Topic 3: Social Class Flashcards
Cooper and Stewart (2013)
WC students have worse cognitive, social behavioural, and health outcomes because of poverty.
Marxist
Poverty-related stress hinders student’s ability to focus on learning.
Material deprivation
Waldfogel and Washbrook (2010)
WC children living in cold, damp dark, unclean, unsafe housing.
Low-income parents had limited ability to help with their child education.
Material deprivation- overcrowded housing, less stability.
Which sociologist used the Millennium cohort study? What did it find?
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already behind at age 3.
Waldfogel and Washbrook
Gibson and Asthana (1999)
A greater level of disadvantage means a slimmer chance of a student receiving A*-C grades.
Stats show that the highest achievers come from the most advantaged backgrounds.
Sutton trust (2012)
Wc students 3x less likely to be involved with extra-curricular activities.
Alice Sullivan
2001
Found that students with higher cultural capital (TV docus, theatre) were children of graduates and more likely to be successful at GCSE
Sugarman (1970)
Working class versus middle-class subculture:
Collectivism V Individualism:
WC values group loyalty over individual achievement. MC prioritize personal success and competition.
Immediate V Deferred gratification:
WC prioritises short-term rewards over long-term rewards, MC the opposite. For example, WC gets a job early to start getting paid.
Present-time V Future Orientation:
WC focuses on the present rather than planning for the future, and MC plans towards future goals.
Fatalism:
WC believe their fate is fixed and cant be changed.
West and Hind
Interviews accepting pupils were full of negotiations from MC parents, whereas WC parents did not reply if an interview was needed.
Miller
Focal Concerns- WC boys have traits that make them at risk for educational failure.
Trouble: A concern with staying out of trouble but also gaining respect for handling it when it arises. This may lead to conflict with school authority.
Toughness: Emphasis on physical strength, masculinity, and resilience, which might devalue academic success.
Smartness: Valuing street smarts and the ability to outwit others rather than academic intelligence.
Excitement: Seeking thrills and risk-taking, which can distract from educational goals.
Fate: A belief that one’s future is predetermined, leading to a lack of motivation to plan or work toward long-term goals.
Autonomy: Resentment of authority figures, including teachers, which can result in resistance to school rules and structures.
Basil Bernstein
Restricted code- WC, short simple sentences, less explicit- assumed to be understood by the group.
Elaborated code- MC, longer complex sentences, universal.
WC students may struggle to adapt with education’s elaborated code.
Hyman (1967)
WC familes place a low value on education and therefore their educational failure is self-imposed.
Evans (2007)
Educational failure and white WC children in Britain
18 months in a WC council estate in Burnandsey
WC Parents want their children to do well and for their lives to improve.
MC can both parent and teach at the same time whereas WC cannot/ do not,
Douglas (1964)
Emphasised the importance of parental attitudes and support in their child’s success,
WC parents are less likely to show interest in their child’s education compared to MC.
Lack of involvement meant that those children had lower educational achievement.
Feinstein
Lower rates of educational achievement were linked to a no. of factors: the extent of parental education, quality of school attended, and material deprivation.
Labov
Evaluation of Basil Bernstein/ Miller
NYC Gangs, found that restricted code/street smarts helped them through the ranks.
