Social Class

Question 1

Define working class

Answer 1

A social group of people with low level education in low paid jobs such as cleaners, labourers and shop assistants

Question 2

Define middle class

Answer 2

A social group that consists of well educated people with higher paid jobs like teachers, doctors and lawyers

Question 3

What’s the difference between internal and external factors

Answer 3

Internal - things that affect pupils inside the school

External - things on the outside that affect pupils

Question 4

What are the 5 internal factors for social class?

Answer 4

Labelling
Self Fulfilling Prophecy 
Streaming
Pupil Subcultures
Working Class Identities

Question 5

Give sociologists that spoke about Self fulfilling prophecy and outline the research

Answer 5

Rosenthal and Jacobsen - told teachers that 20% of the class were ‘bloomers’ even though it wasn’t really based on an iq test - then 8 months later the children were tested and the bloomers approved more than the others

Question 6

Give 2 problems faced when researching teachers’ expectations

Answer 6

Gatekeepers may not allow research as it gives a bad impression of the school

Observations would lead to Hawthorne Effect which is lacking in validity

Question 7

Which sociologist studied labelling in kindergarten?

Answer 7

Rist - found that teachers judged that certain pupils were fast learners and placed them on the ‘tiger’ table (these children were usually middle class and sat closest to the teacher) and then the working class children were judged to be less able and were sat on the ‘clown’ table

Question 8

Which internal factor did Gillborn and Youdell research?

Answer 8

Streaming where the found that children were put in educational triage

Question 9

Define subculture

Answer 9

A group whose values are different to the norm

Question 10

Who studied pupil subcultures and what two stages led to them?

Answer 10

Lacey found through observations that differentiation and polarisation led to subcultures. Because teachers treat certain pupils DIFFERENTLY this leads to students choosing one of two POLAR extremes; pro and anti school subcultures

Question 11

Give 2 problems in researching subcultures

Answer 11

Anti school pupils truant so may not be present for research - less representative

Parents may not consent as their children will be labelled

Question 12

Who studied teachers labelling and assumptions of working class children?

Answer 12

Dunne and Gazeley - found that teachers normalised underachievement first working class children and didn’t give them extension work or high targets they also didn’t see parents as supportive and involved

Question 13

Why did Hargreaves believe anti school subcultures came about?

Answer 13

Due to the triple failure (failing 11+ exams, being negatively labelled, being placed in a low stream) which leads to status frustration (wanting to succeed but not being able to) so they find status through reputation and peers

Question 14

Which sociologist can be used as evaluation for streaming as an important internal factor?

Answer 14

Ball - who studied a school where streaming had been abolished and found that although subcultures disappeared teachers still labelled middle class students more positively and they succeeded more

Question 15

Give 2 criticisms of the labelling theory

Answer 15

Fuller - self negating prophecy shows that children will not always conform to the label given

Marxists - gives no explanation as to why, it blames teachers but the reason teachers label is due to wider social constructs

Question 16

What are the 3 external factors?

Answer 16

Cultural deprivation
Material deprivation
Cultural capital

Question 17

Who spoke about language making children culturally deprived?

Answer 17

Bernstein - he brought up the fact that the working class use restricted code while the middle class and schools use elaborate code

Question 18

Describe the difference between the restricted and elaborate code?

Answer 18

Restricted code - limited vocab, simple sentences, context bound, descriptive

Elaborate code - wide vocab, complex sentences, not context bound

Question 19

Give a strength and weakness of Bernstein

Answer 19

Bereiter and Engelmann - found lower class rely on gestures and disjointed phrases which is deficient

Troyna and Williams - said the language used is not inadequate just the attitudes towards it are negative

Question 20

What did Feinstein argue made children culturally deprived?

Answer 20

Parents education - as w.c parents do not consistently discipline, have high expectations or can buy what would aid children’s education

Question 21

Give a strength and a weakness of Feinstein

Answer 21

Douglas - even within the same social class those with more educated parents succeed more

Blackstone and Mortimore - parents may be unable to help with homework or go to parents evenings not because they are uneducated but have irregular and long shifts

Question 22

Who argued that working class subcultures led to cultural deprivation?

Answer 22

Sugarman - argued that due to working class adults having little hope of promotion or job security it encourages 4 damaging beliefs

Question 23

What Sugarman’s 4 damaging beliefs of the working class subculture?

Answer 23

Fatalism - “it is what is” rather than wanting change

Collectivism - valuing group more individual success

Immediate gratification

Present time orientation - present more important than future so no long term plans

Question 24

Give a criticism of the cultural deprivation theory as a whole?

Answer 24

Keddie - says it is a “myth” and victim blaming as they are just culturally different not deprived and disadvantaged only by a middle class system

Question 25

Which sociologist speaks about cultural capital as one of three capitals? Also define them

Answer 25

Bourdieu - the cultural capital which is knowledge passed on through socialisation of manners, hobbies and wider knowledge. Educational capital is qualifications which are easier to achieve if you already posses cultural capital as they are middle class values. Economic capital is wealth and class which you get from high qualifications and then leads to their children having higher cultural capital.

Question 26

How does Sullivan evaluate the cultural capital?

Answer 26

They gave a questionnaire to 465 pupils from 4 schools about reading, T.V, historical figures and cultural trips and found that although most of those with cultural capital were middle class, if a working class child had the same amount of cultural capital as a middle class child they still underachieved more.

Question 27

What are 2 problems faced when researching cultural capital?

Answer 27

Hawthorne effect - they may exaggerate the amount of things they do - lacks validity

Is teachers are asked to judge it may be inaccurate as it’s based on stereotypes - lacks validity

Question 28

Give an advantage and disadvantage of researching parents attitudes?

Answer 28

Ad - parents may want to participate as it could lead to more support for their children

Disad - Parents may be reluctant to participate as they feel they are being blamed for their child’s underachievement

Question 29

Give an advantage and disadvantage of researching material deprivation

Answer 29

Ad - schools may allow research as it could lead to more funding for working class children

Disad - some parents may not want to participate as it stigmatises their children

Question 30

Which sociologists studied the housing part of material deprivation?

Answer 30

Waldfogel and Washbrook - found that w.c children lived in crowded, damp or unclean homes which can lead to bad health and tiredness which affects school performance. Also they move around temporary accommodation which is disrupting

Question 31

Howard spoke on which part of material deprivation?

Answer 31

Diet and health - he said that lower class children have poor nutrition and low energy intake which makes it hard to concentrate and also leads to illnesses and absences

Question 32

Give a criticism of the material deprivation factor as a whole

Answer 32

Some lower class children do succeed so there must be some other cultural or religious values at play.

Question 33

Which sociologist spoke on the financial angle of material deprivation?

Answer 33

Tanner Et al - w.c families can not affect additional educational items or trips, this can affect them both through stigmatisation of shame and embarrassment and also if they have to get a job to afford things that means less time for education

Question 34

What did Callendar and Jackson research in relation to material deprivation?

Answer 34

Fear of debt - they sent a questionnaire to 2000 prospective students and found that lower class were less keen on university due to the debt so chose the work and stay near home instead

Question 35

Which sociologist studied working class identities?

Answer 35

Archer

Question 36

What is a habitus and how does it link to symbolic capital?

Answer 36

Habitus is dispositions or learned habits taught though socialisation and the middle class habitus is given symbolic capital by the school so they have more status and respect.

Question 37

What does symbolic capital lead to according to Archer?

Answer 37

Symbolic violence against the working class because they are told their tastes and lifestyle is inferior which leads to lower self esteem and feel they have to change to succeed

Question 38

What are Nike identities according to Archer?

Answer 38

It is when working class pupils create their own identities by wearing brands and they make not wearing it ‘social suicide’ so it has symbolic capital even if not respected by school or middle class. This is self exclusion from schools expectations which leads to underachievement

Question 39

Overall how does class identity clash with achievement in education + a sociologist?

Answer 39

Ingram - find that in Belfast when one group of working class boys went to grammar school it was difficult for them still being around the large networks of family and friends who hadn’t because they were no longer conforming.