Social class & Achievement

Question 1

what is cultural deprivation

Answer 1

lacking cultural equipment (basic norms, values, attitudes, language, motivation) gained through primary socialisation, that is needed to do well in school

Question 2

what is the solution to cultural deprivation

Answer 2

Compensatory Education
Intervene in the socialisation process to try and combat cultural deprivation - teaching basic norms and values
Operation Head start - playgroups
Sure Start - work with parents to promote physical, interlectual and social development of kids

Question 3

What are the external cultural factors affecting class difference in education

Answer 3

Language
Parents education
Working class subcultures

Question 4

Explain ‘language’ as an external cultural factor affecting class difference in education

Answer 4

Bernstein
WC speak in restricted code - limited vocab, more discriptive and context bound
MC speak in elaborated code - wider vocab, context free and complex
Education use elaborated code in class and expected for exams such as english. Deemed the ‘correct way to speak’ so WC may struggle to understand

Question 5

Explain ‘parents education’ as an external cultural factor affecting class difference in education

Answer 5

Feinstein
Attitudes to education - MC place higher value on education and
parents attend child parents evenings
WC place less value on it due to own negative
experiences
Parenting style - MC consistant disapline and high expectations =
encourages child to take responsibility of learning
WC harsh and inconsistant disapline prevent
independant and self control
Parents behaviour and use of income - MC know how to spent
income in best ways to promote childs
progress (books, nutrition)
WC lack knowledge on how to spend money
to promote childs progress
MC attitudes to education, parenting style and use of income put MC children in better position by providing interlectual skills to thrive

Question 6

Explain ‘Working class subcultures’ as an external cultural factor affecting class difference in education

Answer 6

Sugarman
Fatalism - what will be, will be
Collectivism - value being part of a group than individual success
Immediate gratification - seek pleasure now rather than making sacrifices for future reward
Present time orientation - present more important than the future - do not make long term goals (MC have future orientation)

Question 7

what is material deprivation

Answer 7

refers to living in poverty and having a lack of access to basic economic necessities

Question 8

what is cultural capital

Answer 8

knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the MC that put them at an advantage in school and in wider society

Question 9

what is educational capital

Answer 9

qualification and achievements

Question 10

what is economic capital

Answer 10

physical money and wealth

Question 11

what are the four material external factors effecting class difference in education

Answer 11

Poor housing
Poor diet and health
Financial support and cost of eduction
Fear of debt

Question 12

what is ‘poor housing’ as a material factor for class difference in edcuation

Answer 12

lack of space, cramped, noisy, lack of heating, damp, mold, sharing rooms, temporary housing (cost of living crisis made it worse for WC)
No space for children to study
increased chance of accident or health issues
distrupted sleep causing tiredness and lack of concentration
changing schools causes distrubtion

Question 13

what is ‘poor diet and health’ as a material factor for class difference in education

Answer 13

Howard- poor diet results in a lack of vitamins and energy and weaking immune system
Wilkinson - Wc children more likely to suffer from anxiety and hyperactivity due to lack of nutrition
(cost of living crisis made this worse for WC families- ricketts and scurvy)
more absences from schools
lack of concentration
behavioural problems and clashes

Question 14

what is ‘financial support and the cost of education’ as a material factor for class difference in education

Answer 14

Bull: ‘cost of free schooling’
Still have to pay for:
computers, textbooks, trips, transport, uniforms, lunch
cuts to funding for education = being asked to pay for more resources - textbooks
Students take up part time work - less time for school
lack of money for transport may cause absences or limit to only going to local schools
Incorrect unifrom - stigma, isolation punishment, low esteem
Art requires you to spend own money for resourcess for higher grades

Question 15

what is ‘Fear of debt’ as a material factor for class difference in edcuation

Answer 15

WC are more debt adverse
5x less likely to apply to uni
If they do, they are more likely to choose local uni to decrease living costs
May work part time at uni to minimise debt
Increasing costs of uni worsens as paying loan back for longer
Local unis might mean they attend a uni with a less employability
Job= less time to study

Question 16

what are the internal factors affecting class difference in achievement

Answer 16

Labelling
Pupil subcultures
Pupil identities and the school

Question 17

what is Labelling and how does it link to education

Answer 17

process of attaching a meaning or definition to someone or something
link= teachers atach labels regardless or ability but because of stereotypes

Question 18

what is Beckers theory of the Ideal pupil

Answer 18

teachers judge and label on how closely they fit the image of an ‘ideal pupil’
MC children labelled as ‘ideal pupil’ and WC labelled as badly behaved
Judgements influences by wat students dressed and how neat their work was

Question 19

what did Hempel-Jordensen find

Answer 19

In WC schools the ideal pupil was defined in behaviour (obediant and passive)
In MC schools the ideal pupil defined in terms of academic ability - intelligence

Question 20

What did Rist find with labelling in primary schools

Answer 20

MC students were called ‘tigers’ and viewed as neat and tidy. They were sat closer to the teacher and received more encouragement
WC students labelled as ‘clowns’ and viewed as lacking knowledge and drive. Sat further away from teacher and given easier work

Question 21

What did Dunne & Gazeley find with labelling in secondary schools

Answer 21

 Interviewed 9 teachers and found - “Schools persistently produce working class under achievement” due to teacher labels and assumptions. ​
Teachers labelled WC underachievement as normal and  unconcerning whereas they believed MC children could improve.​
This label was based on teachers’ assumption about the student’s background – labelled MC parents as supportive and WC as uninterested. ​
This led to WC pupils being entered into easier exams while MC students were given harder work to help them improve.

Question 22

How does labelling cause a SFP and underachievement

Answer 22

1) a teacher labels a pupil and makes a prediction
2) the student internalises the label given to them
3) the student then acts upon the label based on the teachers expectations

Question 23

What is an example of a SFP in education

Answer 23

Field experiment - Rosenthal and Jacobson
said that certain student would succeed in education and left. Came back to the school to see those student who they said were going to succeed did. (random)

Question 24

Who came up with the A-C economy

Answer 24

Gillborn and Youdell

Question 25

What is the A-C economy and how has it come into being

Answer 25

The creation of league tables has created the A-C economy
Schools use setting to create a triage system
They then focus their attention and resources on those student they label as capable as getting 5 GCSEs A-C in order to boost position on league tables

Question 26

what are the three categories in the A-C economy

Answer 26

Those who will pass anyway (and therefore do not require teacher input)​
C/D borderline (have potential but need extra help to pass)
Hopeless cases (doomed to fail – given no input)

Question 27

How does the A-C economy reflect Becker’s theory on WC students not being the ideal pupil

Answer 27

Schools often do not deem WC students as ideal pupils therefore place them in lower sets and do not succeed due to a lack for attention and resources - becoming SFP

Question 28

How does the A-C economy contribute to class difference in achievement

Answer 28

Higher sets: higher expectations, higher self-esteem, more encouragement and more teacher attention
Lower sets: lower expectations, less self-esteem, less encouragement and hardly any teacher attention

Question 29

What are some criticisms of the A-C economy

Answer 29

It helps teacher distribute their time and resources to students and the right amount of progress so students can succeed
Higher streams do not always mean success for MC students and vise versa for WC students

Question 30

How do pupil subcultures develop

Answer 30

Differentiation: The process of teachers categorising pupils according to their perception of their ability which leads to some student having higher status and some having lower status
Polarisation: students respond to differentiation by separating themselves from each into one of two extremes: pro-school and anti-school subcultures

Question 31

Which sociologist come up with the two pupil subculture categories

Answer 31

Lacey

Question 32

What are the two pupil subcultures said by Lacey

Answer 32

Anti-school subculture: pupils put into low streams (mainly WC) and would result in the pupils seeking a new way to obtain status. They would invert the schools values and go against what schools stand for - leading to educational failure
Pro-school subculture: pupils put into high streams and are committed to the schools values and have high educational achievement

Question 33

What did Hargreaves say about WC boys in bottom sets

Answer 33

They were ‘triple failures’
Failed their 11+
Placed in lower streams
Labelled as worthless
They seek out subcultures to gain status by breaking the school rules - would guarantee educational failure

Question 34

What did Ball say about the impact of streaming

Answer 34

When schools abolish streaming, polarisation into anti-school subcultures did not occur
Differentiation still occurred: teachers labelled MC students positively leading to SFP - teacher labelling can contribute to inequality even without the presence of setting and streaming

Question 35

What is the evaluation point for impact of streaming said by Woods

Answer 35

There are more responses to streaming and labelling than just pro/anti:
Ingratiation: Teachers pet
Ritualism: Going through the motions to stay out of trouble
Retreatism: Day dreaming and messing about
Rebellion: Outright rejection and rebellion of everything the school stands for.

Question 36

What is a habitus?

Answer 36

Ways of thinking and acting shared by a particular class. Includes tastes preferences about fashion and leisure alongside general outlook on life. This includes expectations of what is realistic for ‘people like us’​

Question 37

What is symbolic capital?

Answer 37

Being praised for your habitus and giving you status because of it.
Your habitus is see to have worth

Question 38

What is symbolic voilence

Answer 38

You habitus is seen as inferior and symbolic capital is with held from you - denied status or recognition

Question 39

What are Nike identities

Answer 39

Due to symbolic voilence, WC seek other ways to gain status through adopting branded clothes. Conforming to this provides WC with symbolic capital from peers and protects them from bulling

Question 40

How do Nike identities cause underachievement for WC

Answer 40

Teachers label WC style as tasteless and threatening
Clashes with uniform expected by schools
Expensive meaning may have to work in order to pay for clothes - reduce study time
Nike identity led to WC pupils rejecting higher education as they viewed it as not for people like them. Equally they now actively reject university as it does not fit with their identity (they did not want to live on student loan because they would be unable to afford the street style that gave them their identity)