External factors

• Cultural deprivation theory


  The main cultural explanation for class differences in achievement
• 'Culture' refers to all the norms, values, beliefs, skills and knowledge that a society or group regards as important, and is transmitted to the next generation through socialisation
• Different classes socialise their children differently and this may affect their achievement
• According to cultural deprivation theory, some working-class parents fail to transmit the aspirations, motivation, values, attitudes, language skills etc needed for educational success
• Working-class pupils in general achieve less than middle-class pupils in education
• Children of higher professionals are almost twice as likely as children of manual workers to get five or more GCSE passes at grade 4 or above, and more than twice as likely to go to university
• Sociologists have put forward a range of explanations, which can be divided into external or home background factors that lie outside the school, and internal factors within the school and the education system
• Cultural deprivation theorists


  See three factors as responsible for working-class under-achievement: working-class subculture, language and parents' education
• Working-class subculture


  • Immediate gratification - Wanting rewards now rather than making sacrifices and working hard for future rewards
  • Fatalism - A belief that whatever will be, will be. Working-class children don't believe they can improve their position through their own individual efforts
  • Low value on education - Working class don't value education (and don't believe they will benefit from it), so they don't try
• Elaborated speech code


  Used by the middle class, more analytic, with a wide vocabulary and complex sentences. It is universalistic - speakers spell out their meanings explicitly and don't just assume the listener shares them
• Restricted speech code


  Used by the working class, less analytic and more descriptive, has a limited vocabulary and is formed of simple sentences or even just gestures. It is particularistic - it assumes that the listener shares the particular meanings that the speaker holds, so the speaker doesn't spell them out
• Parents' education


  • Parents' own education is the most important factor affecting children's achievement
  • Parenting style - Parents with higher qualifications emphasise consistent discipline, high expectations, active learning and exploration
  • Parents' educational behaviours - Parents with higher qualifications are more aware of what helps children progress, eg. they form good relationships with teachers and see the value of educational visits, reading to their children etc.
  • Use of income - Parents with higher qualifications spend their income to promote children's development, eg. on educational toys
• Cultural deprivation theory blames the victims for their failure. It assumes working-class children underachieve due to their own and their parents' deficiencies
• The working class are not culturally deprived - they simply have a different culture from the school, which puts them at a disadvantage
• Cultural deprivation theory ignores the impact of school factors such as labeling, and the impact of material factors such as poverty
• Cultural deprivation theory has led to policies such as compensatory education that blame under-achievement on lack of aspiration and poor parenting
• Material deprivation or poverty


  • Poor housing - Overcrowding or cold and damp rooms mean pupils have nowhere quiet to do homework
  • Poor diet - Can lead to illness, absences from school and lack of concentration in class due to hunger
  • Low income - Can affect educational achievement in several ways
• Financial costs of education

  Poorer families can afford fewer educational opportunities, e.g. trips, computers, private tuition. Children may be stigmatised or bullied for lacking the right uniform or latest fashion items
• Higher education


  Working-class students more debt averse, see more costs than benefits in going to university (e.g. tuition fees) and this influenced their decisions. When at university, they receive less financial support from their families
• Cultural capital


  The attitudes, values, skills, knowledge etc of the middle class
• Economic capital


  The wealth that middle-class families own
• Middle-class pupils are more successful than working-class pupils because their parents possess more cultural and economic capital
• The middle class use their greater economic and cultural capital to give their children an advantage by using it to obtain educational capital-qualifications. This allows their children to get middle-class jobs and more economic capital, thus reproducing the advantages of the middle class from generation to generation