social class differences in achievement

• what are internal factors? 


  factors within the school that affect achievement
• what are external factors?


  factors outside of school e.g at home that affect achievement
• labelling


  the initial labelling of a student by a teacher can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy

  e.g student being labelled as unable to achieve so student internalises this and doesn't try in education
• hargreaves - what is the 3 stage process which students are labelled


  stage 1 - speculation stage - first impressions are made on things like appearance, ability & enthusiasm

  stage 2 - elaboration stage - the teachers hypotheses on the student are either confirmed or contradicted

  stage 3 - stabilisation stage - label is stabilised & teacher believes to fully understand the student
• evaluation of hargreaves


  his research is dated as in modern education teachers must have inclusive values
• becker - the ideal pupil


  interviewed 60 chicago high school teachers

  found they judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an imagine of the ‘ideal pupil’

  pupils ability was determined on the basis of appearance

  middle class children considered ‘ideal pupils’
• evaluation of becker


  assumes teachers won’t change their opinion of a student over time
• what is a self-fulfilling prophecy?


  when a level becomes the persons identity & the label becomes true

  step 1 - labelled negatively

  step 2 - pupil internalise the label

  step 3 - pupil becomes that label
• rosenthal & jacobsen - pygmalion in the classroom


  examined the effects of teacher labelling on pupils academic performance - pygmalion effect

  • gave a fake test to pupils to identify “spurters”

  • teachers were told 20% of pupils fell into this category - these were really selected randomly

  • returned after a year - 47% of ‘spurters’ had made significant development
• evaluation of rosenthal & jacobsen


  • research involved deception

  • potential harm caused to pupils in the long term
• what is streaming


  separating pupils into different ability groups called “streams”

  each group is then taught separately from the others for all subjects
• issues with streaming?


  • discourages children in lower streams as it is viewed negatively by peers & parents

  • can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy

  • difficult to move up streams so lower stream pupils are locked into their teachers low expectations
• gilborn & youdel - educational triage


  streaming processed used by teachers - separates pupils into 3 distinct groups:

  • certain passers who don’t require much assistance

  • certain failures who would be a waste of effort

  • borderline cases who require attention to achieve their grades
• who is more likely to be placed in lower streams?

  working class pupils
• pupil subcultures 


  a group of pupils who share similar values and patterns of behaviour in school

  often emerges as a response to labelling & a reaction to streaming

  e.g anti-school subcultures & pro-school subcultures
• lacey - development of pupil subcultures 


  researched in a boys grammar school - identified the development of pupil subcultures through the processes of differentiation and polarisation

  differentiation = streaming

  polarisation = separating into anti or pro school subcultures
• anti school subcultures


  • likely to be working class pupils

  • go against what is considered an ‘ideal pupil’

  • a result of status frustration - achieve status in their subcultures as fail to do so in education
• long term effects of anti school subcultures?


  • will leave education with no qualifications

  • won’t develop skills required for the workplace

  • end up in low paid jobs
• woods - pupil responses

  pupils are likely to respond to labelling & streaming in a variety of ways rather than developing subcultures

  • integration - being the teachers pet

  • ritualism - going through the motions & staying out of trouble

  • retreatism - daydreaming & messing about

  • rebellion - outright rejection
• criticisms of labelling theory


  • deterministic - assumes pupils who are labelled have no choice but to fulfil the prophecy and inevitably fail

  • marxists claim labelling theory ignores wider social structures of power - blames teachers for labelling but fails to explain why they do this
• symbolic capital & violence 


  • pupils socialised into middle class values at home gain ‘symbolic capital’ - status & recognition from school as more valued than working class values

  • symbolic violence = schools devaluing working class values & keeps lower classes ‘in their place’
• nike identities


  when working class pupils do not fit in the middle class school system they form ‘nike identities‘ to feel a sense of belonging

  symbolic violence leads to seeking alternative ways of creating self worth, status & value especially through branded clothes e.g nike
• cream skimming & silt shifting


  cream skimming - schools choosing to select the brighter students to attend their school - they know these students are most likely to obtain high grades & improve schools position in league tables

  silt shifting - working classes who underperform will be ‘silt shifted’ to attend underperforming and underfunded schools
• what are the internal factors affecting achievement?

  labelling, streaming, subcultures, cream skimming & silt shifting
• what makes up cultural deprivation? 


  language, parents education, working class subculture
• bernstein - language


  working classes often use restricted code - informal language using things like slang

  middle classes & the education system use elaborated code - formal language with complex sentences and technical vocabulary
• evaluation of language


  can be viewed as outdated - national curriculum introduced phonic assessments & key vocabulary
• parents education - feinstein


  • parents attitudes towards education are a key factor affecting children’s achievement

  • research shown that working class parents placed less value on education so were less ambitious for their children & less interested in their education

  • results in children having low levels of motivation and achievement

  • working class parents also less educated themselves so unable to assist their children
• evaluation of parents education

  working class parents may not attend things like parents evening or help children with homework because they work irregular shift patterns & lack the knowledge rather than being uninterested
• working class subcultures


  large sections of the working class have different goals, beliefs and values from the rest of society & this is why their children underachieve in school

  e.g money more important than education, get a job straight after school, school is not important
• features of working class subcultures - sugarman


  fatalism - fatalistic mentality meaning they believe nothing can change their status

  collectivism - value being part of a group rather than succeeding as an individual

  • immediate gratification - demanding rewards now rather than waiting for better quality rewards later

  • present-time orientation - view the present as more important than the future & cannot form long-term goals
• evaluation of cultural deprivation 


  • described as a ‘myth’ and victim-blaming - argues working class children are culturally different not culturally deprived & they underachieve because they are disadvantaged by the education system that is dominated by middle class values
• what is material deprivation?

  Lack of access to basic resources and necessities. For example:

  • housing - overcrowded house means a lack of space for homework & disturb to sleep

  • diet & health - weak immune system means more days off school

  • financial support - lots of resources needed for school

  • fear of debt - cost of living crisis impacts children’s education
• criticism of material deprivation

  some children from poor families do succeed in education - suggests other factors such as cultural, religious & political values may have an effect as well
• what is cultural capital?

  • values and beliefs held by different social groups
• what are the 3 types of cultural capital?

  cultural capital, educational capital & economic capital
• cultural capital


  • the knowledge, attitudes, values & language of middle classes

  • middle class children acquire ability to grasp, analyse & express abstract ideas

  • develop more intellectual interests needed to succeed in education
• educational capital

  • middle class children with cultural capital are better equipped to meet the demands of the school curriculum & gain higher grades
• economic capital

  • wealthier parents can convert their economic capital into educational capital by sending their children to private schools & paying for extra tuition
• sullivan - cultural capital

  • questionnaire survey on 465 pupils from 4 schools

  • asked about reading & watching TV & whether they visited museums and theatres

  • tested their vocabulary & knowledge of cultural figures

  • found pupils who read fiction and watched documentaries had wider vocabulary & greater cultural knowledge - more likely to be successful at GCSE’s - children of graduates