Education

• Material deprivation


  The idea that many families do not have the money to support their child's education
• Aspects of material deprivation

  • Housing (overcrowding, no place to study, illness from damp)
  • Diet and health (lower vitamins, less nutrients, off school sick more)
  • Finances (can't afford resources, live in areas that may not get them in the catchment area for nice schools)
• Cultural deprivation


  Many working class families fail to socialise their children adequately so they lack the cultural capital (Bourdieu) required to do well at school
• Aspects of cultural deprivation

  • Language (wc use restricted code which is not in line with the school habitus of elaborated code)
  • Parental education (middle class parents are more educated so prepare children better for school)
  • Working class subculture (characterised by fatalism and immediate gratification, this is not in line with school habitus)
• Labelling


  Where teachers attach a label to pupils based on how close they are to the 'ideal pupil'- impacts how they are taught and treat
• Self-fulfilling prophecy


  A result of labelling, they internalise the label and believe it- impacts their self esteem and expectations for themselves
• Streaming


  Educational triage, put in different sets (working class are less likely to be put in higher sets- unfair advantage on middle class)
• Pupil subcultures


  Pupils respond to streaming by moving to one of two extreme groups- pro-school or anti-school subcultures (this is polarisation)
• Pupil Class Identity


  The middle class habitus acts as a form of symbolic violence on working class pupils who buy branded clothing to form their own 'Nike' identity. This clashes with the school and leads to conflict.
• Habitus


  Different ways in which people see society and respond to situations
• Symbolic capital


  When middle class children have the same habitus as schools- meaning they have an advantage
• Symbolic violence


  When working class habitus clashes with the habitus of schools- meaning they have a disadvantage
• Nike Identity


  The working class wear heavily branded clothes as a way of achieving their own symbolic capital- causes conflict in schools as it doesn't fit with the middle class habitus
• Theorists


  • Becker (Labelling)
  • Rosenthal and Jacobson (Self-fulfilling prophecy)
  • Douglas (Streaming)
  • Gillborn and Youdell (Educational Triage)
  • Lacey (Pupil Subcultures)
  • Archer (Symbolic Capital/Violence)
• External Factors


  • Material deprivation
  • Cultural deprivation
• Internal Factors


  • Labelling
  • Self-fulfilling prophecy
  • Streaming
  • Pupil subcultures
  • Pupil Class Identity
• Housing - overcrowding, no place to study and illness from damp
• Diet and health - lower vitamins, less nutrients, off school sick more
• Finances - can't afford resources, live in areas that may not get them in the catchment area for nice schools
• Language - wc use restricted code which is not in line with the school habitus of elaborated code
• Parental education - middle class parents are more educated so prepare children better for school
• Working class subculture - characterised by fatalism and immediate gratification, this is not in line with school habitus
• Labelling - where teachers attach a label to pupils based on how close they are to the 'ideal pupil'- impacts how they are taught and treat
• Self-fulfilling prophecy - a result of labelling, they internalise the label and believe it- impacts their self esteem and expectations for themselves
• Streaming - educational triage, put in different sets (working class are less likely to be put in higher sets- unfair advantage on middle class)
• Pupil subcultures - pupils respond to streaming by moving to one of two extreme groups- pro-school or anti-school subcultures (this is polarisation)
• Pupil Class Identity - the middle class habitus acts as a form of symbolic violence on working class pupils who buy branded clothing to form their own 'Nike' identity. This clashes with the school and leads to conflict.
• Habitus - different ways in which people see society and respond to situations
• Symbolic capital - when middle class children have the same habitus as schools- meaning they have an advantage
• Symbolic violence - when working class habitus clashes with the habitus of schools- meaning they have a disadvantage
• Nike Identity - the working class wear heavily branded clothes as a way of achieving their own symbolic capital- causes conflict in schools as it doesn't fit with the middle class habitus
• The 1944 Education Act introduced free secondary education for all students up to the age of 15


  1944
• Tripartite system


  Students were sent to grammar, secondary modern or technical schools depending on how they achieved in the 11+
• The tripartite system failed because it reproduced class inequality
• The Labour government replaced the tripartite system with the comprehensive school system

  1965
• Comprehensive school system


  • Functionalists and liberal feminists argue this system has worked to create a meritocracy and to combat gender stereotypes
  • Marxists and radical feminists claim meritocracy and gender equality is a myth
• Educational policy shifted away from an emphasis on equal opportunities to a New Right emphasis on marketisation, parental choice and selection


  1979
• Parentocracy


  Putting power in the hands of parents
• Marketisation policies have been criticised by Ball, Gewirtz and Bartlett
• New Labour's education policy

  While it took influence from the New Right, it also aimed to ensure equality of opportunity so that the poorest sections of society could be fairly served by education