External

• Cultural deprivation + capital

  • Douglas = level of parental interest, some parents don't care about education but some w/c might not be able to support studying due to inconvenient shifts
  • W/c children don't gain cultural capital through museum visits and books like m/c
• Attitudes to education

  • Sugarman = middle and working class have different outlooks, working class backgrounds seek immediate gratification
  • Feinstein = redistributive policies need to carry on throughout pupils education (free school meals)
  • Hyman = values of working class are self-imposed barrier to improve position, working class tend to place low value on education
• Speech code: Bernstein

  • Restricted speech code = unable to develop skills of analysis and evaluation, common in working class
  • Elaborated speech code = used by teachers, textbooks, seen as correct way of speaking
• Cultural capital: Bourdieu


  Middle class pupils have more advantage as their parents can take them to museums, gain outside knowledge
• Material deprivation

  • Halsey = lack of financial support prevents w/c students staying on at school
  • Douglas = children in unsatisfactory living conditions didn't do well in ability tests
• Problems with Bernstein's theory

  • Variations within middle and working class, vary in how they use elaborated code
• Problems with Bourdieu's theory

  • Halsey et al = material factors > lack of money may stop kids staying on at school
  • Not all w/c students fail even if they don't have cultural capital