” education

Answer 13

Tanner et al found from a study in Oxford - costs of items such as transport, books, uniforms etc place a heavy burden on poorer families. As a result, children often get ineffective hand me downs

Fear of stigmatisation may prevent 20% of students entitled to fsm getting them

Question 14

Explain housing factor

Answer 14

Poor housing can affect pupils achievement both directly and in

Question 15

Explain the direct affects of poor housing

Answer 15

Poor housing can have a direct affect by making it harder for students to study// sleep

Question 16

Explain the indirect affects of poor housing

Answer 16

Indirect affects of poor housing can affect a child’s health - more accidents

Question 17

Explain what Howard found about diet and health factors affecting educational achievement

Answer 17

Howard found that students from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins, and minerals

Poor nutrition affects health, weakening the immune system and lowering children energy levels - the impact of this could be low levels of attention in class and absences from school

Question 18

Explain what Wilkinson found about diet and health factors affecting educational achievement

Answer 18

Wilkinson found children from Porter homes are more likely to have emotional or behavioural problems. In 10 y/os the lower social class, the higher hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders that can all have a negative affect on their education

Question 19

Cultural deprivation meaning

Answer 19

Cultural deprivation means that some students fail in education because of supposed cultural capital in the home/family background

Question 20

explain parental attitudes as a factor influencing educational achievement

Answer 20

generally, middle-class parents take more interest in school and visit the school more. they become more interested than working-class parents do around exam time encouraging them to stay in school longer than the legal age

Question 21

explain parental education as a factor influencing educational achievement

Answer 21

middle class parents have a better understanding of education due to their upbringing. this means they are able to advise and support their children in school and hold disagreements with teachers about their child progress

due to their socialisation, middle class children have learned more before they even start education

Question 22

subcultural attitudes and values as a factor influencing educational achievement

Answer 22

different social classes have different values, attitudes and lifestyles which can affect the performance of children in the education system

Question 23

language use as a factor influencing educational achievement

Answer 23

success in education depends on language skills - reading, writing and clear expression.

if these skills are not developed through discussion in the family, children may be disadvantaged in education

Question 24

Bordieu argument n cultural capital as a factor affecting educational achievement

Answer 24

Bordieu argued that schools favour middle class students based on shared habitus = cultural capital - can be turned into  educational capital (qualifications) which can later lead to material disadvantages and high income
middle class are more comfortable with schools, whereas working-class pupils are more likely to drop out

Question 25

Bordieu views on social capital as a factor influencing educational achievement

Answer 25

Bordieu believes in social capital - school networks of influence and support from educated people. possession of social capital is important in middle class and upper. examples include specialist support; knowing teachers who can give help, or uni admissions tutors who can give interview advice

Question 26

the interactionalist perspective of pupils involvement regarding their academic success

Answer 26

interactionalists believe that pupils are not passive victims; they interact with the school environment. there is sociological evidence linking working-class students and underachievement which may lead teachers to expect poor performance, thus creating self-fulfilling prophecies and inevitable failure

Question 27

10 important internal factors affecting educational achievement

Answer 27

• teacher stereotypes
• pupil identities and subcultures
• self-fulfilling prophecies
• streaming and labelling
• educational triage
• teachers attitudes and expectations
• access to classroom knowledge
• school ethos and the hidden curriculum
• resources
• halo effect

Question 28

bernstein elaborated code

Answer 28

elaborated code is formal language, where some sort of explanation is needed
elaborated code is mainly used by m.class students, giving their children an educational advantage. they will find school work easier and will learn/achieve more

Question 29

bernstein restricted code

Answer 29

restricted code is used between friends and family. informal, simple, everyday language
used by m.and w.class, although Bernstein argues w.class are limited to this form of language

Question 30

social capital

Answer 30

social capital is social networks of influence and support from educated people

Question 31

material explanations

Answer 31

emphasis on social and economic conditions outside of school

Question 32

cultural explantations

Answer 32

cultural explanations focus on values, attitudes and lifestyles outside of school

Question 33

compensatory education

Answer 33

compensatory education aims to tackle cultural deprivation by providing extra funds and resources. involves positive discrimination. schools in disadvantaged areas are singled out for extra favourable treatment, eg- more money for teachers, buildings and equipment to increase attainment in such areas

Question 34

positive discrimination

Answer 34

positive discrimination is giving unequal treatment in order to achieve increasingly similar outcomes

Question 35

education action zones

Answer 35

education action zones are based on a cluster of schools, usually in local areas. aims to develop, in conjunction with local partners imaginative approaches to raising education standards

Question 36

excellence in cities

Answer 36

excellence in cities is a major gov. policy designed to raise standards in urban schools. it aims to offer diversity of provision to increase aspirations and self-esteem by providing extra money and teachers

Question 37

power and whitty view on excellence in cities

Answer 37

power and Whitty believe that although some schools//teachers//students benefited, evidence suggests that reforms failed to impact the achievement gap between the disadvantaged and advantaged students

Question 38

Sullivan argument against Bordieu’s idea of cultural capital affecting educational achievement

Answer 38

Sullivan argues that cultural capital is only accounted for part of the class difference in achievement. the greater resources and aspirations of m.class families explain the class differences in achievement

Question 39

summarise Waterhouse’s findings on stereotypes influencing educational achievement

Answer 39

waterhouse- 4 studies in primary and secondary schools.
found teacher impressions on students as either normal or devient had implications for the way teachers interacted with pupils.
observed examples of normal, conformist behaviour of pupils being labelled, as further evidence of deviance if the pupil had been negatively labelled.
this construction can lead to self fulfilling prophecies and then teacher-student conflict, classroom confrontations and the formation of school subcultures. working class students are more likely to be negatively stereotyped

Question 40

woods findingd on subcultures

Answer 40

woods found that students form anti school subcultures and see it as a way to get back at the system which has denied them status by labelling them as failures, by putting them in lower sets and streams

this subculture of resistance increases self-esteem but participation in subcultures leads to underachievement

Question 41

woods findings on who was likely to be a part of anti school subcultures

Answer 41

woods found that anti school subcultures are likely to include pupils who are black Caribbean and white British w.class pupils. rejection of school was an act of rebellion against racist stereotypes and labelling

Question 42

Rosenthal and Jacobson findings on self-fulfilling prophecies and labelling

Answer 42

Rosenthal and Jacobson gave IQ tests to 20% of randomly selected students in a school in California. teachers were told to expect rapid improvements in the selected students. a year later the students were tested again and the results had dramatic improvements in IQ, thus proving that teachers believing in students led to them improving. w.class pupils likely to be negatively labelled

Question 43

becker findings on labelling and self-fulfilling prophecies impacting educational achievement

Answer 43

becker found that students social class and conformity to teachers m.class standards were the most significant factors influencing teacher labelling. ethnic background and sex also have an impact

Question 44

explain the halo effect as an impact on educational achievement

Answer 44

halo effect caused by stereotypes. nice and well-behaved pupils are seen as bright and hardworking, therefore teachers may offer them more encouragement and support. the opposite can occur,, stroppy// lazy //disruptive may be seen as less bright. w.class pupils are less likely to be associated with the halo effect

Question 45

ball view on setting and streaming as an impact on educational achievement `

Answer 45

ball found that top stream students are encouraged to achieve highly and follow academic courses of study. lower stream students were encouraged to follow more vocational/practical courses, and consequently achieved lower academically, frequently leaving school as soon as they could

Question 46

Smyth et al view on setting and streaming as an impact on educational achievement

Answer 46

Smyth et al found that lower stream classes have negative attitudes to school and are disengaged from school life. therefore, streaming has harmful effects on self-esteem and confidence and has a negative effect on attainment

streaming is often linked to stereotypes of the ideal pupil identity. also often puts poorer pupils at a disadvantage, and favours m.class students, therefore contributing to the underachievement of w.class students

Question 47

Keddie findings on access to classroom knowledge affecting educational achievement

Answer 47

keddie found that teachers teach high and low atreams differently. higher streams are expected to behave better and work harder, and teachers give more content/opportunities, leading to them achieving more. lower stream, w.class pupils might therefore underachieve in education partly because they have not been given access to the knowledge required for educational success

Question 48

Gillbourn and Youdell findings on educational triage

Answer 48

Gillbourn and Youdell argued that within schools attention is focused on students who are expected to achieve well. those unlikely to get a C or above were not prioritised, as the first 2 groups improve league table position, and give the school a good reputation. those most likely to be forgotten are likely to be disadvantaged lower, w.class white and black students, predominantly boys, and those with special educational needs

Question 49

who did gillbourn and youdell find attention was focused on

Answer 49

Gillbourn and Youdell argued that within schools attention is focused on students who are either:
most likely to get 5 A*-C grades
on the C/D borderline

Question 50

reay criticisms of cultural explanations

Answer 50

reay argues that these explanations involve a victim blaming approach

Question 51

criticisms of cultural explanations

Answer 51

cultural explanations exaggerate class differences

overlookpractical difficulties and lack of self confidence. for example,measures of parental interests are based off teachers comments about them. it doesn’t account for w.class parents who work long and/or unusual hours and cant visit the school. this prevents w.class parents from turning parental interest into practical support, like m.class parents can

ignore the role that school plays: teacher attitudes linked to class can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy

Question 52

keddie criticism on cultural explanations

Answer 52

keddie argues that there is no cultural deprivation, merely a cultural difference. schools need to recognise the strengths of the “culturally deprived”