EXTERNAL CLASS DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVEMENT

• Explaining class differences

  Social class - influence on child's chances of success in education systems.Better off parents can afford to send children to private schools = higher standard of education. Internal & external factors - internal = within schools & external = outside schools.
• Cultural deprivation


  Age 3 children from disadvantaged backgrounds = up to 1 year behind those from privileged homes & gap widens with age = cultural deprivation. Most of us begin to acquire basic values, attitudes & skills that are needed for educational success through primary socialisation. Basic cultural equipment = language, self-discipline & reasoning skills. Many wc families fail to socialise children adequately = grow up culturally deprived. Lack cultural equipment needed to do well at school & underachieve.
• Cultural deprivation - language


  Essential part of process of education & way parents communicate with their children affects cognitive development & ability to benefit from process of schooling.Hubbs-Tait et al 2002, parents use language that challenge children to evaluate own understanding/abilities. Less educated parents - use language in simple descriptive form.Feinstein - educated parents = praise kids.CD - differences in how parents use language as linked to social class.
• Language - speech codes

  Bernstein 1975 - differences between wc & mc language that influence achievement.Restricted code - used by wc. Limited vocab & based on use of short, unfinished, grammatically simple sentences.Elaborated code - used by mc. Wider vocab & based on longer, grammatically more complex sentences.Differences in speech give mc children an advantage at school & wc a disadvantage. Elaborated code used by teachers, textbooks & exams. Early socialisation with elaborated code = mc already fluent used of code.
• Evaluation of speech codes

  Critics - Bernstein is CD theorist because describes wc speech as inadequate. He recognises school & not just home influences kids achievement. Argues that wc pupils fail because schools fail to teach them how to use elaborated code.
• Cultural deprivation - parents' education


  Parents' attitudes to education - key factor affecting children's achievement. Douglas 1964 - wc parents placed less value on education. Were less ambitious for their children & gave less encouragement & took less interest in their education. Visited schools less often & less likely to discuss their children's progress with teachers. Children had lower levels of motivation & achievement. Feinstein 2008 - parents' own education is most important in affecting children's achievement.
• Parents' education - parenting style


  Educated parents' parenting style = consistent discipline & high expectations of their children & supports achievement by encouraging active learning & exploration. Less educated parents' style = harsh/ inconsistent discipline. Prevents child from learning independence & self control = less motivated at school & problems with interacting with teachers.
• Parents' education - parents' educational behaviours


  Educated parents - more aware of what's needed to assist children's educational progress. Better able to get expert advice on child rearing, more successul in establishing good relations with teachers & better guiding children's interactins with school. Parents recognice educational value of activities such as museums & libraries.
• Parents' education - use of income


  Better educated parents have higher incomes & spend it in ways that promote children's success. Bernstein & Young 1967 - mc mums more likely to buy educational toys, books & activities that encourage reasoning skills & stimulate intellectual development. Wc homes - lack these resources & children have no skills for school.Educated parents - better understanding of nutrition & its importance in child development & higher income = buy right food.
• Parents' education - class, income & parental education


  Mc parents - better educated than wc parents.Feinstein - parental education influence on children's achievement regardless of class or income. Even in given class - better educated parents have children are more successful at school. Not all children of wc do bad & mc don't always do well.
• Cultural deprivation - working class subculture


  Lack of parental interest in children's education reflects subculture values of wc. Sugarman 1970 - wc subculture has 4 features that act as barriers to educational achievement: fatalism - belief in fate, collectivism - valuing being part of a group, immediate gratification - seeking pleasures now & present-time orientation - seeing present as more important.Mc = future-time oriented.Wc children internalise belief & values of subculture. Differences in values - stem from mc jobs = secure careers & prospects = ambition & long-term planning.
• Working class subculture - compensatory education


  Tackle problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools & communities in deprived areas. Operation Head Start in USA - preschool education in poor areas introduced in 1960s & develop skills & instil achievement motivation - improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes & home visits by educational psychologists. Sesame Street - part of Head Starts = transmitting values, attitudes & skills needed for educational success - punctuality, numeracy & literacy.
• Working class subculture - myth of cultural deprivation


  Keddie 1973 - cultural deprivation = myth & sees it as victim blaming explanation. Dismisses ideas that failure at school = blamed on culturally deprived home background. Child can't be deprived of its own culture & argues that wc children are culturally different not deprived. They fail as they're put at disadvantage by education system that's dominated by mc values. Schools should recognise & build on its strengths & challenge teachers' anti wc prejudices. Troyna & Williams 1986 - not child's language but schools attitudes towards it. Teachers have speech hierarchy: label mc speech highest, wc speech & black speech.
• Material deprivation


  Main cause of underachievement. Refers to poverty & lack of material necessities such as adequate housing & income. E.g. According to department for education 2012, 1/3 pupils eligible for free school meals - used as measure of child poverty - achieve 5+ GCSEs at A*-C against nearly 2/3 of other pupils. Flaherty 2004, money problems in family = significant factor in younger children's non-attendance at school. Exclusion & truancy = more likely for children in poor families. Children excluded from schools = unlikely to return to mainstream education, 1/3 persistent truants leave school with no qualifications. Nearly 90% of failing schools are located in deprived areas.Link between poverty & social class - wc = low incomes.
• Material deprivation - housing

  Poor housing = effect pupils achievement both directly & indirectly. Overcrowding = direct effect, making it harder for child to study. Overcrowding = less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework & disturbed sleep. Development impaired through lack of space for safe play & exploration. B&B families move more often = constant changes of schools & disrupted education. Poor housing = indirect effects, child's health & welfare, crowded homes = more risks of accidents. Cold or damp housing = illnesses. Families in temporary houses = psychological distress, infections & accidents.
• Material deprivation - diet & health

  Howard 2001 - young people from poorer homes = lower intakes of energy, vitamins & minerals. Poor nutrition affects health = weakening immune system & lowering child's energy levels = more absences from school due to illness. Children from poorer homes = emotional/behavioural problems.Wilkinson 1996 - 10 year olds, lower social class = higher rate of hyperactivity, anxiety & conduct disorders = negative effects on their education.
• Material deprivation - financial support & costs of education


  Lack of financial support = children from poor families have to do without equipment & miss out on experiences = enhance their educational achievement. Bull 1980 - refers to it as costs of free schooling. Tanner et al 2003 - study in Oxford area, costs of items such as transport, uniform, books & equipment etc places heavy burden on poor families = poor children make do with hand me downs & cheaper unfashionable equipment = isolation, stigmatised or bullied by peers. For children suitable clothes are essential for self esteem & fitting in. Smith & Noble 1995 - poverty acts as barriers to learning in other ways such as inability to afford private schooling or tuition & poor quality local schools. Lack of funds = children from low income families need work, children in poverty do babysitting, cleaning & paper rounds = negative impact on schoolwork.
• Material deprivation - cultural or material factors


  Some children from poor families do succeed = material deprivation only part of explanation. Cultural, religious or political values of family may play part in creating & sustaining child's motivation even despite poverty.Feinstein - educated parents make positive contribution to child's achievement regardless of income level. Mortimore & Whitty 1997 - material inequalities = greatest effect on achievement. Robinson 1997 - tackling child poverty = most effect way to boost achievement.
• Cultural capital - BOURDIEU: 3 types of capital 1984

  Both cultural & material factors contribute to educational achievement & aren't separate but interrelated. Uses concept of capital to explain why mc are more successful. Capital = wealth, economic capital. 2 more types = educational capital or qualifications & cultural capital. Mc generally have all 3 capital.