Social class & Achievement Flashcards
Cultural and material deprivation, converting capital, labelling, streaming and setting, pupil subcultures and nike identities
what is cultural deprivation
lacking cultural equipment (basic norms, values, attitudes, language, motivation) gained through primary socialisation, that is needed to do well in school
what is the solution to cultural deprivation
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
What are the external cultural factors affecting class difference in education
Language
Parents education
Working class subcultures
Explain ‘language’ as an external cultural factor affecting class difference in education
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
Explain ‘parents education’ as an external cultural factor affecting class difference in education
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
Explain ‘Working class subcultures’ as an external cultural factor affecting class difference in education
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)
what is material deprivation
refers to living in poverty and having a lack of access to basic economic necessities
what is cultural capital
knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the MC that put them at an advantage in school and in wider society
what is educational capital
qualification and achievements
what is economic capital
physical money and wealth
what are the four material external factors effecting class difference in education
Poor housing
Poor diet and health
Financial support and cost of eduction
Fear of debt
what is ‘poor housing’ as a material factor for class difference in edcuation
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
what is ‘poor diet and health’ as a material factor for class difference in education
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
what is ‘financial support and the cost of education’ as a material factor for class difference in education
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
what is ‘Fear of debt’ as a material factor for class difference in edcuation
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
what are the internal factors affecting class difference in achievement
Labelling
Pupil subcultures
Pupil identities and the school
what is Labelling and how does it link to education
process of attaching a meaning or definition to someone or something
link= teachers atach labels regardless or ability but because of stereotypes
what is Beckers theory of the Ideal pupil
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
what did Hempel-Jordensen find
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
What did Rist find with labelling in primary schools
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
What did Dunne & Gazeley find with labelling in secondary schools
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.
How does labelling cause a SFP and underachievement
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
What is an example of a SFP in education
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)
Who came up with the A-C economy
Gillborn and Youdell
What is the A-C economy and how has it come into being
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
what are the three categories in the A-C economy
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)
How does the A-C economy reflect Becker’s theory on WC students not being the ideal pupil
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
How does the A-C economy contribute to class difference in achievement
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
What are some criticisms of the A-C economy
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
How do pupil subcultures develop
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
Which sociologist come up with the two pupil subculture categories
Lacey
What are the two pupil subcultures said by Lacey
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
What did Hargreaves say about WC boys in bottom sets
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
What did Ball say about the impact of streaming
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
What is the evaluation point for impact of streaming said by Woods
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.
What is a habitus?
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’
What is symbolic capital?
Being praised for your habitus and giving you status because of it.
Your habitus is see to have worth
What is symbolic voilence
You habitus is seen as inferior and symbolic capital is with held from you - denied status or recognition
What are Nike identities
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
How do Nike identities cause underachievement for WC
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)
