Social Class External Factors Flashcards
Cultural Deprivation : Language
Restricted code - Feel excluded in the school, lack self-esteem
Elaborated code - Textbook/Teacher used language so children feel ‘at home’ leading to a rise in self esteem and succeed.
Cultural Deprivation : Parents education
Better educated parents place a higher value on education they are more ambitious for the children.
They can give their children a bigger advantage in how they socialise them through parenting style, educational behaviours & use of income
- Parenting Style: educated parents emphasise consistent discipline and high expectations and it supports their achievement by encouraging active learning.
- Use of income: better educated parents not only tend to have higher incomes but they also spend this in ways that promote the child’s educational success. Bernstein found that middle-class mothers are more likely to buy educational toys books and activities where is working-class homes are much more likely to lack these resources
- Educational behaviours: educate parents are much more aware of what is needed to assist the childs educational progress.
Cultural Deprivation: Working-class Subculture (Sugarman)
According to cultural deprivation theorists large sections of the working class possess different attitudes and values from the rest of society, this is why the children fail at school.
- Sugarman 1970 takes this view he argues the working-class subculture has four key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement.
1. Fatalism: The belief in fate that whatever will be will be and there’s nothing you can do to change your status that contrast the middle class values that you can change your position through your own efforts
2. Collectivism: Value being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual this contrasts with the middle-class view that individuals should not be held back by group loyalties
3. Immediate Gratification: seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future. Middle class do the opposite
4. Present time orientation: Sing the present as more important in the future and so not having long-term goals.
Why does WC subculture produce inequality
They internalise the beliefs and values of their subculture through the socialisation process and this results in their underachievement.
Compensatory education
This is seen as a solution to the problems of cultural deprivation it provides extra resources to school the communities in deprived areas.
They intervene early in the socialisation process to compensate for the lack of socialisation at home.
Sure start is an example of this.
Myth of Cultural Deprivation
Keddie 1973 describe cultural deprivation as a myth and as a victim blaming explanation.
She dismisses the idea that failure at school can be blamed on the culturally deprived home background.
Working-class children are simply culturally different not culturally deprived, you can’t be deprived of your own culture.
They fail due to the disadvantage they are put at by the predominantly middle-class schooling system
Material Deprivation: Housing
Poor housing can affect achievement directly and indirectly
— overcrowding can have a direct effect as it makes it harder for the child to study - overcrowded housing means less room for educational activities nowhere to do homework disturbed sleep and so on. 
— overcrowding can also have indirect effects notably on the child health and welfare for example children in crowded homes are in greater risk of accidents, cold or damp housing can also cause bad health
Material Deprivation: Diet and health
— Howard (2001) Notes that young people from poorer homes have low intake of energy vitamins and minerals poor nutrition affects health for example a weekly commute system this may result in more absences and difficulty concentrating in class.
— children from poorer homes are more likely to have behavioural problems according to Wilkinson among 10-year-olds lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity - likely to have a negative effect on the education of the child
— Blanden and Machin (2007) children from low income families are more more likely to engage in externalising behaviour which is likely to disrupt their schooling
Material Deprivation : Financial support and the cost of education
— BULL 1980 Lack of financial support means that children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that will enhance the educational achievement
- Poor children may have to do with hand me downs and cheaper but unfashionable equipment and this will result in them being bullied and having lack of self-esteem.
- 20% of children on FSM do not claim them (may explain)
— lack of financial support may also mean that children from low income homes need to work RIDGE found that children from low income homes are more likely to take on jobs and this often had a negative impact on their school work
Material Deprivation: Fear of debt
Going to university usually involves getting into debt to cover the cost of tuition fees. Attitudes towards debt may deter working-class students from going to university.  — Callender and Jackson found the attitude to debt but important in deciding whether to apply to university the more debt averse students (wc) were over over five times less likely to apply the most debt tolerant (mc) students — After an increase in tuition fees from 2012 meant that the UCAS number of UK applicants fell by 8.6%
Cultural or Material factors?
Mortimore and Whitty (97) argue that material inequalities have the greatest effect on the achievement.
— For this reason Robinson (97) argues that tackling of child poverty would be the most effective way to boost achievement.
Cultural Capital Bordieu
The term cultural capital is used to refer to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language and abilities of the middle class. — Sees middle-class culture as a type of capital because it gives an advantage to those who possess it. — like Bernstein he argues that through their socialisation middle-class children acquire abilities to analyse and express abstract ideas. They’re more likely to develop intellectual interests and understanding of what the education system requires for success. This leads to middle-class children gaining an advantage in school as they are therefore awarded with qualifications this is not because the education system is neutral but due to the favour it holds for the middle-class culture.
