social class differences in achievement (external factors) Flashcards
What are the three external factors for achievement?
cultural deprivation
material deprivation
cultural capital
What is cultural deprivation?
when students lack the basic ‘cultural equipment’
What is the basic ‘cultural equipment’?
language
parent’s education
subcultures
Which sociologist talks about speech codes?
Bernstein
What are the 2 speech codes and who speaks which?
restricted - w/c, limited and simple vocab
elaborated - m/c, wider and complex vocab
Who is at an advantage with language in school and why?
(plus impact)
m/c because teachers, textbooks and exams use elaborated code
puts w/c at disadvantage and gives them less oppurtunities
AO3 - who does Bernstein blame for the socialising of children?
unlike most CD theorists Bernstein doesn’t blame home life
says it is schools responsibility to teach students elaborated code
(internal not external)
What did the sociologist Douglas find?
w/c parents place less value on their child’s education
What is the impact of w/c parents not placing value on education?
(5 points)
less ambition for children
less encouragement
less interest
visited schools less
less likely to discuss child’s progress with teachers
What did the sociologist Feinstein say?
m/c parents tend to be better educated so socialise children to be positive towards education
How did m/c parents socialise their children to be positive towards education?
(4 points)
parenting style - m/c have discipline and high expectations
parent’s educational behaviours - m/c read, visit educational places, relationship with teachers
use of income - use to promote education
class, income and parental education - parents education is key as even with social classes better educated parents mean better achieving children
What is a subculture and which sociologist talks about it?
a group whose attitudes and values differ from the mainstream culture
Sugarman
What are the 4 subcultures and explain what they are?
fatalism - ‘what will be will be’ and can’t change
collectivism - value being in groups over individual success
immediate gratification - pleasure now instead of making sacrifices for future rewards
present time orientation - present more important than future (w/c)
Where does Sugarman say the differences in subcultures come from?
m/c jobs are secure and have continuous advancements but w/c have less secure jobs and opportunities are limited
Who internalises the beliefs and values of these subcultures?
w/c
What is compensatory education?
aim to tackle the problems of cultural deprivation by giving extra resources in deprived areas
Examples of compensatory education?
Sesame Street - TV instill educational values and skills e.g numeracy and literacy
Sure Start - policy by New Labour in 2010 where centres were set up in deprived areas to provide care, support, health services, employment for parents etc
also have Operation Head Start, education programmes etc
What problems have there been with compensatory education?
since 2011, significant cuts in funding and many centres closed
AO3 - what does sociologist Keddie say?
myth of cultural deprivation - it victim blames
underachievement not due to culturally deprived background but they are culturally different
children fail as school has m/c values
AO3 - what do sociologists Blackstone and Mortimore say?
criticise idea w/c parents place less value on education
attend less parents evening due to longer work hours
put off by m/c atmosphere of school
want to help but lack the knowledge
schools with mainly w/c have less effective ways to contact home
What is material deprivation?
poverty and lack of material necessities
What are the 4 parts of material deprivation?
housing
diet and health
financial support and cost of education
fear of debt
statistics showing w/c achieving less than m/c
90% failing schools in deprived areas
barely 1/3 of pupils eligible to free school meals achieve 5 or more GCSEs A*-C
What are the direct factors of housing?
overcrowding - hard to study, less room and disturbed sleep
development impaired - no space to explore or play
temporary accommodation - change schools and disruption
What are the indirect factors of housing?
impacts child’s health and wellbeing
crowded homes - risk of accident
cold or damp housing - leads to illness
temporary accommodation - psychological stress, infection and accident
result in absence from school
Which sociologist talks about diet and health?
Howard
What does Howard say about diet and health?
young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals so have weaker immune system leading to absences at school
poor children more likely to have emotional and behavioural problems with higher rates of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders
What did the sociologist Tanner find about financial support and cost of education?
cost of transport, books, computers and other equipment puts a burden on poorer families
What is stigmatisation?
(plus example)
fear being bullied due to being disproved
e.g poorer children having hand me downs
What did the sociologist Flaherty find?
fear of stigmatisation is one of the reasons only 20% of those entitled to free school meals take them
How is financial support and cost of education a struggle for children?
makes a barrier to opportunities e.g tuition and private schooling
some children have to take on jobs with negatively impacts their education
What impact does fear of debt have for university?
uni involves debt, tuition fees, books, living expenses etc which puts off w/c students
What do Calendar and Jackson say about fear of debt?
w/c students more debt averse so saw uni as negative and something to avoid
statistic showing w/c are more debt averse so put off uni?
w/c 5x less likely to apply to uni
Increase of tuition fees impact
increase to £9000 in 2012 meant more w/c put off uni
UCAS said no. applicants in 2012 dropped by 8.6%
What % of uni students were w/c
only 30%
What unis were w/c more likely to go to?
IMPACT
local to reduce costs
this gave limited opportunities for high status unis
What were drop out rates?
higher for unis with larger amounts of w/c
AO3 - is it mat dep or cult dep that plays a part in achievement?
mat dep is only part of explanation as it doesn’t cover those w/c that do succeed
cultural, religious or political values play part in sustaining motivation despite poverty
tackling child poverty is most effective way to boost achievement
Who talks about cultural capital?
Bourdieu
What are the three types of capital?
economic capital
educational capital
cultural capital
What is cultural capital?
knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of m/c
m/c have HABITUS
What does Bernstein argue?
m/c able to grasp, analyse and express abstract ideas
appeals to better schools
education system has dominant m/c culture
What is habitus?
taken for granted way of thinking shared by particular social class
group habitus is response to class position
m/c habitus influences education and w/c seen as inferior
How can economic capital convert to educational capital?
pay for extra tuition
send child to private education
m/c more likely to afford house near better schools (selection by mortgage)
What did Sullivan study and what did he find?
put Bourdieu’s ideas to the test
questionaires with 465 pupils in 4 schools
asked about TV, reading, museum visits etc
those reading complex fiction/serious TV documentaries have developed vocab and knowledge on cultural figures (more cult cap)
students with more cult cap were children of graduates and more likely to do well at GCSE
What did Sullivan find about what cult cap accounted for?
only accounted for parts of class differences in achievement
where pupils with different social classes but same cult cap, m/c still did better
Sullivan says greater resources and aspirations of m/c explains class gap in achievement
