2.1 Class & External factors

• How do we define a persons class?

  Using parental occupations
• What are the 'middle class jobs'?

  Non manual, professionals like doctors or teachers, or managers and 'white collar' office workers and business owners
• What are the 'working class jobs'?

  Manual, skilled workers like plumbers, semi-skilled workers like lorry drivers & unskilled or routine workers like cleaners
• What are the facts about working class children?

  -less likely to go to nursery-more likely to be poor readers when they start school-more likely to be in low sets-more likely to underachieve at GCSE & A-level-less likely to go to university-more likely to leave school early-more likely to be suspended/excluded
• Internal factors


  Factors within school and the education system e.g. interactions between pupils & teachers
• External factors


  Factors outside the education system e.g. home & family background and wider society
• What percentage of children of higher professionals achieve at least 5 A*-C?

  83%
• What percentage of children of intermediate professionals achieve at least 5 A*-C?

  62%
• What percentage of children of routine professionals achieve at least 5 A*-C?

  44%
• What percentage of students attend private school compared to the proportion of oxbridge students?

  Less than 7% of U.K. students attend private school but account for 42% of students at oxbridge
• How many students did Elton send to oxbridge in 3 years compared to other schools?

  They sent 211 students in 3 years compared to 1,300 state schools who sent none
• Cultural deprivation


  Lacking the cultural equipment needed to succeed in education. Such as language, self discipline & reasoning skills
• Material deprivation


  Deprivation referring to poverty and lack of material necessities such as adequate housing & income
• Social mobility


  The ability to move classes
• Culture


  The ideas, customs & social behaviours of people or a society
• What's do cultural deprivation theorists argue about WC families?

  They argue that they fail to socialise their children properly
• What was found about working class children being behind?

  It was found that WC children can be up to a year behind by age 3 and the gap only widens with age
• Primary socialisation


  Acquiring basic values, attitudes and skills during the early years of childhood and carried out within the family
• How many words do WC children hear an hour on average?

  616
• How many words do MC children hear an hour on average?

  3,100
• What are the differences between MC & WC parents' language?

  MC- uses language that challenges children e.g. what do you think? More likely to use praise & use the elaborated speech codeWC- use simple language e.g. what's this animal called? Less likely to use praise & use tge restricted speech code
• Who said WC & MC use different speech codes?

  Bernstein
• Elaborated speech code


  Language consisting of a wide vocabulary, complex sentences and which is context-free, so able to express abstract ideas
• Restricted speech code

  Language consisting of limited vocabulary, simple sentences, and which is context- bound. May be grammatically incorrect
• What do Troyna & Williams say about language?


  That its not the child's language but the school's attitudes towards it through teachers having a speech hierarchy of: middle class speech, working class speech & black speech
• What do Gaine & George say about language?

  They say Bernstein is exaggerating differences between MC & WC speech patterns and overstating its importance
• What did Douglas find about working class parents?

  They place less importance on education and are less ambitious for their children, they also gave them less encouragement to try hard and do well in school which affects the childrens' own motivation to achieve
• What are the 3 ways that Feinstein found MC parents socialise children to achieve better?

  Parenting Style- educated MC parents emphasise consistent and 'fair' discipline and have high expectations of their children whereas the WC parenting style is often harsh/inconsistent discipline which prevents children from learning independenceParents' educational behaviours- Mc parents are more aware of what's needed to support educational progress & can expert advice on child rearing. They're also better at establishing teacher-parent relationships & chiding appropriate school behaviourUse of income- to promote educational success & are more likely to buy educational toys & books
• What factors would positively affect a child's education?

  -Reading with children -Helping with homework-Teaching letters & numbers-Sending children on school trips-Being in contact with school
• What did Feinstein say about the impact of parental education?

  That parent's own level of education has a large influence on their children's educational achievements regardless of class or income. This can explain why some WC students do well and why not all MC students are equally successful
• Subculture


  A group whose attitudes and values differ from those of mainstream culture. Cultural deprivation theorists believe that the WC has different goals & values, which is why their children fail at school
• What did Sugarman say are the 4 key values which act as barriers to educational success for WC?


  -Fatalism- believing in fate 'what will be will be'-Collectivism- valuing being part of a group over individual success-Immediate Gratification- seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices for greater long-term gain -Present Time Orientation- seeing the here and now rather than looking to the future
• How can fatalism affect educational achievement?

  WC- students may not attempt to try and improve academically as they see the low grades/underachievement as 'meant to be' and no ,after what they do, this wont changeMC- students believe they can change their position and will work to achieve this
• How can collectivism affect educational achievement?

  WC- they value being part of a group, therefore would do what their friends do over doing something productive for their education- bad influencesMC- more focused on themselves, more likely to stay home and study over staying out with friends
• How can immediate gratification affect educational achievement?

  WC- less likely to want short term pain for long term gain, e.g. revisingMC- more likely to try hard & make sacrifices for long term gain
• How can present time orientation affect educational achievement?

  WC- less likely to plan ahead (savings etc)MC- more likely to plan ahead & see planning as important
• What did Sugarman say about immediate gratification?

  Sugarman argues WC children seek immediate gratification whilst MC children are socialised into deferring gratification, sacrifice now leads to reward later
• What is the marshmallow test?

  -Researchers suggest toddlers can be tested for this using the marshmallow test-558 children born between 25 and 41 weeks were given this test
• What did they do a few years after the marshmallow test?

  -They were given academic tests to measure their abilities in maths, reading & spelling/writing-Those who showed less capacity to ignore impulses as a toddler did worse on the academic tests age 8 and may reflect poor attention skills according to researchers
• Compensatory education


  -They aim to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by intervening early in the socialisation process to compensate for the deprivation they experience at home-Those from disadvantaged backgrounds are give extra educational help to help them overcome the inequalities they face in the education system and in wider society