A-level sociology education: class gender and ethnicity

what are the two factors that class has an affect on in eduction?

external factors and internal factors

what are external factors that class has an affect on in education?

cultural factors and material factors

what are some cultural factors that class has an affect on in education?

language, parents education, working-class subculture

what are some material factors that class has an affect on in education?

housing, diet and health, financial support/cost of education, fear of debt,

what sociologist mentions that class has an affect on language?

Bernstein- restricted and elaborated speech codes

what sociologist mentions that class has an effect on parents educational views?

Douglas- working class parents place less value on education

what sociologist mentions that class has an affect on class subculture?

Sugarmann-working class subculture revolves around the belief in fatalism and immediate gratification

what solution did the government come up with that links to cultural factors?

the government created tv shows that provided resources that helped develop skills for children who came from deprived families as they would watch tv more than prioritise their educational development

how does housing have an affect on educational achievement?

overcrowding and poor living conditions occur among working class families which affects how well a child can focus on their school work at home

how does diet and health have an affect on educational achievement? include sociologist.

Marilyn Howard- children who come from poor housing families have lower intake of healthy foods and vitamins which results in a weaker immune system and less attendance in school

how does financial support/cost of education affect educational achievement?

those from working class families may struggle to buy equipment and resources needed for their child's educational achievement

how does fear of debt affect educational achievement? include sociologists.

Callender and Jackson- found that working class families were 5 times less likely to apply to university due to their attitudes towards debt

what type of solutions are there for material deprivation?

things like government bursaries and scholarships help working class students to receive financial aid

what are the internal factors that class has an affect on in education?

labelling, self fulfilling prophecy, pupil subcultures

how does labelling have an affect on educational achievement?

teachers judge and label students based on social class

what is the halo effect? include sociologist.

Hargreaves- when students are stereotyped on first impression by teachers eg as a good pupil or bad pupil, these impressions stay with them and impact how they will be treated

how does the self-fulfilling prophecy affect educational achievement? include sociologists.

Rosenthal and Jacobson- low expectations from students results in a lack of educational achievement as they are aligning themselves with their teachers belief. a high expectations results in improved achievement

what is the pygmalion effect?

a phenomenon that occurs when a student lives up to what's expected of them as well as being treated as such

what are the external factors that affect girls' educational achievement?

impact of feminism, changes in family, changes in employment, girls changing their ambitions

how does the impact of feminism affect girls' educational achievement? include sociologist.

Angela McRobbie- studied girls magazines and found that magazines in the 70s emphasised marriage and family whereas magazines in the 90s focused on careers and independence

how does changes in employment opportunities affect girls' educational achievement?

the equal pay act in 1970 made more girls want to achieve the best grades and get a well payed job as the outcome

how does girls' changing ambitions affect girls' educational achievement? include sociologist.

Sue Sharpe- she compared aspirations in the 70s and 90s and found that many girls in the 70s prioritised getting married and having children whereas in the 90s girls were more focused on becoming independent and doing well in school

what are the internal factors that affect girls' educational achievement?

equal opportunities at school, positive role models in school, GCSE and coursework, challenging stereotypes

how does equal opportunities at school affect girls' educational achievement?

by removing barriers within subject choices such as science, it provides girls with more equal opportunities and excel their aspirations to succeed in a variety of different subjects

how does positive role models in school affect girls' educational achievement?

there are more female teachers within schools which means girls have more positive role models

how does GCSE and coursework affect girls' educational achievement? include the sociologists.

Mistos and Browne- the introduction of GCSE and coursework has improved girls educational achievement because girls are more organised and take time with their work to make sure its nicely presented as well as meeting there deadlines

how does challenging stereotypes affect girls' educational achievement?

girls may challenge stereotypes in subjects that show boys in textbooks more than girls, this would encourage them to be confident and prove the gender stereotypes wrong

what is symbolic capital?

refers to the status, recognition and sense of worth that we are able to obtain from others

what did Louise Archer say about symbolic capital? (evaluation)

in her study she found that working class girls chase recognition and self-worth by acting in a way that is not compatible with school eg: being loud, acquiring a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity and socialising boys over academics

what are the internal factors that affect boys' educational achievement?

feminisation of education, shortage of male teachers, laddish subcultures

how does the feminisation of education affect boys' educational achievement? include sociologist.

Sewell- stated that boys were underachieving due to the feminisation within education, and the lack of masculine traits such as competitiveness and leadership causes girls to do better initially favouring girls

how does the shortage of male teachers affect boys' educational achievement?

the lack of male teachers in schools causes boys to struggle to create meaningful goals and aspirations as male role models within education would help many boys to be guided towards their future/dreams

how does laddish subcultures affect boys' educational achievement? include sociologist.

Debbie Epstein- she states that the growth of laddish subcultures has contributed to boys underachievement as boys masculinity was questioned by peers if they did well in class and would be harassed and labelled as 'sissies'

what are the external factors that affect boys' educational achievement?

lack of literacy and language skills, decline of traditional male jobs, boys activities

how does the lack of literacy and language skills affect boys' educational achievement?

parents at home are said to read less to their sons and are not encouraged to excel in their literacy and language skills as it is seen as a 'feminine job'.

how does the decline in traditional male jobs affect boys' educational achievement? include sociologists.

Mistos and Browne- they state that the decline in male manual work has caused boys to develop an identity crisis where they believe they have a little chance of getting a job. this affects their motivation and self-esteem so they dont try hard to get any qualifications

how do boys activities affect their educational achievement?

boys pursue activities like sports and this doesn't require them to improve and develop their language and communication skills, initially causing them to fall behind the expected level

what are the internal factors that ethnicity has an effect on educational development?

labelling and teacher racism, institutional racism, ethnocentric curriculum

how does teacher racism affect ethnic minorities educational achievement ? include sociologist.

Heidi Mirza- studied black girls in school and discovered that there were 3 types of teacher racism:

1) the colour blind- assumes all pupils are different and ignores the cultural differences

2) the liberal chavrints- recognises cultural differences but see the ethnic minorities as culturally deprived and have low expectations of them

3) the overt racist- see black pupils as inferior and treat them accordingly

As a result, girls did not want to pick these subjects with teachers who fit into these categories and did not ask for help from them either.

how does labelling affect ethnic minorities educational achievement?

some teachers see black children as disruptive and aggressive and asian pupils as passive, these negative labels may lead teachers to treat pupils from ethnic backgrounds differently and this disadvantages them and results in their failure

how does institutional racism affect ethnic minorities educational achievement? include sociologists.

Troyna and Williams- they explain that the difference in educational achievement among ethnic minorities goes beyond just teacher racism but how we should look at how schools unconsciously discriminate against ethnic minorities as the curriculum is ethnocentric and prioritises and favours the white culture and English language

eg- English books focus on white authors and languages taught in schools are mainly European languages

how does the ethnocentric curriculum affect ethnic minorities educational achievement? include sociologist

Bernard Coard- explains that a curriculum that only reflects the culture of one ethnic group can cause underachievement, eg the image of black people as inferior in history classes can lead to a lack of self esteem and failure

what did Gillborn and Yodell say about ethnic minorities in education?

they found that teachers were quicker to discipline black pupils than other for the same behaviour, this is because teachers had radicalised expectations and expected black students to have more discipline problems and this caused them to misinterpret their behaviour as threatening or challenging to authority - this leads to pupils responding negatively and feeling like they are being picked on

what did Mac and Ghaill say about ethnic minorities in education? (Evaluation)

in their study on A-level students they found that black girls do not conform to negative labels give by teachers and their reactions depended on their ethnic group, gender and past experiences

what are the internal factors that affect ethnic minorities educational achievement?

intellectual and linguistic skills, attitudes and values, family structure

how does intellectual and linguistic skills affect ethnic minorities educational achievement? include sociologists

Bereiter and Englelmann- claimed that language in low income Black American families isn inadequate for educational success-ungramatacial

what is linguistic violence? include sociologist.

April Baker-bell sees views like Bereiter and Engelmann's as examples of 'anti-black linguistic racism' which labels black speech as inferior when actually both speech codes are valid however the white English dominates.

how does attitudes and values affect ethnic minorities educational achievement?

some argue that minority ethnic group children are socialised into a subculture that insists an attitude that does not value education and leaves them unprepared for success

how does lack of fatherly tough love affect ethnic minorities educational achievement? include sociologist.

Tony Sewell- argues that the absence of fathers creates a lack of tough love which causes young black boys to struggle to overcome emotional and behavioural difficulties during adolescence. this eventually leads them to join street gangs where other fatherless black boys offer 'loyalty and love'

how does family structure affect ethnic minorities educational achievement? include sociologist.

Charles Murray- argues that the high rate of lone parent mothers within families causes underachievement because of the lack of male role models in some minorities

what did Ken Pryce say about the difference in Asian pupils achievement and black Caribbean?

he claimed that asian students over achieve because of the culture difference when it comes to racism, they are more resistant to racism in comparison to black Caribbean pupils where they are less resistant and this leads to a lack of self-esteem

why do asian pupils achieve better in education? include sociologist.

Lupton- found that Indian and Chinese families have better values towards education as the parents have a strong 'asian work ethic. adult authority within these families model similar behaviour that is expected in schools, eg being respectful

what does Geoffrey Driver say about the cultural deprivation theory for ethnic minorities educational achievement? (evaluation)

he criticises the theory and states that it ignores the positive effects of ethnicity on achievement- black carribbean girls are more successful than black boys because they are provided with strong positive role models such as their independent mother

what does Errol Lawrence say about the cultural deprivation theory for ethnic minorities educational achievement? (evaluation)

he argues that black pupils are underachieving because of racism not low self-esteem

what does Keddie say about the cultural deprivation theory for ethnic minorities educational achievement? (evaluation)

she sees cultural deprivation as victim blaming and that ethnic minority children are not culturally deprived and that they underachieve because schools are ethnocentric and favour the white culture

what does Gillborn say about Sewell's theory to why black students are underachieving?

he argues that black students do not underachieve because of peer pressure but because of institutional racism within the education system