External factors (class)

Question 1

What are the 3 Key main ideas behind external factors regarding class difference in achievement?

Answer 1

• cultural capital
• material deprivation
• cultural deprivation

Question 2

What is cultural capital? (Bourdieu’s theory)

Name the two other types of cultural capital that work together

Answer 2

• The attitudes, values, skills etc of the middle class that are passed on through generations
• economic capital and educational capital

Question 3

How does cultural capital widen the gap between w/c and m/c educational achievement?

Answer 3

1: cultural capital - it advantages the m/c because schools have cultural capital (schools favour middle class culture because it is believed they have the right attitudes and values etc for success) ~ more cult cap=more success
2: economic capital - middle class have more money so the can turn their wealth into educational capital (e.g more money to have tutors to teach them skills they need to gain better education and cultural capital)

Question 4

What does the term ‘material derivation’ relate to?

Answer 4

Poverty and lack of material necessities e.g adequate housing and income, associated with the working class

Question 5

How does material deprivation widen the gap between w/c and m/c educational achievement?

Answer 5

• poor housing

• damp, unsafe = illness/injury causing absences
• little space, too small = inefficient revision

• diet and health

• malnutrition = illness causing absences
• hunger and malnutrition = lack of concentration in lessons

• low income
- lack of equipment = hand me downs, bullying

Question 6

What does the term ‘cultural deprivation’ relate to?

Answer 6

Inadequate socialisation of working class parents causing a lack of the ‘right’ culture for educational success

Question 7

(1) How does cultural deprivation widen the gap between w/c and m/c educational achievement?

Answer 7

• Language (speech codes):
- w/c use restricted code (limited vocab, doesn’t express ideas efficient) whereas m/c elaborated does

• parents education, style + use of income:

• Douglas: ‘middle class parents are more interested in child’s education because they attend open evenings’ ~ kids lack encouragement because of this
• discipline in w/c is inconsistent, unhelpful
• m/c parents buy educational toys, w/c don’t

Question 8

(2) How does cultural deprivation widen the gap between w/c and m/c educational achievement?

Answer 8

• working-class subculture

• fatalism (it is what it is), no motivation or encouragement to change that
• immediate gratification (pleasure now rather than sacrifice for long term rewards)

Question 9

What opposes the argument against cultural deprivation and the effect it has on educational achievement?

Answer 9

• compensatory education - programmes which provide extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas (lessens the influence of cult dep)
• Douglas’s argument about the lack of interest parents have in attending open evenings may be an unfair assumption as they may have missed them due to inconvenient work shifts instead