External class inequalities

Question 1

What are the 2 categories of external factors ?

Answer 1

1. Material factors : WC pupils suffer issues from material deprivation, poor housing, poor diet and health, lack of financial support and a fear of debt whilst MC have economic capital
2. Cultural factors : WC suffer cultural deprivation eg language limitations, low levels of parental education, negative subcultural influences whereas MC have cultural capital

Question 2

What are the 4 types of material deprivation ?

Answer 2

1. Poor diet and health
2. Poor housing
3. Cost of education
4. Fear of debt

Question 3

What are the arguments for cultural deprivation v. cultural capital ?

Answer 3

1. Speech and language
2. Parents’ education
3. The WC as a deviant subculture

Question 4

Poor diet and health

Answer 4

• Howard : WC families are more likely to have children with a deficient diet leaving them malnourished due to inadequate vitamins/minerals
• This leads to issues eg children who haven’t eaten may arrive at school tired and hungry leading to a poor performance
• Inadequate nutrition = weaker immune system so more susceptible to illness and absence meaning they risk further poor performance as they miss important subject content
• Wilkinson : WC backgrounds increases chance of behavioural problems and mental health disorders eg ADHD making it harder to concentrate and resulting in them being removed from the lesson

Question 5

Poor housing

Answer 5

• WC more likely to live in poor quality housing
• One issue is overcrowding at home meaning little space to do homework undisturbed so may fall behind
• If you share a room with a sibling, sleep quality can be poor and if they are tired their performance in school and their ability to concentrate will be compromised
• WC more likely to move house frequently eg council housing means their children have to frequently move schools which can be disruptive to their learning
• Physical environment can be damaging eg Damp or cold could lead to health issues and school absence

Question 6

The cost of education

Answer 6

• Bull “the costs of free schooling” - in the UK although there is free schooling, there are hidden costs
• tanner : Huge expenses include : school uniform, buses, books and equipment for practical subjects which puts lots of pressure on LI families
• Poorer children need to rely on hand me downs or loans which can negatively impact their self esteem and can be embracing which has a derogatory impact on their performance
• Lots of children are too embarrassed to claim their FSM as it indicates they are from a poorer backgrounds which leads to hunger and inability to concentrate
• Children from WC backgrounds cannot access things which MC peers can eg private tutors and extra curricular so MC are at an advantage
• WC children tend to work part time earlier which has a negative impact on their performance

Question 7

Fear of Debt

Answer 7

• Callender and Jackson
• Post 2012 uni fees are a minimum of £9,000 per year
• This puts WC off Uni as they are not used to such large figures in the context of money
• Many WC express they don’t want to go to Uni as they are concerned about the debts so instead they take paid work at a younger age
• This impacts their performance at school as they have no intention of Uni, they have a lack of motivation and are unable to see the point of working hard in the short-term
• For those who go to uni, they are more likely to go close to home as a view it will save them money
• This limits the opportunities they will have and reduces the likelihood they will achieve well at a-level
• There is a higher drop out rate at Uni for WC which further limits their opportunities

Question 8

Evaluation of the claim that material deprivation is a major cause of class inequalities

Answer 8

• There are services to help overcome material deprivation barriers eg benefits and FSM
• There are loans available for Uni
• Programmes run for children from poorer backgrounds eg breakfast clubs
• Parental influence could have a bigger impact on educational achievement

Question 9

Cultural v. deprivation debate

Answer 9

• Some sociologists argue that the biggest impact on a child’s potential for success are cultural and social factors.
• WC children are prone to cultural deprivation (lack the norms, skills, values and attitudes needed to succeed) but MC have cultural capital which helps them succeed
• This leads to a significant class difference

Question 10

Speech and Language (Feinstein)

Answer 10

• Feinstein found well educated parents are more likely to use language with children that encourages them to think for themselves eg open ended questions + more likely to use praise which benefits their self confidence and performance in school
• WC more likely to use closed ended questions which don’t encourage the developments of thoughts

Question 11

What are the speech and language theorists ?

Answer 11

1. Feinstein
2. Bereiter and Engelmann
3. Bernstein

Argue there is a link between better communication at home and an improvement in academic progression (communication and intellectual ability)

Question 12

Speech and language (Bereiter and Engelmann)

Answer 12

• The language used in WC families is deficient
• They depend on gestures rather than spoken words
• This limits the ability to develop their speech and communicate with others
• This makes it hard to engage in conversations with classmates and teachers causing them to fall behind

Question 13

Speech and language (Bernstein)

Answer 13

• study in to speech and language codes
• WC more likely to use the restricted code (shorter sentences, limited vocab and lots of gestures) + they speak in a context-bound way meaning they assume everyone else has the same prior knowledge they have
• This makes it harder to succeed in school because teachers and schoolbooks use the complex speech codes
• (More complex sentence structures, wider range of VOCAB, context free so speak in full detail)
• Those who use the elaborated code find it easier to communicate with teachers and find it easier to engage with text books making success more likely

Question 14

Evaluation of speech codes and language

Answer 14

• It is the role of teachers to help develop the child’s vocabulary and speech codes
• It exaggerates the extent to which WC families raise their children with poor speech

Question 15

Parents education (two theorists)

Answer 15

1. Feinstein
2. Bernstein and Young

Most WC parents lack academic ambition for their children as they are poorly educated themselves so their attitudes have passed down on to their children who don’t see the value in education

Question 16

Parents eduction (Feinstein)

Answer 16

• MC parents have high levels of eduction so encourage their kids to be as successful as them
• They adopt a parenting style which emphasises the importance of academic success
• High expectations and use discipline to ensure they are completing homework
• WC are ineffective at discipline as it is inconsistent and kids don’t learn to manage their behaviour leading to poor work completion and poor relationships with teachers
• MC are more likely to engage in educational activities eg museums to help them do well + this higher level of achievement makes children do better as their is better communication with teachers and better support for children

Question 17

Parents education (Bernstein and Young)

Answer 17

• MC more likely to prioritise education when it comes to the family budget
• More likely to spend money on educational resources eg books and activities
• WC less likely to invest in such things so this has a negative impact on their child’s intellectual development

Question 18

Evaluation of parent’s education

Answer 18

• WC parents don’t have less ambition, they are just unaware of how to help their children succeed
• WC may not be able to engage in educational activities due to working more shift-work and having less free time

Question 19

The working class as a deviant subculture

Answer 19

• Sugarman
• The WC are a subculture which possesses attitudes and values which are at odd with society
• There are 4 values of why WC do worse and have more barriers
  1. fatalism (believe their future cannot be altered)
  2. collectivism (People value being in a group more than their own values eg led astray rather than focusing on their own ambitions)
  3. Immediate gratification (sacrifice the long term benefits for short term gains eg doing fun activities rather than homework)
  4. Present-time oriented (life for here and now without thinking about the future so little planning is done and their is limited motivation)

Question 20

Evaluation of WC subcultures

Answer 20

• There isn’t a WC subculture as the WC make up the bulk of society
• It generalises the WC not all have those values