class differences in achievement (internal and external)

Subdecks (1)

Cards (95)

  • Internal factors
    factors within schools and the education system e.g. student and teacher interaction
    internal actors include- labelling in secondary and primary schools, the self fulfilling prophecy and teachers expectations, streaming with the a-c economy and the educational triage, pupil subcultures including pro and anti school subculture, pupils class identities and the school including habitus and symbolic capital and violence, working class identity and educational success, class identity and self exclusion
  • External factors
    factors outside the education system e.g. influences in the home
    there are cultural and material factors.
    cultural deprivation includes- working-class subculture, language-speech codes, parents education and compensatory education.
    material deprivation includes-housing, diet and health, financial support and costs of education and fear of debt.
  • Cultural deprivation
    w/c families fail to socialise their children adequately into the right skills, attitudes and values that they need to do well in school
  • Leon Feinstein (2008): language
    educated parents are more likely to use language that enables their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities e.g. 'what do you think?
  • language in w/c homes
    Bereiter and Engelmann (1966) claim language in lower class homes is deficient. They communicate by gestures, single works or disjointed phrases...therefore incapable of abstract thinking and unable to use language to explain, describe, enquire or compare.
  • Basil Bernstein (1975): speech codes w/c

    restricted code (w/c)- limited vocab and is based on short, unfinished, grammatically simple sentences. May involve single words or just gestures instead. Context based.
  • Basil Bernstein (1975): speech codes m/c

    elaborated code (m/c)- wider vocab and is based on longer, grammatically more complex sentences. Varied and communicates abstract ideas. Context-free.
  • Leon Feinstein (2008): parents education

    most important factor in affecting children's achievement= m/c parents tend to be better educated able to give children an advantage in socialisation.
  • Parenting style
    educated parents= consistent discipline, high expectations.
    less educated parents= harsh or inconsistent discipline...prevents self-control and independence, poorer motivation.
  • Parents educational behaviour
    educated parents= know what is needed to assist childs learning- read to children, teach them various skills, help w/ homework, educational visits etc
  • Parents use of income
    educated parents get better incomes and spend it on things that promote childs academic success. Bernstein and Young (1967) m/c mothers buy educational toys, books and activities.
  • Sugarman (1970): w/c culture
    4 key features that act as barrier:
    1. fatalism- fate
    2. collectivism- group
    3. immediate gratification- pleasure now
    4. present-time orientation- now, not LT goals
  • Compensatory education
    Educational Priority Areas, Education Action Zones, and Sure Start are nationwide programmes aimed at pre-school children and their parents to tackle cultural deprivation.
  • Nell Keddie (1973) EVAL OF CULT. DEP.
    It is a 'myth' and is a victim-blaming explanation. A child cannot be deprived of their own culture, w/c children simply are culturally different not deprived.
  • Tessa Blackstone and Jo Mortimore (1994) EVAL OF CULT. DEP.

    w/c attend less parents' evenings not because lack of interest but work longer or less regular hours or put off by schools m/c atmosphere.
  • Material deprivation
    poverty and lack of material necessities e.g. adequate housing and income
  • Department of Education (2012): poverty and underachievement

    barely a 1/3 of pupils eligible for Free School Meals get 5 or more GCSEs inc English and Maths.
  • Poor housing
    overcrowding= less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework, disturbed sleep
    Temp housing= changes of school so disturbance of education, more psychological distress
    Cold or damp= ill health- time off school
  • Diet and health
    Howard (2001)- lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals= low immune system and low energy levels so sick days and poor concentration

    Wilkinson (1996) the lower the social class the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders.
  • Costs of education
    transport, uniforms, equipment, and computers are a burden on poor families- resulting in hand-me-downs and cheaper, unfashionable equipment that may result in stigmitisation and being bullied.
  • Callender and Jackson (2005): Fear of debt
    w/c more debt adverse (see it negatively and should avoid it) and see uni as more costs than benefits. Those who were debt adverse were 5x less likely to apply to uni than debt tolerant students.
  • Diane Reay (2005): Fear of debt
    w/c students local universities so live at home but restricts going to high status universities. Also more likely to work part time making it more difficult to gain higher-class degrees.
  • Bordieu: Cultural Capital
    knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle class. This gives m/c children an advantage, where such abilities and interests are highly valued and rewarded with qualifications. This is because the education system is bias to m/c culture.
  • Bordieu: educational and economic capital

    educational= qualifications
    economic= wealth

    Cultural, Educational and Economic capital can all be converted into each other. E.g. if you have economic capital then you can use your wealth to pay for your child to go to a private school (educational capital).
  • Alice Sullivan (2001): testing Bordieu's ideas

    questionnaires to test children's cultural capital: she asked them about a range of activities, and whether they visited art galleries, museums and theatres.
    found= read more complex fiction and watched serious TV documentaries developed wider vocab and greater cultural knowledge. Those with greatest cultural capital were children of graduates.
    BUT- where pupils of different classes had same cultural capital, m/c still did better. So, greater resources and aspirations of m/c parents explains the rest of the class gap.
  • Amelia Hempel-Jorgensen (2009): Labelling

    the 'ideal pupil' is different according to social class make-up of the school:

    Aspen primary school- mainly w/c- where discipline major problem, the schools ideal was quiet, passive and obedient= defined by behaviour

    Rowan primary school- mainly m/c- few discipline problems, so the child was defined in terms of personality and academic ability.
  • Dunne and Gazeley (2008): labelling in secondary schools
    persistently produce w/c underachievement because of labels and assumptions that teachers make. They 'normalised' w/c underachievement so did little about it but believed m/c could overcome it. Set extension work for m/c pupils but entered w/c pupils into easier exams.
  • Rist (1970): labelling in primary schools

    used home background and appearance to place in separate groups on different tables.
    The 'Tigers' were the fast learning group- mainly m/c and of clean, neat appearance- seated closest to her and had greatest encouragement.
    The 'Cardinals' and 'Clowns'- mainly w/c- were seated further away, given lower level books to read and fewer chances to show their ability.
  • Self-fulfilling prophecy
    a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of the prediction being made.

    The teacher labels, the teacher then treats the pupil accordingly, finally the pupil internalises the teachers expectation.
  • Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968): teachers' expectations

    told school had a test that shows the 'spurters'- but the test was actually simply an IQ test. Picked 20% of students purely at random and told them that those were the 'spurters'.

    found= when came back a year later, almost half identified as spurters made significant progress. The effects were greater on younger children.

    Therefore, teachers influenced by thinking that they were a certain type and treated them as so by giving them attention and encouragement.
  • Streaming
    separating children into different ability groups or classes that are then taught separately from others in all subjects.
  • Douglas: Streaming
    children placed in lower stream at age 8 had a decline in IQ by 11.
    streaming helps m/c as most likely to be placed in high streams, reflecting their view that they are 'ideal'. Children placed in higher stream at age 8 had an improved IQ by 11
  • Gillborn and Youdell (2001): A-to-C economy

    league tables have created this economy as teachers focus all time, effort and resources on those pupils who will get the grades to boost position.
    teachers use typical notions of ability to stream pupils. Teachers less likely to see w/c (and black) pupils as having ability so more likely to be in low streams in lower-tier exams.
  • Educational triage

    created by the A-to-C economy-
    schools categorise pupils into 3 types:
    1. those who will pass anyway, left to get on with it
    2. those with potential, helped to get a C or more
    3. hopeless cases, doomed to fail
  • Pupil subculture
    group of pupils that share similar values and behaviour patterns. They often emerge as a response to labelling and streaming.
  • Lacey (1970): differentiation and polarisation
    differentiation= process of teachers categorising pupils on how they perceive their ability- 'more able' gets higher status and higher stream- 'less able' gets inferior status and lower stream

    polarisation= process which pupils respond to streaming by moving into one of two extremes- pro-school or anti-school subcultures.
  • Pro-school subculture
    Those in high streams- mainly m/c- remain committed to the values of the school. Gain status by approved manner and academic success.
  • Anti-school subculture
    Those in lower streams- mainly w/c- suffer loss of self-esteem as they are deemed as inferior. Pushes them into alternative way to gain status which involves inverting the school values of hard work, obedience and punctuality.
  • Stephen Ball (1981): abolishing streaming

    by teaching mixed-ability groups the basis of polarisation was largely removed and the influence of anti-school sub. declined.
    BUT, differentiation continued and the positive labelling showed in better exam results.
    SO, inequalities continue as result of teacher labelling, even without pupil subcultures.
  • Woods (1979): variety of pupil subcultures
    more than just pro and anti school subcultures:
    *Ingratiation= teachers pet
    *Ritualism= going through motions and staying out of trouble
    *Retreatism= daydreaming and mucking about
    *Rebellion= outright rejection of everything the school stands for

    Furlong (1984) not committed to one response but may move between them, acting differently in lessons with different teachers.