Class

• Cultural Deprivation


  Working class children grow up with inadequate socialisation and inadequate cultural equipment to enable them to succeed at school. These include intellectual development, language and attitudes & values.
• Language


  An essential part of the process of education and the way in which parents communicate with their children affects their cognitive (intellectual) development and their ability to benefit from the process of schooling
• Language


  • Where parents use language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding abilities, cognitive performance improves, i.e. what do you think?
• Speech codes


  Bernstein (1975) distinguishes between elaborated and restricted speech codes:

  The working class use restricted code – less analytical, more descriptive, has limited vocabulary and is formed of simple sentences or just gestures. It is particularistic – assumes the listener shares the particular meanings that the speaker holds, so the speaker doesn't have to spell them out.

  The middle class use elaborated code: this is analytical, with a wide vocabulary and complex sentences. It is universal – speaker spell out their meanings explicitly and don't just assume the listener shares them.
• Parents Education


  Douglas (1964) working class parents placed less value on education – they were less ambitious for their children, gave less encouragement and took less interest in their education. They rarely went in for parents evenings for progress checks, consequently their children had low motivation and achievement.
• Working Class Subculture


  • Fatalism: a belief that "whatever will be, will be". Working class children don't believe they can improve their position through their own individual efforts.

  Collectivism: valuing's being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual.

  Immediate Gratification: wanting rewards now rather then being willing to make sacrifices and working hard for future rewards.

  Present-time orientation: seeing the present as more important than the future, no long term goals.
• Compensatory Education


  Operation Head Start in the United States – multi billion dollar scheme of preschool education in poorer areas introduced in the 1960s. Its aimed was 'planned enrichment' of the deprived child's environment to develop skills and instil achievement motivation. It included improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes and home visits by educational psychologists.

  Sesame Street – initially part of Head Start, providing a means of transmitting values, attitudes and skills needed for educational success, such as the importance of punctuality, numeracy and literacy

  Educational Priority Areas, Education Action Zones (1990s), Excellence in the Cities (2005) and Sure Start
• Material Deprivation


  The inability to afford basic resources and services such as sufficient food and heating. Material deprivation generally has a negative effect on educational achievement.
• Housing


  • Overcrowding or cold and damp rooms mean pupils have nowhere quiet to do homework. Similarly, being homeless or living in temporary accommodation may mean frequent moves and changes of school's.

  Development can be impaired though lack of space for safe play and exploration.

  Children in crowded homes run a greater risk of accidents, cold and damp causes ill health and well as noise pollution causing psychological stress.
• Diet and Health


  • Young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals. This weakens the immune system resulting in more illness and absence from school.
• Fear of Debt


  • Working class were more likely to go to local universities so they could save on costs, and work part time, making it hard to gain higher marks
• Financial Support and the Cost of Education


  • The cost of items such as transport, uniform, books, computers, calculators, sports, music and art equipment place a heavy burden on poor families. Due to this children may have to do with hand me downs, cheaper but unfashionable equipment and this may result in stigmatisation or bullying.
• Cultural Capital


  The attitudes, values, skills, knowledge of the middle class. Children are more likely to develop intellectual interest and understanding of what the education system requires for success (rewarded with qualifications)
• Educational and Economic Capital


  • Middle class children are better equipped to meet the demands of the school curriculum and gain qualifications. Parents can covert their economic capital into educational capital (sending them to private school).

  Middle class parents are more likely to be able to afford a house in the catchment area of a school that is highly placed in exam league tables. "Selection by mortgage" because it drives up the cost of house near to successful schools – excludes working class.
• Streaming


  Teachers do not usually see working-class children as ideal pupils. They tend to see them as lacking ability and have low expectations of them.
• 1. C Economy


  • Teachers use stereotypical notions of 'ability' to stream pupils. They found that teachers are less likely to see working class (and black) pupils as having ability. As a result these pupils are more likely to be placed in lower streams and entered for lower-tier GCSEs.
• The Educational Triage


  The way schools divide pupils into three groups (how likely they are to succeed in exams). Schools concentrate on to top two and write off those with little chance.

  Walking wounded – ignored – they will survive – pass anyway

  Those with a chance of survival – given treatment – borderline c/d (potential if given help)

  Hopeless cases - Those who will die anyway – ignored
• Pupil Subcultures


  Lacey (1970) middle class grammar school (Hightown Boys' Grammar School). Most schools place a high value on things such as hard work, good behaviour and exam success and teachers judge and rank and categorize them into different sets or streams – differentiation. One of the consequences of differentiation is polarisation. Two opposing groups – 'poles'. Studies have found that this process has lead to the formation of pro and anti school subcultures.
• Pupil Class Identity and the schools


  • For working class students to be educationally successful they would need to change how they talked and presented themselves –"losing yourself"

  Working class pupils investment in Nike identities is not only a cause of their educational marginalisation by the school; it also expresses their positive preference for a particular lifestyle. As a result working class pupils may choose to self-eliminate or exclude themselves from education.
• Labelling


  Rist (1970) study of an American kindergarten shows labelling occurs from the outset. He found that the teacher used information about children's home life and appearance to place them in separate groups, seating each group at a different table. Those the teacher decided were fast learners, she labelled as tigers (middle class pupils), these were the most neat and sat closet to the teacher and she showed them greater encouragement. The remaining two groups were called, Clowns and Cardinals – seated further away, were given lower level reading books and read as a group not individually
• Self Fulfilling Prophecy


  Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968) Study of Oak Community School, a California Primary School. Carried out a field experiment. They told the school that they had a new test specifically designed to identify those pupils who would spurt ahead. This was untrue, because the test was in fact a standard IQ test. Importantly the teachers actually believed what they had been told. The researchers tested all the pupils, but then picked 20% of them randomly and told school that the test had identified these children as "spurters". Results – a year later, they found that 47% of those identified as "spurters" had made significant progress. The effect was greater on young students.