Differential Achievement By Social Class

• There is a significant achievement gap between those eligible for free school meals and the rest, with around 60% of pupils not eligible for FSM getting 5 GCSEs at A*-C, compared with 33% of those who were eligible
• The achievement gap might even understate the differential achievement as pupils from higher-income households are also more likely to take the more challenging EBacc subjects at GCSE
• Social class is by far the biggest determinant of educational outcomes in the UK
• The view that intelligence is inherited and genetically determined is unpopular among sociologists
• IQ tests are unreliable and invalid measures of intelligence, as they primarily test knowledge of the style of questions asked and can be improved through practice
• Sociologists seek to explain class differences in educational achievement as being a result of either in-school (internal) factors or out-of-school (external) factors, which can be further divided into material and cultural explanations
• Material deprivation, such as the inability to afford basic resources, poor diet and under-nourishment, and the need to undertake employment alongside studies, can negatively impact educational performance
• Cultural factors, such as different attitudes and values, can also impact educational achievement
• Poor diet, under-nourishment, lack of access to educational resources like the internet and books can affect educational performance and lead to underachievement
• Poor health and poor attendance at school has a direct impact on achievement
• Working-class pupils are more likely to need to undertake employment alongside their studies to bring in more income, which can seriously impact their educational performance
• Pupils from households with higher income can afford educational visits and private tuition
• Cultural factors

  Norms and values of working-class families that are not seen as leading to the best outcomes in the education system
• Cultural capital

  Advantages middle-class pupils have due to their cultural norms and values
• Habitus


  The norms, values, attitudes, and behaviours of a particular social group or social class
• Social capital


  The networks and relationships a person possesses based on class membership, which enables them to build and maintain relationships with others
• Government policies have tried to resolve out-of-school factors but social class remains the main predictor of educational achievement
• Governments cannot prevent those with material means from purchasing educational advantages
• Some cultural factors like immediate gratification and lack of focus on social mobility may be a reaction to or result of material factors rather than cultural deprivation
• Labelling


  Teachers subconsciously label pupils as clever, well-behaved, trouble, naughty or stupid, and this affects how they interact with them
• Anti-school subcultures


  Subcultures within schools that are hostile to the school, where norms and values are about messing about and avoiding work
• Language codes

  The different ways people communicate, with middle-class pupils able to use the 'elaborate code' used in formal situations, while working-class pupils tend to use the 'restricted code'
• It is hard to fully divide factors into in-school and out-of-school as they impact each other
• Social class is the most directly influential factor in determining educational achievement, but it also intersects with ethnicity and gender
• Meritocracy assumes that everyone has equal opportunities to succeed regardless of their background or social class