Social Class And Educational Achievement

Question 1

How much more likely are middle class pupils to go achieve 5 or more A*-C grade at GCSE and attend university than working class pupils ?

Answer 1

2-3x more likely to achieve 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE
5x more likely to attend university

Question 2

Define ‘ Cultural factors’

Answer 2

Class differences in norms and values acquired through socialisation, attitudes to education, speech codes etc

Question 3

Define ‘ material factors’

Answer 3

Physical necessities of life, adequate housing, diet and income.

Question 4

Define ‘ external or home background factors’

Answer 4

Lie outside of school

Question 5

Define ‘ internal factors’

Answer 5

The school education system

Question 6

What is the cultural deprivation theory?

Answer 6

Some working class parents fail to transmit the appropriate norms, values, attitudes, knowledge, skills etc needed for educational success.
Cultural deprivation theorists see three factors responsible for working class underachievement
- language
- parents education
- working class subcultures

Question 7

How does language contribute to working class underachievement?

Answer 7

Basil Bernstein (1975) describes the elaborated and restricted speech codes to show how the working class are disadvantaged.
The working class use of the restricted code: less analytic, more descriptive, limited vocabulary formed of simple sentences or gestures, assumes the listener shares the particular meanings that the speaker holds
The middle class use of the elaborated code: more analytic, wide vocabulary and complex sentences, universalistic, speaker spells out their meanings that the speaker holds

The elaborated code is used within education, by teachers, in exams, textbooks, university interviews. This gives the middle class an education advantage.

Question 8

Why is the elaborated code used within education?

Answer 8

Textbooks use it because they don’t know who their reader is, therefore they have to spell out their meanings very explicitly in a way that can be understood ‘universally’.

Question 9

How does parents education contribute to working class underachievement?

Answer 9

Feinstein (2008) argue parents education is the most crucial factor affecting pupils achievement since middle class parents tend to be better educated, their children gain an advantage.
- parenting style: educated parents empathise discipline, high expectations, active learning and exploration. Less educated parents have inconsistent discipline meaning their children are more likely to be less motivated
- parents education behaviours: educated parents are more aware of what helps their children’s educational progression eg forming good relationships with teachers
- language: the way parents communicate affects children’s cognitive development
- use of income: educated parents spend their income to promote children’s development eg on educational toys

Question 10

How does working class subculture contribute to working class underachievement?

Answer 10

• immediate gratification: wanting rewards now rather than be willing to make sacrifices for the future, contrats the middle class differed gratification
• fatalism: the belief of ‘ whatever will be, will be’. Working class children don’t believe they can improve their position through their own individual efforts
• low value on education:
  Hyman argues that the working class don’t value education so they don’t try.
  Douglas argues that working class parents show less interest in their children’s education and give them less support eg less likely to attend parent evenings.

Question 11

What do critics of the cultural deprivation theory say? Specifically about working class subcultures?

Answer 11

• it ignores the importance of material factors eg poverty
• it ignores the impact of school factors eg negative labelling by teachers
• it blames the victim for their failure. Critics argue that the working class are not culturally deprived they simply have a different culture from the school and this puts them at a disadvantage.

Working class parents don’t attend parents evenings because they work long hours or because they feel inferior to the teachers, not because they are not interested in the children’s education.

Question 12

How does material deprivation contribute to working class underachievement?

Answer 12

• poor housing: overcrowding or cold and damp rooms means pupils have nowhere quiet to do homework. Being homeless or living in temporary accommodation may mean frequent moves and changes in school
• poor diet: can lead to illness, lack of nutrients and minerals can lead to poor concentration and energy levels

Question 13

What are criticisms of the material deprivation theory?

Answer 13

It ignores factors in schools such as teacher labelling and streaming which may cause under achievement.
Those with supportive parents may be motivated to do well in school.

Question 14

How can the financial cost of education affect educational achievement?

Answer 14

Poorer families can afford fewer educational opportunities eg trips, computers. Children may be bullied for lacking the right uniform or latest fashion trends.

Callender and Jackson (2005) found working class students more debt adverse. They saw more costs than benefits in going to university and this influenced their decisions.

Question 15

What is the cultural capital theory and how many it effect educational achievement?

Answer 15

Bourdieu (1984) argued that middle class pupils are more successful than working class pupils because their parents possess more capital.
This capital comes in two forms:
- economic capital ( wealth that middle class families own )
- cultural capital ( the attitudes, values, skills, knowledge of the middle class )
He shows how they are not separate but link together to produce class inequalities in achievement known as:
educational capital: the middle class use their greater economic and cultural capital to give their children an advantage by using it to obtain educational capital ( qualifications ). This allows their children to get middle class jobs and more economic capital, therefore reproducing the advantages of the middle class from generation to generation

Question 16

How does labelling effect educational achievement?

Answer 16

Becker (1961) argues that tecahers label middle class children as ideal pupils and prefer to teach them rather than working class pupils

Question 17

Whjat are cristisms of the labelling theory?

Answer 17

Some have said the labelling theory is too determinisitic and not all pupils who are labelled as failures fulfil the pophecy, some in fact reject the label.

Question 18

How does the self fulfilling propehcy effect educational achievement?

Answer 18

Teachers can create self fulfilling propehcys by the labels they attach to pupils. Studies of labelling show ‘What teachers believe, pupils ahcieve’. Therefore while teachers label middle class students as bright, and therefore sucseed, working class pupils are likely to be labelled negatively and therefore fail.

Question 19

How does streaming effect educational achievement?

Answer 19

By streaming all the ‘bright’ pupils together into the top ‘stream’ for all subjects and the ‘thick’ ones at the bottom. L acey (1970) describes streaming as ‘differentiation’- a way of seperating the sheep from the goats and then educating them differently, often creating a self-fullfilling prophecy.

douglas found thatv the IQ of pupils lbelled as lesws able and placed in the bottom stream actually fell over time, whereas that of pupils in the top set increased.

Those placed in the lower streams may be denied access to the same curriculum, as a result of labelling this is often working class pupils, therefore widening the gap between the classes

Question 20

How does pupils subcultures effect educational achievement?

Answer 20

Pupils may form their own subcultres as a reponse to labelling.
Pro school subcultures- usually formed by pupils in higher streams. They accept their schools values and goals of hard work, regular attendance, respect for teachers, they enjoy school and participate entusiastically
Anti school subcultures- often formed by those in lower streams. They reject the school’s values and often invert them. They dislike schools, disrespect teachers, avoid doing school work.

Lacey argues that lower streamed pupils form or join anti school subcultures because schools deprives them of status by labelling them as failures. Therefore these pupils create their own status hierarchy, gaining status from their peers by rejecting the shcool’s values and breaking it’s rules.

Pupils subcultures often lead to a self fulfilling propehcy, memebrs of pro shcool often work hard and are succesful while those in anti shcool subcultres mess about and fail

Question 21

How does Archer (2010) use Bodieu’s concept of habitus to understand the relationship between pupil’s working class identities and underachievement

Answer 21

(Habitus is a social class’s way of thinking, being and acting, eg lifestyles and expectations about what is normal for ‘people like us’. the middle class has the power to define it’s habitus as superior and impose it on the education system, so the shcool holds middle class values)

Schools commit symbolic violence by devaluing working class pupils habitus, judging their clothing, accent as inferior and denying them symbolic capital. This can lead pupils to create alternative class identities and gain symbolic capital from peers through consuming branded goods, ( Nike personalities ). Sucsseding in school leads to ‘losing youself’ becoming inauthentic, changing how your present yourself to fit in.

Question 22

How does the working class idenity effect educational achievement of pupils?

Answer 22

Ingram (2009) fpund ‘fitting in’ was a preobelm for working class grammar school boys. They experience tension between their neighbourhood habitus and their middle class school. They faced being judged worthless at school or in their community.

Evans (2000) found that even succesful working class girls faced hidden barriers. They felt their identities would not ‘fit in’ with the habitus of eltie univeristies. The girls had a strong attachment to their families and intended to remain at home to study. Self eclsuion from elite or distant univerities limits working class students options and achievements.

Question 23

How do educational policies effect educational achievement?

Answer 23

Example- some sociologists argue that marketisation policies have increased the amount of streaming in schools.

Policies on issues such as grants, fees, maintenance allowances, the school leaving age etc have an impact on home background factors such as material or cultural deprivation.