Topic One - Class differences in achievement (external factors):
Cultural deprivation:
Class differences in children's development and achievement appear very early in life. For example, a nationwide study by the centre of Longitudinal Studies (2007) found that by the age of three, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already up to one year behind those from more privileged homes and the gap widens with age.
The 3 main aspects of cultural deprivation are:
Language, parents' education and working-class subculture.
Language:
Hubbs - Tait et al (2007) found that where parents use language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understandings or abilities, cognitive performance improves.
Leon Feinstein (2008) educated parents are more likely to use language in this way.
Educated parents are more likely to use praise. This encourages their children to develop a sense of their own competence.
Bereiter and Engelmann (1966) claim that the language used in lower-class homes is deficient.
Speech codes:
Bernstein (1975) also identifies differences between working-class and middle-class language that influence achievement. He distinguishes between two types of speech code:
The restricted code:
Typically used by the w/c
Limited vocabulary
Predictable
Descriptive not analytic
Context bound.
Predictable
Descriptive not analytic
Context bound.
The elaborated code:
Typically used by the m/c
Wider vocabulary
Varied
Communicates abstract ideas
Context-free
These differences in speech code give middle-class children an advantage at school and put working-class children at a disadvantage. This is because the elaborated code is the language used by teachers, textbooks and exams.
Early *socialisation* into elaborated code means that middle-class children are already fluent users of the mode when they start school.
Critics:
Argue that Berstein is a cultural deprivation theorist because he describes the working-class speech as inadequate.
Parents' education:
Cultural deprivation theorists argue that parents' attitudes toward education are a key factor affecting children's achievement.
Douglas (1969) found that working-class parents placed less value on education and as a result, were less ambitious for their children, gave less encouragement and took less interest in their education.
Use of income:
Better educated parents tend to have higher incomes.
They spend their income to bolster their child's educational success.
Bernstein and Young - found that m.c mothers are more likely to buy educational resources.
Parenting style:
Educated parent's (usually m/c) parenting style is more disciplined with higher expectations.
Less-educated parents' parenting style is marked by inconsistent discipline.
This prevents children from learning self-control and independence.
Class, income and parental education:
While better-paid, middle-class parents tend to be better educated, Feinstein argues that education of the parent has a greater impact on child achievement.
This explains why there is a margin of w/c success.
Parents' educational behaviours:
Educated parents are more aware of what is needed for educational success.
More educated parents tend to establish a greater relationship with teachers.
Recognise the educational benefit of activities such as visits to museums and libraries.
Working-class subculture:
Cultural deprivation theorists argue that the lack of parental interest in their children's education reflects the subcultural values of the working-class.
A subculture is a group whose attitudes and values differ from those of the mainstream culture.
*C.D.T* say that there w/c have different goals, beliefs, attitudes and values from the rest of society and this is why their children fail in education - Sugarman (1970) shares this view - he argues that there are 4 key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement:
Fatalism: A belief in fate - 'Que Sera' - you cannot change your status - contrasts with middle-class values.
Collectivism: Valuing being apart of a group more than succeeding as an individual - contrasts with middle-class values.
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 and so not having long term goals or plans - contrasts with middle-class values.
Working-class children internalise the beliefs and values of their subculture resulting in their underachievement.
Compensatory education:
Aim to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools in deprived areas.
The popular TV show, Sesame Street was a part of Operation Head Start, providing a means of transmitting values, attitudes and skills needed for educational success, such as the importance of punctuality, numeracy and literacy.
Material deprivation:
Unlike cultural deprivation theorists, who blame educational failure on the inadequacy of working-class subculture, many other sociologists see *material deprivation* as the main cause of underachievement.
Factors:
Housing-
Poor housing can affect pupils' achievement both directly and indirectly.
E.g. overcrowding can have a direct effect by making it harder for the child to study.
Less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework, disturbed sleep from sharing beds or bedrooms and so on.
E.g. poor housing can have an indirect effect such as child health and welfare.
Crowded homes run the greatest risk of accidents causing more absences from school.
Financial support and the cost of education-
Lack of financial support means that children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that would enhance their educational achievement.
David Bull (1980) refers to this as 'The cost of free schooling.'
Poor children may have to make do with hand-me-downs and cheaper but unfashionable equipment, resulting in them being isolated, stigmatised or bullied by peers.
Lack of income means that children may need to work having a negative impact on their education.
Diet and Health-
Marilyn Howard (2001) notes that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals.
Poor nutrition affects health, for example by weakening the immune system and lowering children's energy levels, resulting in more absences from school.
Richard Wilkinson (1996) suggested child from poorer homes are more likely to have emotional or behavioural problems.
Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin (2007) found that children from low-income families were more likely to participate in 'externalising' behaviour (e.g. fighting, and temper tantrums) which are likely to disrupt their schooling.
Fear of debt-
Going to university usually involves getting into debt to cover the cost of tuition fees, books and living expenses. Attitudes towards debt may deter working-class students from going to university.
Claire Callender and Jon Jackson (2005) found that w/c students are more debt-averse - see debt as something to be avoided.
W/c students are less likely to receive financial support from their families.
Financial factors also restrict working-class students choice of university and changes of success e.g. local university to cut down on costs.
Cultural Capital:
Bourdieu: 3 types of capital:
Pierre Bourdieu (1984) argues that both cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement and are not separate but interrelated.
Cultural capital-
Cultural *capital* refers to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle-class.
It is advantageous.
Rewards individuals with qualifications.
The education system is not neutral but favours and transmits the dominant middle-class culture.
Working-class children find that schools devalue their culture as 'rough' and inferior.
Their lack of cultural capital leads to exam failure.
Educational and economic capital-
Argues that educational, economic and cultural capital can be converted into one another.
E.g. m/c children with cultural capital are better equipped to meet the needs of the school curriculum and gain qualifications.
M/c parents can also afford to privately educate their children to succeed.
Topic summary-
Middle-class pupils tend to achieve more than working-class pupils.
The middle-class has more cultural capital.
They are better placed to take advantage of the choices offered in the education system.
