External factors Flashcards
Who benefits from education?
- Functionalists- education allocates people to jobs by ability
- Marxists- education provides capitalists with an obedient workforce
2 factors explaining class differences
Internal factors- within school systems e.g. interactions between staff and students, inequalities between schools
External factors- factors outside of the education system e.g. home, family life, wider society
3 types of external factors?
- cultural deprivation
- material deprivation
- cultural capital
What is cultural deprivation?
working class families fail to socialise their children adequately thus their children lack the cultural equipment needed to do well and so they underachieve.
what are the 3 sub categories of cultural deprivation?
- language
- parents’ education
- working class subculture
Explain language in cultural deprivation
-educated parents are more likely to use language that challenges their education to evaluate their own understanding and abilities e.g. what do you think
-less educated parents tend to use language which requires descriptive statements e.g. what’s that called
- Bereiter and Engelmann (1966) language used in lower class homes is deficient so children are unable to take advantage of the opportunities that schools offer
Explain parents’ education in cultural deprivation
- Douglas (1964) working class parents value education less, have less ambition for their children and take less interest in their child’s education
-Feinstein (2008) parents’ own education is the most important factor affecting children’s achievement and middle class parents tend to be better educated and know how to assist their child’s progress - parenting style= educated parents’ parenting style’ emphasises discipline and high expectations, less educated parents’ parenting style is harsh or inconsistent which leads to poorer motivation and interaction problems at school
- use of income, parents with higher incomes spend it in ways which promote educational success
- Freinsein (2008) parental education has an influence in its own right regardless of class or income
Explain the working class subculture in cultural deprivation
The working class have a subculture of values ( a group whose attitudes and values differ from those of mainstream culture)
- Sugarman (1970) there are 4 features of the subculture which act as a barrier to educational achievement
1. fatalism= what will be will be, you cannot change your status
2. collectivism= value being part of a group over individual success
3. immediate gratification= seek pleasure now than make sacrifices for the future
4. present time orientation= present is more important than the future so no long term goals
- Sugar man theories that working class children internalise these things through primary socialisation and underachieve at school as middle class jobs are secure
- Compensatory education= programmes which tackle cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas
- Myth of cultural deprivation= working class children are culturally different not deprived. Education fails because it is dominated by middle class values (Keddie 1973.)
What is material deprivation?
poverty and a lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income.
What is a close link between material deprivation?
Your social class
What are the 4 sub categories of material deprivation?
- housing
- Diet and health
- financial support and the cost of education
- fear of debt
Explain housings effect on education
- Housing has a direct effect on education, as overcrowding leads to limited space for educational activities e.g. homework.
- A indirect effect is that overcrowding leads to health problems which causes more school absence
How does ones diet and health effect their education?
- Howard (2001) says poorer homes have a lower intake of energy, vitamins and minerals which leads to poor concentration, absence, e.c.t
- Wilkinson (1996) poorer homes have more emotional and behavioural problems
- Blanden and Machin (2007) says poorer households have more externalising behaviours like fighting and temper tantrums which disrupt schooling
How does financial support and the costs of education effect education?
- Bull (1990) says children from poor families have to do without e.g. school equipment
- ‘doing without’ leads to bullying peers and stigmatised
- Flaherty says stigmatisation explains why 20% of those eligible for free school meals do not take them up
- Ridge (2002) says children from lower income families often need to work which negatively impacts upon school work
How does a fear of debt effect ones education?
- working class children are debt adverse meaning debt is negative and must be avoided
- Calendar and Jackson 2005 says working working class see more costs than benefits in going to university
- Reay (2005) says working class students are more likely to apply to local unis so they can live at home and so less likely to apply for higher status university’s
- Dropout rates are higher for unis with a large proportion of working class
