sociology - education - diya

• what are the class differences in achievement - external factors

  • cultural deprivation
  • material deprecation
  • cultural capital
• explaining class difference

  • middle class children preform better
  • class gap in achievent grows wider as children get older
  • middle class children do better at GCSE and stay longer in full time education and take up majority of univerity places
• cultural deprivation - nationwide study (2007)

  • by age 3, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already a year behind and the gap widens with age
  • sociologist argues- most begin to acquire the basic values, attitudes and skills needed for educational success through primary socialisation in the family. basic 'cultural equipment' includes aspirations, motivation to succeed, self-discipline and language skills
• criticism of the basic assumptions cultural deprivation theory (nationwide study (2007))

  • their being a form of victim blaming- assumes w/c children underachieve due to their own deficiencies and their parents rather than because of poor schools or poverty
  • influences on policy - Louise Archer Et Al (2010) - argues such policies wrongly assume the problem of w/c underachievement is simply one of low aspirations and dysfunctional families
• working class subcultures

  • large sections of w/c have different goals, beliefs, attitudes and values from the rest of society and this is why their children fail at schools
  • Barry Sugerman (1970) argues w/c subculture has 4 key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement
• what is Berry Sugerman (1970) 4 key features that acts as a barrier to educational achievement

  1. fatalism - belief in fate, nothing can change your status, it is what it is
  2. collectivism - valuing being apart of a group more than succeeding as an individual
  3. immediate gratification - seeking pleasure now than making sacrifices to get rewards in the future
  4. present time orientation - not having a long term goals or plans and seeing the present more important
• what does Barry Sugerman argues

  • w/c parents pass their beliefs and values to their children through primary socialisation
  • these values stem from the fact that m/c jobs re-secure careers offering prospect for continuous individual advancement
  • w/c jobs are less secure and have no career structure through which people can advance
• language

  • Hubbs-Tait et al (2002) found - When parents use language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding, cognitive performance improves 
  • Leon Feinstein (2008) found - More highly qualified parents (m/c) uses this language 
  • w/c with fewer qualifications use language that requires simple descriptive statements
• criticism of language (Hubbs-Tait et al and Leon Feinstein)

  Troyna and williams(1986) argues 

  • Problem is not the child language but school attitudes towards it 
  • Teachers have ‘speech hierarchy’ : labelling m/c speech highest then w/c and finally black speech 
• speech codes - Basil Bernstein 2 types of speech codes

  Basil Bernstein (1975) - says there is 2 types of speech codes

  Restricted and elaborated codes  

  Theses give m/c children advantages in school

  Because elaborated codes are used by teachers, textbooks and exams 

  This is also a more effective tool for analysing and reasoning , and expressing thoughts clearly and effectively
• criticism of speech codes (Basil Bernstein)

  • cultural deprivation theories exaggerated the differences between the classes 
  • Gaine and George (1999) criticise Bernstein for exaggerating and oversimplifying the differences between w/c and m/c speech patterns, which has also probably reduced further since he conducted his research
• parents education

  • Cultural deprivation theorists argue that parents’ attitudes to education effects children achievement 
  • Douglas (1964) - concluded that w/c parents place less value on education therefore was less ambitious for their children, gave them less encouragement and interest in their education 
  • Goodman and Gregg (2010) found that Parents involvement in children schooling was the single most important factor affecting their achievement 
  • Leon Feinstein (2008) argued - Parents own education level is the most important factor affecting children’s achievement
• how do parents socialise children

  • Parenting styles- consistent discipline, high expectations to encourage active learning and exploration 
  • Parents education behaviour - higher qualification parents are more aware of what's needed to assist their child's education progress. They are also able to get expert advice on child caring 
  • Use of income - spend income to promote their children’s educational success (Bernstein and Young (1967) by buying educational toys, books and activities to stimulate intellectual development
• Compensatory education 

  • Aims to tackle cultural depreciation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas

  -intervene early in socialisation process 

  • programmes to improve parenting skills, setting up nursery classes, or raising students’ aspiration to go to university 

  Halsey (2977) and whitty (2002) argued - they have little impact, partly because few resources have been allocated to them 

  Diane Reay (2017) argues - though such programmes assume w/c children fail due to lack of aspiration, the true cause is poverty and lack of resources 
• criticism of cultural deprivation (1)

  • Victim blaming - they take a ‘deficit’ view that blames the victims for their own failure.ignoring inequality built into the education system and wider society which are to blame for underachievement 
  • Different, not deprived (Nell Keddie (1973) dismisses the idea that failure at school can be blamed on a culturally deprived background, children cant be deprived of its own culture and argue w/c children are culturally different not deprived. They fail because there in a disadvantage by education system dominated by m/c values 
• criticism of cultural deprivation (2)

  • Parental interest-critics reject the view that w/c parents are not interested in their children's education.
  • (Evans) parents want their children to do well as it will lead to a better job.
  • (Blackstone and Mortimore) w/c parents attend fewer parents' evenings not due lack of interest but because they work longer or less regular hours.
  • (Hanafin and Lynch) w/c parents feel excluded from decision making by the school due lack knowledge and education to do so. 
• criticism of cultural deprivation (3)

  • Labelling-acts as a negative label that the teachers apply to w/c families and becoming self- fulfilling prophecies
• material deprivation

  Housing 

  • Overcrowding- making it harder for children to study and less room for educational activities , disturbed sleep from sharing beds/bedrooms etc.
  • Families may live in temporary accommodations and move frequently, constant changing schools and disrupted education and may suffer more psychological distress, infections and accidents
  • They are at greater risk of accidents. cold /damp housing cases sickness
• diet and health

  • Marilyn Howard (2001) - young people from poorer homes have lower energy, vitamins and minerals . thus affecting health causing absence from school and difficulty concentrating 
  • Richard Wilkinson (1996) - They are also more likely to have emotional/behavioural problems 
  • Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin (2007) - low income families are more likely to engage in ‘externalising’ behaviour (fighting and temper tantrums)
• Financial support and the costs of education (1)

  • Children miss out experiences that would enhance their educational achievement 
  • David Bukk (1980) refers to this as the ‘costs of free schooling’ - cost of items places a heavy burden on poor family 
  • Poor children have to make do with hand-me-downs and cheaper but unfashionable equipment - resulting in isolation, stigmatised or bullied by peers 
  • Flaherty - fear of stigmatisation helps to explain why 20% of those eligible for free school meals don't take up their entitlement 
• financial support and the costs of education (2)

  • Teresa Smith and Michael Noble (1995) - poverty acts as a barrier to learning in other ways such as inability to afford private schooling/ tuition, and poorer quality local schools 
  • Ridge - children in poverty take jobs that often have negative impact on their schoolwork 
  • Financial support to poorer students staying on in education after 16 had been available through education maintenance allowance was abolished in England by the Coalition Government in 2011
• fear of debt

  • uni=debt to cover tuition fees, books and living expenses 
  • Claire Callender and Jon Jackson (2005) - w/c students are more debt averse - that is, they saw debt negatively, as something to be avoided and more costs than benefits in going to university
  • Callender and Jackson -attitude to debt was important in deciding whether to apply to university
  • w/c students who go to university are likely to receive less financial support from their families
  • Diane Reary (2005)- w/c are more likely to apply to local universities, making it difficult for them to gain higher-lass degrees
• cultural or material factors

  • Peter Mortimore and Geoff Whitty (1997) - argue material inequalities have the greatest effect on achievement 
  • Peter Robinson (1997) - argues tackling child poverty would be the most effective way to boost achievement 
•  Cultural capital 

  Bourdieu: three types of capital

  • Pierre Bourdieu (1984)-argues, both cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement and not separate but interrelated . he uses the concept of ‘capital’ to explain why the middle class are more successful
  • Capital refers to wealth but in addition to this economic capital, educational capital or qualifications, and cultural capital - m/c generally possess more than all 3 types of capital 
• Cultural capital 

  • Refers to knowledge, attitudes, values, language, taste and abilities of the m/c
  • It gives advantage to those who possess it 
  • Through their socialisation, m/c children have the ability to grasp, analyse and express abstract ideas
  • More likely to develop intellectual interests and understanding of what the education system requires for success 
• Educational and economic capital 

  • m/c children are better equipped to meet the demands of the school curriculum and gain qualifications 
  • Weather parents can convert their economic capital into educational capital by sending their children to private school and paying extra tuition 
  • Dennis LEech and Erick Campos (2003) study of coventry shows - m/c parents are more likely to afford a house in the catchment area of a school that is highly placed in the exam league tables
  • ^known as ‘selection by mortgage’ because it drives up the cost of houses near successful schools and exclude w/c families 
• A test of Bourdieu’s ideas 

  • Alice Sullivan (2001) - found those who read complex fiction and watches serious tv documentaries developed a wider vocabulary and greater cultural knowledge, indicating greater cultural capital 
  • however - they were also most likely to be m/c
  • Cultural capital only accounted for part of the class differences in achievement. Where pupils of different classes had the same level of cultural capital, m/c pupil still did better 
  • Greater resources and aspiration of m/c families explained the remainder of the class gap in achievement
• what is labelling

  Label - to label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them 

  • Study shows, teachers attach labels regardless of the pupil actual ability or attitude but based on stereotyped assumptions about class background 
• labelling (1) Howard Becker

  • Howard Becker (1971) - interviewed 60 Chicago high school teachers judged pupils according to how close they were to the ‘ideal pupil’
  •  Teachers saw w/c background as badly behaved 
• labelling (2) Amelia Hempel

  • Amelia Hempel Jorgensen (2009) - these notions vary according to the social class make-up of the school 
  • Large w/c aspen primary school - staff said discipline was a major problem, the ideal pupil is quiet, passive and obedient - children are defined by behaviour not ability 
  • Mainly m/c Rowan primary school - had few discipline problems and said the ideal pupil is defined instead in terms of personality and academic ability, rather than as being a ‘non-misbehaving’ pupil, as at aspen
• labelling in secondary school- Máiréad Dunne and Louise Gazeley (2008)

  • argued-schools persistently produce w/c underachievement’ because of the labels and assumptions of teachers 
  • Interviews showed, teachers ‘normalised’ the underachievement of w/c pupils, seemed unconcerned by it and felt they could do nothing about it, whereas they believed they could overcome the underachievement of m/c pupils 
  • Reason for difference-teachers belief in the role of pupils home backgrounds
  • ^labelled w/c parents uninterested in their child education but m/c are supportive
• what has labelling in secondary school led too

  • led to class differences in how teachers dealt with and perceived pupils
  •  setting extension work for underachieving m/c pupils but giving w/c easier pupils.
  • They also underestimate w/c pupils potential and those who were doing well were seen as ‘overachieving 
• self-fulfilling prophecy

  • Definition - a prediction that comes true by virtue of it having been made
  • Interactionist argue - labelling can affect pupil achievement

  Step 1: teacher labels pupil and makes predictions about them 

  Step 2: teacher treats the pupil accordingly as if the prediction is already true 

  Step 3: pupil internalises the teacher expectations which becomes part of their self-concept or self-image so that they now become the pupil the teacher believed them to be in the first place
• study-Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson 

  • told the school they had a test specially designed to pupils who would ‘spurt’ ahead. This was untrue as the test was a standard IQ test 
  • Researchers tested all the pupil but picked 20% at random and told the school falsely that the test had identified these children as ‘spurters’
  • Returning to the school year later, almost half that was identified as ‘spurters’ had made significant progress
  • Teachers beliefs about the pupil has been influenced by the supposed test results and conveyed these beliefs to the pupil by how they interacted with them 
• streaming

  • separating children into different ability groups or classes called ‘streams’ .They are the taught separately from the other streams .Self fulfilling prophecy is likely to occur when children are streamed 
• streaming

  • Becker - teachers don't usually see w/c children as ideal. They lack ability and have low expectations.resulting in w/c more likely to find themselves put in lower stream
  • One streamed its difficult to move up
  • This creates self-fulfilling prophecy 
  • Douglas - children placed in lower stream at age 8 suffered a decline in their IQ score by age 11 though m/c increased by the age 11 
  • m/c benefits from streaming as they develop positive self-concept, gain confidence, work harder and improve their grades
• Streaming and the A-to-C economy

  A-to-c economy - system in which schools focus their time,effort and resources on those pupils they see as having the potential to get 5 grades Cs and so boosts the school’s league table position 
• Streaming and the A-to-C economy-David Gillborn and Deborah Youdell (2001) -study of  2 london secondary schools

  • Teachers are less likely to see w/c and black pupils as having ability, therefore set in a lower stream and entered lower-tier GCSEs. This denies them the knowledge and opportunity needed to get good grades and widens the class gap in achievement 
  • They link streaming to the policy of publishing exam league tables to rank school according to its exam performances, schools needs good league table position if they are to attract pupils and funding 
• Educational triage -Gillborn and Youndell 

  Triage = sorting

  • Term described the process on battlefields or in major disasters whereby medical staff decide who is to be given scarce medical resources 
• educational triage

  • 3 categories 

  1. The ‘walking wounded’ - can be ignored because they will survive 
  2. Those who will die anyways - will be ignored 
  3. Those with a chance of survival - given treatment in hope of saving them 
  4. Those who will pass anyways and can be left to gen on with it 
  5. Hopeless cases, who are doomed to fail 
  6. Those with potential who will be helped to get a grade c

  Teachers do this using stereotypical view of w/c and black pupils as lacking ability and ‘hopeless cases’ and ‘warehoused’ in the bottom sets