Topic 2: Class - Cultural Deprivation and Cultural capital Flashcards
What is meant by cultural deprivation?
Working class culture fails to provide the necessary attributes needed to succeed at school.
What does Barry Sugarman (1970) state about the differences between working class and middle class culture?
- WC don’t defer gratification - will take an immediate income rather than go to uni and get a higher income job.
- Fatalism: Don’t believe they can improve through hard work.
- Collectivism: Less likely to seek individual success in education.
What did Leon Fernstein (2003) find as the most important factor in shaping educational achievement?
Using data from the National Child Development Study:
- The extent to which parents supported and encouraged their children determined how well they did.
What factors did Goodman and Gregg (2010) find that explained low educational achievement amongst the poor?
- The quality of mother-child interactions.
- How often parents read books to young children.
- Parental attitudes to education.
- Parental involvement in schooling (helping with hw).
What are Bernstein’s (1972) language codes?
WC speak with restricted codes - shorthand speech.
MC use elaborate codes - more complex and precise.
How do language codes affect educational achievement (Bernstein, 1972)?
Elaborate codes are necessary for success - many teachers use elaborate codes.
WC children may feel less confident.
How do Blackstone and Mortimore (1994) criticise the research of parental interest?
Parental interest hasn’t been measured adequately.
Teacher assessments have been used, not giving the full picture.
Further, wc parents may not visit school events as they are uncomfortable around the mc teachers - inferiority.
What did Gillian Evans’ (2007) qualitative research find?
Criticises cultural deprivation theories.
She interviewed those on a London council estate:
- Most wc parents encouraged their children and placed high value on education.
What is important about Gillian Evans that helps refute cultural deprivation theories?
She is a middle class parent and found that there was no difference in positive attitudes to education amongst mothers of different social classes.
How do Gaine and George (1999) criticise Bernstein?
He oversimplifies the difference between mc and wx speech patterns.
Class differences in speech patterns have decline and other factors affect educational achievement more than language codes.
What is the main criticism of cultural deprivation theories?
It is seen as blaming the wc for their own failure.
How do cultural capital theories see the difference in culture compared to cultural deprivation theories?
Cult Cap: The cultures are merely different but the system operates within the mc culture.
Cult Dep: WC culture is inferior so they miss out.
What actually is cultural capital?
Possession of cultural assets that give you advantages.
Such as educational qualifications, your accent, or knowledge of the arts and literature.
Why does Bourdieu see cultural capital as being the most important?
The education system is biased towards the culture of the upper classes (bourgeois), so those who have been socialised into this dominant culture are advantaged.
They possess more cultural capital needed to succeed at school.
Why does Bourdieu argue that parents with higher cultural capital can advantage their kids?
Parents have the knowledge to help their children through academia.
They can provide an educationally stimulating home. Eg, talk about philosophy over the dinner table rather than watch tv.