Education- Topic 3 Class in Education

Question 1

What is stratification?

Answer 1

• Social class= main form of social stratification in western societies
• Social class refers to groups who are divided in terms of income, wealth, power status and prestige
  -2 different classifications are used for class in education SEG and NS-SEC and they both of which use occupation as an indicator of position
• However they use different measures to assign occupations and they don’t take into account the wealthy upper classes as they tend to be in private education

Question 2

What is shown about GCSE results in relation to social class in attainment in source sheet

Answer 2

• The higher the class position the higher the percentage of student achieving 5 or more GCSEs A*-C
• Percentage point gain shows there is a gap between top and bottom for classes but it had narrowed although still staying high

Question 3

What does the sources show about the relation of FSM and GCSE results

Answer 3

-1.4 million entitled but only 1.2 million claim
- gives some level of info of attainment gap but doesnt provide various levels of inequality

Question 4

What does the sources tell us about the attainment of A Level results

Answer 4

• Percentage point figures show the narrowing of class differences and middle and lower levels of the system have the greatest gains
• However, gap between top and bottom remains large

Question 5

What does the sources show about attainment in high education

Answer 5

• Percentage point shows greatest gainers were from professional class
• gap from top and bottom is widening

Question 6

How is class difference in attainment measured?

Answer 6

• Difficult for a number of reasons to measure difference at GCSE
  1. different classifications of social class are used
  2. more recent studies simply compare 2 measures of inequality- those of FSM and the rest
  3. different measures of GCSE attainment are used
  4. sometimes figures for England and Wales and other times just England

Question 7

What are the external factors of education

Answer 7

1. Material Deprivation
2. Cultural deprivation
3. Cultural capital

Question 8

What is Material Deprivation?

Answer 8

• Certain groups in society have less money and therefore are not able to make the most of their educational opportunities
• extra tuition
  -revision books
  -stationary
  -school trips

Question 9

What is Cognitive Development

Answer 9

• Waldfogel and Washbrook 2010
  ^^ looked at the relationship between Low income and cognitive development- assessed by cognitive ability of 5 year old with 3 test- they then divided into 5 groups based on parental income
• there was something significant between the lowest income group and middle income group (11.1 month gap on vocabulary)
• this test indicated that cognitive development of children in poverty when they start school is nearly a year behind that of middle income children (likely reflected in the attainment gap)
• lack of home computer, a car and annual holiday were seen as significant factors to this gap

Question 10

What does private tuition show on education and class groups?

Answer 10

• Sutton trust estimates 23% of young children receive private tuition
• 35% in top income groups
  -9% households in lowest income groups
  -therefore suggesting that those in higher income groups greater access to private tuition- which transfer into educational success

Question 11

What have Smith & Noble identify in 1995

Answer 11

• “barriers to learning”- resulting from low income families
  1. children isolated, bullying and stigmatised:
• less likely to afford ‘cool’ clothes, school trips, textbooks, school uniform -> may fall behind in school work
  2. Less likely to have computer and internet access:
• a comfortable (safe) space to complete homework
  3. Catchment area:
• more likely to live in deprived areas with unpopular schools
  4. More likely to suffer ill health- poor attendance:
• also more likely to have poor attendance due to part time work or child care issues at home

Question 12

How does catchment area effect middle class parents compared to working class parents?

Answer 12

• MC can afford to move into catchment areas of ‘good’ schools, pay for children to have private tuition, go on school trips, buy equipment, books etc
  WC kids are more likely to live in socially deprived areas with social problems, no facilities and over-crowded housing that gives them no space

Question 13

What were the effects still at higher/further education

Answer 13

WC is less likely to move out of home to attend university
- students felt they could not afford travel/ accommodation
32% WC
70% MC
- at uni WC experience factors affecting study
part time jobs, longer hours -> miss lectures

Question 14

What is cultural deprivation?

Answer 14

• home background has an enormous effect on the success of children from WC and underclass backgrounds as they are more likely to suffer from cultural deprivation where they lack the knowledge and skills to succeed

Question 15

What did Hyman find out about subcultures contributing to cultural deprivation?

Answer 15

• he argued that the system of the lower class creates a ‘self imposed barrier to an improved position’
• Hyman found many differences between WC and MC value systems:
  1. members of WC place lower values on education
  2. they place lower values on achieving high occupations
  3. they believe there is less opportunity for a personal advancement.
• he concluded that the motivation to achieve was low for the WC

Question 16

What was wrong with WC subcultures?

Answer 16

• theorists argue that the lack of interest in their children education reflects the subcultures valued of the WC
• Barry Sugarman found 4 key features to WC subcultures which act as a barrier:
  1. fatalism- belief in fate
  2. collectivism- value group more than self
  3. immediate gratification- seek pleasure now
  4. present time orientation- no long term goals
• WC children internalise these beliefs through socialisation which causes underachievement in school.

Question 17

How did parents education affect achievement in education?

Answer 17

• parents attitudes to education are a key factor to affect achievement
• parenting style- educated parents use more discipline and have high expectation- support achievement
• educated parents are also more aware of what is needed to assist their children- advice, interactions with schools, etc
• DOUGLAS- WC parents placed less value on education= less ambition for their children, participated less in their education, the results was that the children have lower levels of motivation and achievement
• FEINSTEIN- parents own education is the most important factor affecting achievement, as MC parents are educated they give their children a better chance through socialisation

Question 18

How do parents as a whole affect children attainment in education?

Answer 18

DOUGLAS argues that the single most important factor in attainment is parents interest in children education
- MC parents expressed a greater interest with more frequent visits to the school to discuss progress- this was even more important when talking about higher education
- he also suggested that early year play a role in this as MC children recieve greater attention and stimulus from their parents- this formed a basis for higher achievement
- FEINSTEIN- like douglas he claimed the main factor affecting education was the degree of parental interest and support
- he saw class differences in parental support accounting for class differences in attainment

Question 19

Evaluation of Home and Parents

Answer 19

• lots of studies that WC parents are not necessarily less invested in their children’ education because they attend their school less frequently
  1. less time to attend- jobs
  2. put off by teachers interactions
  3. data may not actually measure parents’ interest

Question 20

How does language affect attainment in education?

Answer 20

• langauge is an essential part of the process of education and the way in which parents communicate with children affects their development
  HUBBS- TAIT ET AL - where parents use language to challenge their children cognitive performance improves - educated parents

Question 21

What speech codes are used by different classes that affect attainment in education?

Answer 21

• Bernstein argued that the language codes, are responsible for their differential achievement
• restricted code -> language used by friends and family. used by both MC and WC, but WC students are limited to this form of language
• Elaborated code -> used in a formal context with explanation and detail. it had a wider vocabulary. elaborated codes is the language used by teachers in school and is mainly used by MC students, therefore they have an advantage in education

Question 22

Evaluation of Bernstein

Answer 22

• he lumps together all manual workers
• he provides little evidence of the existence and use of the restricted and elaborated codes
• much of his evidence is drawn from interviews with children = interviewer bias
• he implies that WC speech patterns are substandard- creates a myth that MC speech patterns are superior

Question 23

How does the set up of school affect attainment of education?

Answer 23

• schools are mainly run by white middle class people- those who share qualities succeed
• 11+ test- favoured to middle class standards- familiar to anagrams- familiar with classical composers
• middle class succeeds not due to intelligence but using a preferred way of communication

Question 24

What is positive discrimination in cultural deprivation?

Answer 24

• Compensatory education -> making more resources available in schools in poorer areas in order to compensate for deprivation
• 1990s conservatives- 25% more funding for LA’s in disadvantaged areas
• Late 1990s Labour- Education action zones to raise standards
• ‘excellence in cities’ initiative- improves achievement by:
  1. better resources enabling specialities
  2. learning mentors to reduce exclusion
  3. special provision for high risk of exclusion
  4. encouragement for G%T and first time goers to stay on at post 16

Question 25

What is cultural capital?

Answer 25

“Knowing how to behave, speak and learn, passed on by middle class parents to their education”
- Marxist use this to explain educational success
- BOURDIEU and PASSERSON - middle class culture is as valuable in education as material wealth
- middle class children are more likely to achieve as they have more cultural capital
- the knowledge and skills that are valued in education
- more likely to be raised by professional parents, who will pass this knowledge onto them
- leisure time is more likely to be spent on educational pursuits like visiting museums as they have both the money and the attitude/ appreciation

Question 26

What did Pierre Bourdieu think of cultural capital?

Answer 26

-He argues that the culture of the education system is based on the culture of the dominant class- they have the power to impose meaning and to impose them as legitimate
- However, there is no way of showing that their culture is any better or worse than any other subcultures in society
- He also argues that in the education system the possession of the dominant cultures can be translated into power, wealth and status
- it is not evenly distributed- accounts for class differences in achievement.
- Students from UC and MC have a built in advantage as they have been socialised to the dominant culture
- Bourdieu claims the success of all education depends fundamentally on the education accomplished in the early years of life- socialisation
- children from the UC have internalised these skills and knowledge- they possess the key to unlock the messages transmitted in the classroom.

Question 27

What is Habitus, Class and education in Cultural capital?

Answer 27

Habitus = the values, attitudes, dispositions and expectations held by particular groups
-It defines everyday ways of doing things- it constructs ways of seeing the world and what is reasonable, appropriate and expected. Learned from an early age- socialisation
- Bourdieu argues that habitus of the dominant classes provides them with an advantage in the education system- parents and children are likely to have a positive attitude towards education- In comparison the habits of the WC tends to have a more negative attitude to education
- lower expectations of success and sometimes rejects the value of school. This may encourage resistance and negative withdrawal from teachers leading to low attainment by some WC.

Question 28

What were Alice Sullivans results?

Answer 28

• more successful if watched complex fiction, TV (documentaries, etc)
• soap operas/ game shows did not improve performance
  -cultural events/music- no significant difference in performance

Question 29

What suggestions did Alice Sullivan make?

Answer 29

• cultural events and music are not considered important aspects of cultural capital
• pupils who read widely & watch sophisticated= greater vocab and knowledge= better exam performance
• cultural capital strongly correlated with parents (also class and educational qualifications)
  -graduate parents -> children with the most CC -> most successful in exams

Question 30

What did some sociologists think about cultural capital: Ball et al, West & Hind?

Answer 30

Ball et al:
- middle class parents can ‘play the system’ with their cultural capital to ensure good schools
- making impressions with headteacher
- knowing how to mount an appeal

West & Hind:
- schools interviews
-middle class often had CC to negotiate (more likely than WC parents)
- NB: government banned interviews in 2005

Question 31

Evaluation of Bourdieu AO3

Answer 31

• Marxists criticise for downplaying of material factors- economic exploitation on oppression
• too much emphasis placed in the structure of society shaping people behaviour- habitus is presented as determining behaviour
• vague, lacking in precision and detail and difficult to operationalise
• Sullivan’s test suggests that cultural capital explain only a part of educational attainment

-However, despite these criticisms bourdieus work has been extremely influential- it has informed many studies and research projects and continues to do so