Sociologists - Social Class

Bernstein (1975)

speech codes - external

• Identified differences between the speech codes of working class and middle class families

• Restricted Code (WC) - limited vocabulary

• Elaborated Code (MC) - wider vocabulary

Douglas (1964)

parent’s level of interest - external

• WC - parents placed less value on education = less ambitious for the children, less encouragement & less interest in education

• MC - higher levels of education, children achieve more

Feinstein (2008)

parent’s own education - external

• most important factor affecting children’s achievement

• MC - parents tend to be better educated, gave their children an advantage by how to socialise them

Bernstein & Young (1967)

use of income - external

• MC mothers likely to buy educational toys, encourage reasoning skills and stimulate intellectual development

• WC lack these resources: children start school without intellectual skill needed to progress

Sugarman (1970)

working class subcultures - external

• Fatalism - an acceptance of one’s situation and a belief that one’s lot in life can not be changed

• Collectivism - loyalty to the group, rather than the individual aspiration

• Immediate gratification - a focus on seeking pleasure in the moment, rather than delaying pleasure for the future

• Present time orientation - seeing the present as more important than the future

Bull (1980)

the cost of free schooling’ - external

• lack of financial support = children may miss out on experiences and have to manage without equipment

• students may be bullied or isolated by other students

• suitable clothes are essential for their self-esteem, and ‘fitting in’

Pierre Bourdieu

cultural capital - external

• MC = knowledge, behaviour, attitudes and cultural experiences that ensures that they succeed in education (& society)

• School assess cultural capital

• Teachers perceive cultural capital as intelligence

Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968)

pygmalion effect - internal

• people reflect the labels other give to them

• expectations create beliefs and therefore succession/lack of

Becker (1971)

interactionalist study of labelling - internal

• judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an image of the ‘ideal pupil’

• pupils’ work, conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teachers’ judgement

Hempel-Jorgensen (2009)

defined in terms of behaviour - internal

• different teachers may have different notions of the ideal pupil

• disciple was a major problem: ideal pupil defined as quiet, passive and obedient

• few discipline problems: ideal pupil was defined in terms of personality

Dunne & Gazley (2008)

labelling - internal

• schools persistently produce WC underachievement

• teachers normalised the underachieve - unconcerned

• believe could only overcome underachievement in MC pupils

• different regarding teachers belief in ‘the role of pupils’ background

• WC underachievement due to labels & assumptions

Rist (1970)

setting and steaming - internal

• fast learners (‘tigers’), tend to be MC and of neat and clear appearance

• Slower learners (‘cardinal’ and ‘clowns’), tend to be WC - given lower-level books to read and fewer chances to show their abilities

• teacher places children in separate groups due to home background

Douglas

streaming and self-fulfilling prophecy - internal

• Douglas found a 8 year old child placed in a lower stream suffered a decline in their IQ score by the time they were 11

• Opposite was true for these placed in higher streams

Willis

pupil subculture - internal

• ‘lads’ behaviour was anti-conformist, religious and against school ethos

• smoking & attention of girls more important

• ‘lads’ not socialised into work: leaving education

Lacey (1970)

anti-school subcultures - internal

• high town boys: streaming caused boys to either like school or detest it

Acher et al (2010)

symbolic violence - interaction

• nike identities

• finding identity within a brand

• WC pupils’ identities were stigmatised by MC habitus

Ingram (2009)

WC identity & educational success - interaction

• branded sportswear: boy’s habitus and sense of identity

• experiencing tension between habitus of their WC neighbourhood and their MC school

Evans (2009)

class identity & self-exclusion - interaction

• WC reluctancy to apply to elite universities

• clash between WC identites & habitus of higher education

• needing to abandon WC identites to fit in

• sense of hidden barriers