External (more detailed)

• 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.
• 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 - fear of debt


  Going to uni = debt to cover cost of tuition fees, books & living expenses. Attitudes toward debt may deter wc students from going uni.

  Jackson 2005 - wc students more debt averse - saw debt as negative & avoided it. Saw more costs than benefits going uni.

  Callander & Jackson - attitude to dept = more important in deciding whether to apply to uni. Most debt student (wc) were 5x less likely to apply than most debt tolerant students (mc). Increases in tuition fees from 2012 - £9000 per year = increased debt burden will deter even more wc students from applying to uni. Wc students who go to uni = likely to receive less financial support from families. Financial factors restrict wc students' choice of uni & chances of success. Reay 2005 - wc students more likely to apply to local unis so could live at home & save on travel costs = less opportunity to go to high status unis & work part time to fund studies = difficult for them to gain higher class degrees.
• 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.
• BOURDIEU: 3 types of capital - cultural capital

  Refers to knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes & abilities of mc. Mc culture = capital as it gives advantage to those who possess it. Through socialisation mc children acquire ability to grasp, analyse & express abstract ideas. More likely to develop intellectual interests & understanding of what education system requires for success. Gives mc children advantage in school as abilities & interests highly valued & rewarded with qualifications. Education favours & transmits dominant mc culture.
• BOURDIEU: 3 types of capital - educational & economic capital


  Educational, economic & cultural capital = converted into another. Mc children with cultural capital = better equipped to meet demands of school curriculum & gain qualifications. Wealthier parents convert economic capital into educational capital = sending kids to private schools & paying extra for tuition. Leech & Campos 2003 - Coventry shows, mc parents = more likely to afford hour in catchment ares of school that's highly place in league tables = selection by mortgage as if drives up cosy of houses near successful schools & excludes working class.
• BOURDIEU: 3 types of capital - test of Bourdieu's ideas


  Sullivan 2001 - questionnaires to survey 465 pupils in 4 school. Assess cultural capital, asked them range of activities such as reading & TV habits etc. Also tested vocab & knowledge of cultural figures. Found those who read complex fiction & watched serious TV documentaries developed wider vocab & greater cultural knowledge = greater cc. Pupils with greatest cc = children of graduates & kids likely to be successful at GCSE. Cc only accounted for part of class difference in achievement. Pupils of different class had same level of cc, mc pupils still did better. Greater resources & aspirations of mc families explain remainder of class gap in achievement.