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
What is collectivism?
Valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual, this contrasts with middle class view that an individual shouldn’t be held back by group loyalties
What is immediate gratification?
Seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future, this contrasts with middle class values that emphasise deferred gratification (making sacrifices now for greater rewards later)
What is present time orientation?
Seeing present as more important than future so not having long term goals or plans, this contrasts with middle class future orientation that sees planning for the future as important
How do these values affect working class children?
They internalise the beliefs and values through socialisation and primary socialisation, and then this results in underachievement at school
Why does Sugarman believe these differences in values exist?
Stem from fact that middle class jobs are secure careers that offer prospects for continuous individual advancement, that encourages ambition, long term planning and a willingness to invest time and effort in gaining qualifications-opposite for working class jobs
What is compensatory education?
Aim to tackle problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas, so that they intervene early in socialisation to compensate children from deprivation they experience at home
What is the best known example of a compensatory education programme?
Operation head start in the USA in 1960s, aim was ‘planned enrichment’ of deprived child’s environment to develop skills and achievement motivation. Included improvement of parenting skills, setting up nursery classes and home visits by educational psychologists. Sesame street was originally part of this to teach basic educational skills and values
What are British examples of compensatory education?
Educational Priority Areas, Education Action Zones and Sure Start
What are the criticisms of cultural deprivation?
Keddie 1973, Troyna and Williams 1986 and Blackstone and Mortimore 1994
What does Keddie say?
victim blaming, can’t be deprived of own culture, culturally different not culturally deprived, rather than seeing it as deficient they should build on its strengths and stop teachers anti working class prejudices
What does Troyna and Williams say?
Problem isn’t the child’s language, but the schools attitude towards it, teachers have a speech hierarchy (m/c, w/c, black)
What does Blackstone and Mortimore say?
Working class parents attend fewer parents evening because they work longer/have less regular hours/put off by middle class atmosphere. Not because they care less. evidence showing that mainly w/c schools have less effective ways of parent-school contact
What does material deprivation mean?
Poverty and a lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income
What is evidence to show that poverty is closely linked to educational underachievement?
1/3 of students eligible for FSM achieve 5 or more A*-C grades including English/maths compared to 2/3 of other students, Flaherty 2004 money problems in family are main reason for non attendance at school, exclusion is more common in poorer families and 1/3 of persistent truants leave with no qualifications. Nearly 90% of failing schools are in deprived areas
How can overcrowding affect a child’s school performance?
Less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework, disturbed sleep from sharing beds/bedrooms etc
How can housing problems affect young children especially?
Development can be impaired through lack of space for safe play and exploration, also temporary accommodation means constant changes of school and disrupted education
How can housing have an indirect effect on a child’s school performance?
Crowded homes mean a greater risk of accidents, coldness/dampness can lead to ill health, and temporary housing can lead to psychological distress, infections and accidents. All of these lead to absence from school
What does Howard say?
Young people from poor homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals. This poor nutrition affects health eg by weakening immune system and lowering energy levels, resulting in absences and difficulty concentrating
What does Wilkinson suggest?
Poorer families are more likely to have children with emotional/behavioural problems. Among 10 year olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders (negative effect on child’s education)
What did Blanden and Machin find?
Children from low income families were more likely to engage in externalising behaviour such as fighting and tantrums which will disrupt schooling
What did Bull refer to as the cost of free schooling?
The lack of financial support means children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences
What did a study by Tanner et al find?
The cost of items such as transport, uniforms, books, computers, calculators, and sports, music and art equipment, places a heavy burden on poor families
What happens to poor children as a result of the cost of education?
They may have to make do with hand me downs, and cheaper but unfashionable equipment, which may result in being isolated, stigmatised or bullied by peers, though for many children, suitable clothes are essential for self-esteem and ‘fitting in’
What does Flaherty say?
Fear of stigmatisation may also help to explain why 20% of those eligible for free school meals don’t take up their entitlement
What does Smith and Noble add to this?
Poverty acts as a barrier to learning in other ways, such as inability to afford private schooling or tuition, and poorer quality local schools
What did Ridge find about lack of funds for children in low-income families?
Children in poverty take on jobs such as baby sitting, cleaning and paper rounds, and that often has a negative impact on schoolwork
What are the EMAs?
Education Maintenance Allowances, which is financial support to poorer students staying on in education after 16, but was abolished in England by the Coalition government 2011
Why may working class students be deterred from university?
Because of the fear of debt, which they see as negative and something to be avoided
What did Callender and Jackson find from a questionnaire survey?
Working class students are more debt averse, so see more costs than benefits in going to university, debt is negative and should be avoided
What was a crucial finding by Callender and Jackson?
Attitude to debt was important in deciding wether to apply to university. More debt averse students (typically working class) were over 5 times less likely to apply to university than the more debt tolerant students (typically middle class)
What happened to tuition fees in?
They increased to £9000 per year which may mean even more deterrence for working class students from applying to university
What are statistics surrounding the increase in tuition fees?
UCAS 2012 showed that the number of UK applicants fell by 8.6% in 2012 compared with the previous year
What may put poorer students at a financial disadvantage once they get to university?
They are less likely to receive less financial support from their families-81% from highest help received financial support from family compared to only 43% from lowest class-suggests why working class are only 30% of uni population despite being 50% of population
What did Reay find?
Financial factors restrict university choice and chance of success and so working class pupils are more likely to apply to local universities, giving less chance to go to higher status universities. Plus more likely (twice as much time doing paid work) to work part time as well, limiting chance for higher-class degrees
What is higher at universities with a higher proportion of working class pupils?
Dropout rates, eg 16.6% drop out at London Metropolitan, but only 1.5% dropout at Oxford
Why may material factors, not be the cause of class achievement differences?
Although some factors clearly play a part, some children from poor families do succeed, suggesting that material factors are only partly the problem (cultural/religious/political values may play a part in creating/sustaining motivation, and also Feinstein’s idea of educated parents making a difference)
What do Mortimore and Whitty argue?
Material inequalities have the greatest effect on achievement
What does Robinson argue?
Tackling child poverty would be the most effective at boosting achievement
What does Bourdieu argue?
Cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement and uses the concept of ‘capital’ to explain why middle class achieve more
What three types of capital does Bourdieu use?
Economic, educational and cultural
What is cultural capital?
Knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle class
Why does Bourdieu see middle class culture as a type of capital?
Because, like wealth, it gives an advantage to whoever possess it, so middle class children are advantaged because they are socialised into a middle class culture which has similar values/abilities/interests that schools have or value (similar to Bernstein’s idea of speech codes)
What do schools do to working class culture?
Devalues it and labels it as rough/inferior. Their lack of cultural capital then leads to exam failure, and many working class pupils ‘get the message’ that education isn’t meant for them, leading to truanting and not bothering
What does Bourdieu say about the three types of capital?
They can be converted into one another (cultural capital to educational, and economic to educational etc)
What did Leech and Campos find in?
Wealthier families could afford to move house, into the catchment area of a good school, placed highly in the league tables, called selection by mortgage, as it drives up cost of houses near successful schools, excluding working class families
Which sociologist tested Bourdieu’s ideas of capital?
Sullivan who used a questionnaire to asses cultural capital of pupils
What did Sullivan find?
Those who read complex fiction and watched serious TV documentaries, developed wider vocabulary and greater cultural capital. Also those with higher cultural capital were children of graduates, and so more likely to be successful at GCSE. Where pupils had same levels of cultural capital, middle class still did better
What did Sullivan conclude?
The greater resources and aspirations of middle class families explains the remainder of the class gap in achievement
