Topic 1 - Class Differences in Achievement External Factors

• Some sociologists believe that working class underachievement is due to factors outside the school. Such factors include material deprivation (the inability to afford basic resources, such as adequate housing, food and heating) and cultural deprivation (deficiencies in home and family backgrounds, such as inadequate socialisation, inadequate language skills and inappropriate attitudes/values). In addition, cultural capital (Knowledge, language, attitudes and values, and lifestyle) gives the middle-class an inbuilt advantage in a middle-class controlled education system.
• Cultural deprivation


  The idea that some social groups are deprived of the cultural capital needed to succeed in education
• Bernstein's speech codes theory


  • Differences in speech codes put working-class children at a disadvantage because the elaborated code is used by teachers, textbooks and exams
  • Early socialisation into the elaborated code means that middle-class pupils are already at an advantage
• Douglas' theory of parents' education


  • Working-class parents place less value on education
  • They are less ambitious for their children
  • They give their children less encouragement to participate in educational activities, such as homework
  • Many working-class parents do not attend parents evening
• Sugarmann's theory of working-class subcultures

  • Fatalism - there's nothing you can do to change your status
  • Collectivism - valuing being part of a group more than being an individual
  • Immediate gratification - seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future
  • Present time orientation - seeing the present as more important than the future, therefore having no long-term goals
• Housing


  • Poor housing can affect a pupil's achievement directly and indirectly
• Overcrowding


  1. No room for educational activities, such as homework and reading

  2. Disturbed sleep from sharing bedrooms
• Families living in temporary accommodation

  1. Having to move frequently

  2. Disturbed education
• Overcrowded homes


  • Greater risk of accidents and a higher risk of getting ill
  • May lead to absence from school
• Young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals
• Poor nutrition


  • Affects health, for example, by weakening the child's immune system
  • May result in more absences from school
• Cultural Capital

  BOURDIEU:

   

  Middle-class children with cultural capital are better equipped to meet the demands on the school curriculum. Parents can convert the cultural capital into economic capital, for example, they can send their children to private schools.