external

• Evaluation of material deprivation

  -too deterministic -some poor students still do well

  -would be more accurate to say that poverty disadvantages not hinders

  -difficult to separate material deprivation from the other factors
• cultural capital

  the skills and knowledge M/C parents have that they can use to give their children and advantage in the education system
• 3 ways that M/C parents use their cultural capital

  -able to help with homework as they are more educated

  -more skilled in researching schools

  -teach their children the value of deferred gratification
• Ball et al. (evidence for cultural capital)

  M/C parents had a significant advantage over W/C when choosing secondary schools

  • mc parents have the knowledge and contacts to give their children the best chance of getting into the best schools.
  • mc parents are skilled choosers-able to understand league tables, they are able to negotiate with teachers
  • There is also a school/parent alliance-mc parents want mc schools and vice versa-more likely to perform well and maintain its position in the league tables
• 4 types of capital (Bourdieu)

  -economic-can pay for resources, private tuition, children have a private study area at home

  -cultural-knowledge and qualifications so can help with school work

  -social-possessing valuable contacts so may help with admissions and tutors

  -symbolic-possession of status- a respectable image can help with admission to private or selective schools
• Bernstein (speech codes)-

  Restricted speech code- short hand speech where meanings are not fully made explicit

  elaborated speech code-longer sentences, meaning is made explicit
• Sugarman

  -fatalism (life chances are based on luck or fate)

  -collectivism (success achieved through collective action eg going on strike)

  -immediate gratification (enjoy yourself now)

  -present-time orientation (live life in the moment rather than worring about the future)

  these are all distinctive features of the working class and are an example of cultural deprivation
• Douglas (longitudinal study on cultural deprivation and parental interest)

  (Cultural deprivation) He followed the careers of over 5000 children and found that working class parents place less value on education, giving their children less motivation to succeed (parental interest)

  -they would visit school to talk about their child’s progress less

  -they gave less attention during their child’s early years, suggesting differences in primary socialisation can explain the relative educational failure of the wc
• material deprivation

  poor housing conditions - overcrowded can lead to constant distractions, no place to study, etc
• Evaluation of cultural deprivation (blackstone and Mortimore)

  -research hasn’t measured parental interest adequately (based on teacher assessments)

  -wc parents may feel uncomfortable interacting with mc parents so visit school less
• Evaluation of speech codes (bernstein)

  Gaine and george- -he over simplifies the differences between mc and wc speech patterns

  -many other factors apart from speech can affect educational attainment (reductionist)

  -class differences in speech patterns have declined since the research had been conducted
• How has cultural deprivation theory influenced educational policies?

  -education action zones and sure start have been introduced to help the w/c

  Evaluation- Whitty- all these schemes places blame for failure on the child and their background, ignoring the effects of inequality in society as a whole
• Material factors in schooling (Smith and Noble)

  -having money means parents can provide books, study space at home, healthier diets, private tuition

  -wc parents cannot always afford school trips

  -schools in more affluent areas tend to attract more pupils which increases their funding