Cultural deprivation

• Goodman and Gregg found parental involvement had the most impact on child's educational achievement
• 3. Douglas found th w/c parents place less value on their child’s education
• 3. Parenting Style

  • Higher qualifications lead to higher expectations and discipline, supporting success
  • Lower qualifications lead to 'do as your told' preventing child's self-control and independence
• 3. Parents' educational behaviours

  • Reading to their children
  • Teaching them letters, numbers, songs, poems, and nursery rhymes
  • Painting and drawing
  • Helping with homework
  • Being actively involved in their schooling
• 3. Use of income:

  Bernstein and Young found middle-class parents buy more educational toys, books and educational activities
• 3. Feinstein notes parental education has an influence on child's education in its own right regardless of class or income, explaining variance within social classes
• 1. Language


  • Hubbs-tait at al: Middle-class parents use language to challenge their child's understanding, improving cognitive performance
  • Feinstein: Working-class parents use simpler, descriptive language, failing to prepare children for educational demands
• 1. Speech Codes (Bernstein)


  • Elaborative - more complex, implicit vocabulary used by teachers
  • Restricted - simple, descriptive vocabulary, gestures
• 3. Feinstein shows that educated parents make a positive contribution to their child's education regardless of income, through cultural, religious or political values
• Cultural Deprivation

  1. Language
  2. W/c Subcultures - SUGARMAN
  3. Parental Education

  AO3: Evaluation
• 2. W/c Subcultures


  Sugarman found that w/c subcultures have different attitudes to m/c:

  1. Fatalism
  2. Collectivism
  3. Immediate Gratification
  4. Present time orientation

  He found that these values were passed down from parents and means that w/c are more likely to leave school and get a job with little career progression - stay working class.