2.1 Class & External factors

• What are the 2 criticisms of cultural capital?

  1. May be unfair to blame schools for being biased against WC when many schools have initiatives specifically to help WC

  2. Harder to test and validate the effect of cultural capital e.g. effect of piano lessons and DEA
• What are the 2 strengths of cultural capital?

  1. Can't be accused of victim blaming in the same way cultural deprivation can

  2. Links internal & external factors in one cohesive explanation
• DEA

  Differential educational achievement
• What did Sullivan find in her survey?

  -She found that those who read serious fiction & watched documentaries had greater cultural knowledge & developed wider vocabulary and therefore more cultural capital

  -Children with cultural capital are more likely to be parents of graduates (MC)

  -But this didn't account for all differential educational achievement- even when they had the same cultural capital, MC still performed better and that material deprivation explained the rest of the gap
• What evidence is there for cultural capital?

  -Alice Sullivan surveyed 456 pupils at 4 schools using questionnaires

  -She assessed cultural capital through their typical activities like reading, TV, museums etc

  -She tested their knowledge on cultural figures & vocabulary
• Cultural capital


  The knowledge, attitudes, tastes & abilities that give people an advantage in social life
• Economic capital


  Mc parents have more disposable finance to aid their child's educational success
• Educational capital


  -MC parents are more likely to have more educational qualifications which gives them an advantage as they're more likely to be able to help their children with homework & navigating school

  -They're also more likely to see the importance of educational achievement for their child
• What is MC habitus?

  Places more emphasis on activities that will give them an advantage in education. Either specific (reading non fiction) or generally (increase confidence)
• Habitus


  -A cultural framework or set of norms, values & ideas that each class has (Bourdieu)

  -Bourdieu's cultural capital theory doesn't see WC as inferior, just different

  -MC culture dominates society which puts WC at a disadvantage
• What does socialisation do for the middle class?

  -It teaches them more cultural capital, they can understand & analyse abstract ideas

  -Gives them an advantage in the education system

  -Labels WC culture as inferior
• What type of sociologist is Bourdieu?

  Marxist
• What does Bourdieu say about the 3 types of capital?

  He says that they can all be converted into each other e.g. being able to afford a house in the catchment area of a good school
• What did Bourdieu say are the 3 types of capital?

  Economic, educational & cultural
• What are the criticism of material deprivation?

  -Some children from poor families do succeed

  -Cultural, religious or political values can play a part and help them to achieve more

  -Quality of schooling-internal factors
• Why do less WC students attend university?

  -More debt averse- less likely to go & more likely to stay local

  -Raising of tuition fees reduced accessibility for WC students

  -They receive less support for university from home than MC students

  -More likely to work alongside HE
• What are other disadvantages that WC students face?

  -Lack of financial resources make it harder for them to get correct equipment/resources

  -Opens WC students up to bullying/mocking because of Free school meals (FSM)/hand me downs

  -Can't afford private schooling or tuition

  -Local schools are poorer quality

  -Have to work alongside studies- has a negative impact on schooling
• What are the indirect effects of housing on education?

  -Overcrowding affects sleep

  -Cold & damp causes ill health & more absences from school

  -Temporary accommodation causes greater stress
• What are the direct effects of housing on education?


  -Makes it harder to do homework/complete educational activities e.g. reading and play due to overcrowding

  -Living in temporary accommodation- have to move schools more regularly
• What are examples of material deprivation?

  -Housing

  -Diet & health

  -Lack of financial resources

  -Fear of debt
• What statistics illustrate the close link between poverty & educational achievement?

  -Nearly 90% of failing schools are in deprived areas

  -In 2019, only 51% of FSM pupils gained a 4+ in maths & english compared to 77% MC pupils
• What did Blackstone & Mortimore say to criticise cultural deprivation?

  WC parents attend less parents evenings because they work longer/unsociable hours, not because they aren't interested
• What did Nell Keddie say to criticise cultural deprivation?

  Children cant be deprived of their own culture, they're simply culturally different
• What are the criticisms of cultural deprivation?

  -Victim blaming: sees WC pupil as having 'deficits' that are their parents' faults due to inadequate primary socialisation & ignores inequalities built into the education system & wider society

  -Labelling: cultural deprivation itself is a negative label teachers apply to WC families
• What were parents taught to do in the course?

  -Increase positive child behaviour through praise & incentives

  -Improve parent-child interactions & relationship building

  -Set clear expectations e.g. limit setting

  -Apply consistent gentle consequences for problem behaviour
• What did the supportive studies show about sure start?

  -A 2009 study examining 153 parents showed that a course teaching improved parenting skills had great benefits in reducing problem behaviour in young children
• What is sure start?

  -A government area-based initiative from the new labour government. It aimed to tackle poverty & social exclusion by 'giving children the best possible start in life'

  -They did this through the improvement of childcare, early education, health & family support and support with parental employment

  -The aim is to improve children's ability to learn by encouraging a high quality environment that promote early learning, provide stimulating and enjoying play & improve language skills
• When was sure start established?

  1998
• What did the supportive studies show about operation head start?

  -A 2009 study showed that siblings who attended head start:

  -Showed stronger academic performance in tests for years afterwards

  -Were less likely to be diagnosed with learning difficulties

  -Less likely to commit crime

  -More likely to graduate from high school & attend college and less likely to have poor health as a result
• What is operation head start?

  -An American program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition & parent involvement services to low income children and their families

  -The program's services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships, enhance children's physical and emotional wellbeing and establish an environment to develop strong cognitive skills
• When was operation head start established?

  1960s
• 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
• 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
• 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 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
• 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
• How can immediate gratification affect educational achievement?

  WC- less likely to want short term pain for long term gain, e.g. revising

  
  

  MC- more likely to try hard & make sacrifices for long term gain
• 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 influences

  
  

  MC- more focused on themselves, more likely to stay home and study over staying out with friends
• 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 change

  
  

  MC- students believe they can change their position and will work to achieve this
• 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