Class differences [external]

• External factors- These are factors within schools and education system, such as interactions between pupils and teachers, and inequalities between schools
• Centre for Longitudinal Studies (2007) found that by the age of three, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already up to one year behind those from more privileged homes and the gap widens with age. The basic CULTURAL EQUIPMENT includes things such as language, self-discipline, and reasoning skills.
• Hubbs-Tait et al (2002) found that when parents use LANGUAGE that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities, cognitive performance improves.
• Feinstein (2008) found that educated parents are more likely to use language in this way. He also found that educated parents are more likely to use PRAISE. This encourages their children to develop a sense of their own competence.
• Bereiter & Engelmann (1966) see these differences in how parents use language to be linked to social class. They claimed that the language used in lower-class homes is deficient. They describe lower-class families as communicating by gestures, single words, or disjointed phrases.
• Bernstein (1975) identifies differences between working-class and middle-class language that influence achievement. He distinguishes two types of speech code:  The restricted code- Which is typically used by the working-class. It includes limited vocabulary and is based on the use of short, often unfinished, grammatically simple sentences.  The elaborated code- Usually used by the middle-class. It contains a wider range of vocabulary and is based on longer, grammatically more complex sentences.
• Critics argue that Bernstein is a cultural deprivation theorist because he describes the working-class speech as inadequate. [KEDDIE- not culturally deprived culturally different] However, unlike most cultural deprivation theorists he recogniaes that the school (not just the home) influences children’s achievement. He argues that working-class pupils fail not because they are culturally deprived, but because schools fail to teach them how to use elaborated code.
• Parents’ education: Douglas (1964) found that working-class parents placed LESS VALUE on education. As a result, they were less ambitious for their children, gave them less encouragement and took less interest in their education. As a result, their children have lower levels of motivation and achievement.
• FEINSTEIN reaches similar conclusions. He argues that parents’ own education is the most important factor affecting children’s achievement and, since middle-class parents tend to be more educated, they can give their children an advantage
• Parenting style: Educated parents’ parenting style emphasizes CONSISTENT discipline and high expectations of their children, and this supports achievement by encouraging active learning. By contrast less educated parents’ parenting style is marked as harsh and INCONSISTENT discipline that emphasizes ‘doing as your told’
• USE OF INCOME. Bernstein & Young (1967) found, middle-class mothers are more likely to buy educational toys, books and activities that encouraging reasoning skills and stimulate intellectual development. Working-class homes are likely to lack these resources, and this means children from such homes start school without intellectual skills needed to progress.
• Sugarman (1970) takes this view. He argues that working-class subculture has four key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement:  Fatalism  Collectivism  Immediate gratification- .  Present-time orientation
• Fatalism- A belief in fate (what will be, will be) and there is nothing you can do to change your status. This contrasts with middle-class values, which emphasizes that you can change your position through your own efforts.
•  Collectivism- Valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual. This contrasts with the middle-class view that an individual should not be held back by group loyalties.
• Immediate gratification- Seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices to get rewards in the future. By contrast, middle-class values emphasize deferred gratification, making sacrifices now for greater rewards later
• Present-time orientation- Seeing the present as more important than the future and so not having long-term goals.
• Compensatory education: Compensatory education programmes aim to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas. TV show Sesame Street was 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. UK VERSION IS SURE START.
• Sure start programme - Provides support from pregnancy until children are five years old. It aims to improve health outcomes, increase school readiness and promote social inclusion. Sure Start Children’s Centres offer services including childcare, parental advice on nutrition and healthy living, and access to healthcare professionals.
• Material deprivation refers to poverty and a lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income.
• Poor HOUSING can affect pupils’ achievement both directly and indirectly. For example, overcrowding can have a direct effect by making it harder for the child to study. Overcrowding means less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework, disturbed sleep from sharing beds or bedrooms etc. Por housing can also have an indirect effect. For example, children in crowded homes run greater risk of accidents
• DIET HEALTH- HOWARD notes that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins, and minerals. Poor nutrition affects health, for example by weakening the immune system and lowering children’s energy levels. This may result in more absences from school due to illness, and difficulties concentrating in class.
• DIET AND HEALTH - WILKINSON-among 10-year old’s, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders all of which are likely to have a negative impact on the child’s education
• Blanden & Machin (2007) found that children from low-income families were most likely to engage in ‘externalising’ behavior (such as fighting), which are likely to disrupt their schooling
• Lack of financial support means that children from poor families must do without equipment and miss out on experience that would enhance their educational achievement. Bull refers to this as ‘THE COSTS OF FREE SCHOOLING’. [Tanner et al] found that the costs of items such as transport, uniforms, books, computers, and stationery as well as sports, music or art supplies places a heavy burden on poor families.
• RIDGE found that children in poverty take on jobs such as baby sitting, cleaning and paper rounds, and that this often had a negative impact on their schoolwork
• Callender & Jackson (2005) found that working-class students are more debt averse- that is they saw debt negatively, as something to be avoided. They also saw more costs than benefits in going to university. Callender & Jackson found that attitudes to debt was important in deciding whether to apply to university. The most debt averse students were over five times likely to apply than the most debt tolerant students
• Bourdieu (1984) argues that both cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement and are not separate but interrelated. He uses the concept of ‘capital’ to explain why the middle-class are more successful
• CULTURAL CAPITAL-refer to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes, and abilities of the middle-class. He sees middle-class culture as a type of capital because, like wealth.
• ECONOMIC AND EDUCATION CAPITAL- middle-class children with cultural capital are better equipped to meet the demands of the school curriculum and gain qualifications. Similarly, wealthier parents can convert their economic capital into educational capital by sending their children to private schools and paying extra tuition [LEECH AND CAMPOS= MC parents can move in the catchment area of a school that is highly placed in the exam league tables.
• Sullivan used questionnaires to conduct a survey of 465 pupils in four schools. To assess their cultural capital, she asked them about a range of activities, such as reading and TV viewing habits, and whether they visited art galleries, museums, and she also tested their vocabulary and knowledge of cultural figures. She found that those who read complex fiction and watched serious TV documentaries developed wider vocabulary and greater cultural knowledge, indicating greater cultural capital.