class differences in achievement: External factors

Material deprivation

A01: the inability to afford basic resources, which can impact a pupils education achievement. Pupils are unable to afford things like sufficient fold, heating or clothes and Educarion resources leading to underachievement.

A02: 33% or children receive FSM gained 5+ A - C GCSEs compared with 61% of pupil not.

MC children have reading age 2.5 years ahead of WC children at age 15. 90% of failing schools are in deprived areas

A03: This may lead to silt shifting - student may off role WC students who threaten the schools positions on league table.

Housing

The quality of housing a pupil live in can affect achievement in school

E.g.

• child development can be impaired through lack of outdoor space for safe play and exploration

• Living in temporary accommodation may involve having to move frequently, resulting in constant change in school and disrupted education

• Families in temporary accommodation also suffer from move psychological distress

• Children in crowded homes run a greater risk of accidents, cold or damp accommodation can also cause ill health.

• Overcrowding means less room for education activities, nowhere to do homework, disturbed sleep from sharing beds/bedroom etc

Howard: Poverty and poor diet

• children from poor homes have lower intakes of vitamins and minerals

• This may result in more a sense from school more time missed and a lack of concentration in lessons

Bull: the cost of education

• lack of financial support means that children from, poor families have to go without equipment and miss out on experiences that would enhance their education achievement - the hidden coat of free education.

Oxford dropout rates

• 16.6% or student drop out of university in London (not rustle group)compared to 1.5% at Oxford. Over 50% of Oxford student come from private education. This implies that rich Upper class families can provide a better quality of education.

Challander and Jackson: Fear of debt

• they found that WC students more debt averse- saw negatively.

• Some saw more cost than benefits going to uni. The most debt averse students were over 5 times less likely to apply than the most debt tolerant students

A03:

The government has tried to compensate for student from low-income backgrounds with EMA in the past, bursaries today, pupil premium funding and student loan for universities students

Criticism from. Education policy

External factors: Cultural deprivation

A01: This is the concept that WC families fail to primary socialise their children adequately

A02: Bernstein argue that the speech patterns of those at the bottom of the class system are inferior. He referred to the WC as restricted speech code, where they have limited vocabulary + simple sentences, however m/uc are known as elaborated codes, where they have wide vocabulary and use more complex sentences.

• this benefits the the MC students as teachers speak it, exams are written in it, textbook use it, they are reward for using it (speaking exam)

• This is a disadvantage the wc as they become alienated in the classroom. This could lead to negative labelling

A03: He recognises that role of the school in influencing under-achievement, the school fails to teach students how to use elaborated code

Bernstein devalues wc speech as inadequate when it works in their own habitius

Habitus refers to norms, values, attitudes and behaviour of a particular social group or class.

WC attudies and values (A02)

• according to cultural deprivation theorist, large sections of wc have different goals, beliefs, attitudes and values from mainstream society,

• Wc children internalise the belief of their often-deviant subculture and underachieve.

• WC jobs require less skills and less secure have fewer promotions with wages peaking early.

Sugarman:

Refers to 4 main aspects of this

• Fatalism: controlled by luck

• Collectivism: valuing group loyalty

• Immediate gratification: seeking rewards now instead of delaying pleasure for success

• Present- time orientation: focus on present rather than long term goals and future achievements

Criticism of Cultural Deprivation Theory (AO3)

• (Keddie): Cultural deprivation is victim blaming. Working class culture is different, not deprived.

• Working class failure is down to the systematic discrimination within a middle-class education environment.

• (Tronya & Williams): Schools fail to challenge middle class bias in terms of language bias and negative labelling.

• (Blackstone & Mortimer): Working class parents are intimidated by the middle-class school environment.

• Less working-class engagement with school partly attributed to irregular work patterns and shift work.

Cultural capital Bourdieu

AO1: Cultural capital is knowledge of values, attitudes, tastes, abilities and language of the dominant culture of society. The dominant culture is normally the middle-class culture - hence working-class culture is devalued in education as rough and inferior.

AO2: Middle class families have more cultural capital because they:

• Know how to help their children with homework

• Can relate to teachers so that they are more likely to contact the teachers with questions/ complaints.

• Feel more confident to research which schools are the best in the area and read OFSTED reports.

• Have the money to move to different catchment areas. economic capital

• See the importance of high culture and wider learning e.g., museum visits, music lessons, etc.

AO3: Cultural capital accounted for some of the class differences in attainment. Some working-class children had equal amounts of cultural capital. Middle class children did better because of their higher levels of economic capital and aspirations. 7% of children in the UK are educated in private schools, receiving both the best education and educational capital.

Cultural capital = knowledge, language, skills, manners, and interests that society values. Example: speaking “properly,” reading books, knowing how to behave in interviews.

Educational capital = qualifications and academic success someone has. Example: GCSEs, A-levels, degrees, certificates.

Economic capital = money and financial resources. Example: wealthy parents, private tutors, expensive schools, laptops.