external

• Cultural deprivation

  Deficiencies in home and family backgrounds, such as inadequate socialisation, inadequate language skills and inappropriate attitudes/values
• Bernstein's speech codes

  • elabborated code = more detailed language = middle class
  • restrictive code = less detailed = working class
  • 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' parents' education

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


  • Sugarmann identifies 4 key acts that act as a barrier to educational achievement for working class pupils:
  • 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
• Material deprivation - housing

  • Overcrowding means there is no room for educational activities, such as homework and reading
  • Overcrowding also means disturbed sleep from sharing bedrooms
  • Families living in temp accommodation may find themselves having to move frequently, leading to disturbed education
  • Overcrowded homes mean greater risk of accidents and a higher risk of getting ill, which may lead to absence from school
• Material deprivation - diet and health (Howard)

  • 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, which may result in more absences from school
• Cultural capital


  Knowledge, language, attitudes and values, and lifestyle that gives the middle-class an inbuilt advantage in a middle-class controlled education system
• Bourdieu's cultural capital


  • 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