Social class and Attainment - cultural

Ofqual statistic

• 2023 - 2 million pupils eligible for free school meals

• Government report 2014 - white British eligible for FSM lowest achieving groups

Sutton Trust 2022 research

• Children from less well-off homes already behind when starting school - gaps only widen through primary and secondary

• 2022- 56% headteachers reported increase in children coming to school hungry in autumn term

Toys and Games

• Cultural deprivation- working class lack books + activities which stimulates child’s intellectual development

• J.W.B Douglas - w/c pupils scored lower on tests than m/c - w/c parents less likely to support development through reading, etc

• Bernstein and Young - m/c mothers choose toys that encourage thinking

Language

• Betty Hart + Todd Risley - children from lower income families hear 30 million words fewer than high income by 4 yrs old

• Bernstein - working class have restricted code, simple sentences, m/c have elaborated code, wider vocab

• Bourdieu - uses term ‘cultural capital’ meaning children’s language + interests superior to w/c - achieve better

Attitude

• Douglas - w/c parents less value on education - less encouragement, less interest so children had less motivation

• Feinstein- parents lack of interest main reason for underachievement - a lack of goals another reason

• Jessie - cultural deprivation is a myth, w/c fail because they are put at a disadvantage by education system

Social capital

• Diane Reay - m/c mothers better understood how school system worked - help children succeed

• W/c parents have high hopes - but don’t know how to help them

• Becky Francis - w/c parents have high ambitions but don’t have social capital to work around school system

• M/c parents more likely have network of friends to get advice

Middle class nature of schools

• Education system very m/c in nature

• Teachers and curriculum are middle class

• Joseph Rowntree foundation - schools have a middle class ethos - difficult for w/c children to relate to school as it is unfamiliar

• W/c not valued