Sociology-Education-Social Class-External Flashcards
What are the three external factors affecting class differences in education?
Cultural deprivation, material deprivation and cultural capital
What are the factors of cultural deprivation?
Intellect (parenting), language, and attitudes and values
What are the factors of material deprivation?
Housing, diet and health, and cost of education
Why are cultural factors important in education?
Class differences in children’s development and achievement appear very early in life. Eg, a nationwide study by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies found that by age 3, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already up to one year behind those from privileged homes, and the gap widens with age-some argue this is the result of cultural deprivation
How does cultural deprivation affect achievement
Primary socialisation provides the basic ‘cultural equipment’ including language, self-discipline, reasoning skills, etc. However many working class families fail to socialise their children adequately, so they grow up ‘culturally deprived’. They lack the cultural equipment needed to do well in school so underachieve.
What did Hubbs-Tait find out about language?
Where parents used language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities, cognitive performance improves
What did Feinstein find, which follows on from this?
That educated parents are more likely to use language in this way
What happens if parents are less educated?
They tend to use language in ways that only require children to make simple descriptive statements, which results in lower performance
What did Feinstein also find out about educated parents?
They are more likely to use praise, which encourages their children to develop a sense of their own competence
What do cultural deprivation theorists link use of language to?
Social class
What did Bereiter and Engelmann say?
The language used in lower class homes is deficient, and describe them as communicating by gestures, single words or disjointed phrases
What happens to working class children as a result of this?
They fail to develop the necessary language skills and so grow up incapable of abstract thinking and unable to use language to explain, describe, enquire or compare. This means they are unable to take advantage of opportunities that the school offers
How did Bernstein distinguish between language used by the middle class and working class?
The restricted code and the elaborated code
What is the restricted code?
Typically used by the working class. Limited vocab, based on use of short, often unfinished, grammatically simple sentences. Predictable and sometimes only a single word or gesture. Descriptive, not analytic. Context bound (speaker assumes the listener shares same set of experiences)
What is the elaborated code?
Typically used by the middle class. Wider vocab, based on longer, grammatically more complex sentences. Varied and communicates abstract ideas. Context free (speaker doesn’t assume listener has same set of experiences so use language to explicitly explain what they mean)
What do these speech codes mean for children at school?
Middle class children are at an advantage and working class children are at a disadvantage
How does speech codes place certain children at an advantage?
The elaborated code is used by teachers, text books and exams. It is seen as the ‘correct’ way to speak and write but also needed for essential educational skills such as analysing, reasoning and expressing thoughts clearly and effectively
How are middle class children more likely to succeed, before even starting school?
Early socialisation into the elaborated code means that middle-class children are already fluent users of the code when they stay school, so feel ‘at home’ due to similar style language and so are more likely to succeed, whereas the opposite happens for working class children who feel excluded
What do critics argue about Bernstein?
He’s a cultural deprivation theorist as he describes working class speech as inadequate, but he also recognises that school influences achievement. They fail not only because they are culturally deprived, but also because schools don’t teach the elaborated code
What did a major, early study by Douglas find?
Working class parents placed less value on education, so they were less ambitious for their children, gave them less encouragement and took less interest in their education, eg by visiting schools/talking with teachers less often, children then had lower levels of motivation and achievement
What did Feinstein find, similar to Douglas?
Parent’s own education is most important factor affecting children’s achievement, so as middle class parents tend to be better educated, they are able to give children an advantage by how they socialise them
What different ways to children gain an advantage due to differences in socialisation?
Parenting style, parent’s educational behaviours, and use of income
What is the style of parenting like with educated parents?
Emphasises consistent discipline and high expectations of children, supporting their achievement by encouraging active learning and exploration
What is the style of parenting like with less educated parents?
Harsh or inconsistent discipline that emphasises ‘doing as you’re told’ and ‘behaving yourself’, preventing children form learning independence and self control, which leads to less motivation at school and problems interacting with teachers
What are educated parents educational behaviour like?
More aware of what is needed to assist their child’s educational progress, by doing things such as reading, teaching letters/songs/numbers, painting and helping with homework. Also better able to get expert advice on childrearing, can establish better relationships with parents, and recognise value of things such as visits to museums and libraries
How do better educated parents use their income?
Higher incomes and spend them in ways to promote their children’s educational success. Also as they are more aware of health and nutrition, they can buy better foods to help with child’s development
What did Bernstein and Young find about use of income?
Middle class mothers are more likely to buy educational toys, books and activities that encourage reasoning skills and stimulate intellectual development, whilst working class mother are more likely to lack these resources and so children lack intellectual skills needed to progress ins school
What does Feinstein note about class, income and parental education?
Parental education affects child’s achievement in its own right which explains why within one social class, better educated parents have more educationally successful children, also explains why not all working class children do badly at school and why not all middle class children are equally successful
What do cultural deprivation theorists argue that lack of interest in child’s education reflects?
The subcultural values of the working class
What is a subculture?
A group whose attitudes and values differ from those of the mainstream culture
What does Sugarman say about the working class subculture?
The subculture has four key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement (fatalism, collectivism, immediate gratification and present time orientation)
What is fatalism?
A belief in fate, ‘whatever will be, will be’ and nothing can change your status, this contrasts with middle-class values that emphasise that you can change your position through your own efforts
