Although there have been vast improvements in the educational level of the nation as a whole since state education began in 1870, which characteristic continues to produce different results?

When examining social class differences in achievement, what are the two groups that sociologists use to compare?

How do sociologists determine a pupil's social class?

Give examples of middle-class occupations:

Give examples of working-class occupations:

How does social class seriously impact a child’s chances of educational success?

Furthermore, the class gap in achievement grows wider as children get older. How?

What is the most obvious explanation for the class differences in educational achievement:

In private schools, average class sizes are _________ of those in state schools. Although private schools educate only __% of Britain’s children, they account for nearly __% all students entering the elite universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Fill in the blanks:

Sociologists are interested in why class differences in educational achievement exist. They put forward a number of explanations, which can be grouped into ‘internal’ and ‘external’ factors. Define these terms:

Class differences in children’s development and achievement appear very early in life. In a 2007 nationwide study, what did the Center for Longitudinal Studies find?

Some sociologist claim that class differences in children's development and achievement is the result of cultural deprivation. What is meant by this?

What are the three main aspects of cultural deprivation?

Language is an extremely important aspect of education. How does the way in which parents communicate with their children impact the child?

What did Laura Hubbs-Tait et al find with regards to challenging language?

Who found that educated parents are more likely to use challenging language?

Feinstein also found that educated parents are more likely to praise their children. How does the assist the child?

Carl Bereiter and Siegfried Engelmann claim that the language used in lower-class homes is deficient. What impact does this have on lower-class children?

Basil Bernstein also identifies differences between working- and middle-class language. He identifies two types of speech ‘code’. What are they?

What does Bernstein mean by the 'restricted code'?

What does Bernstein mean by the 'elaborated code'?

The differences in these speech codes give middle-class children an advantage at school. Why?

Why do critics argue that Bernstein is a cultural deprivation theorist?

However, how does Bernstein differ from the typical cultural deprivation theorist?

Cultural deprivation theorists argue that parents’ attitudes to education are a key factor affecting children’s achievement. J.W.B Douglas conducted a major study on this matter. What did he find?

Which sociologists agrees with Douglas' findings, arguing that parents’ own education is the most important factor affecting children’s achievement?

The way in which working-class and middle-class parents socialise their children differs in a number of ways. List them:

What is meant by 'parenting style', and why does the middle-class parenting style put middle-class children at an advantage?

What is meant by 'parents educational behaviour', and why do middle-class parents' educational behaviour put their children at an advantage?

What is meant by 'use of income', and why does the middleclass use of income put children at an advantage?

According to cultural deprivation theorists, lack of parental interest in their children's education reflects what?

According to cultural deprivation theorists, large sections of the working class have different values from the rest of society and this is why they fail academically. Barry Sugarman takes this view. What four key elements of working-class subcultural does he argue act as a barrier to educational success?

What is meant by fatalism?

What is meant by collectivism?

What is meant by immediate gratification?

What is meant by present-time orientation?

Working-class children internalise the values of their subculture through which process?

Working-class values and middle-class values are different. Why is this, according to Sugarman?

Compensatory education programmes aim to tackle what? How do they attempt to do so?

Give examples of compensatory education programmes:

Which sociologist dismisses cultural deprivation theory as a 'myth' and a victim-blaming explanation?

Keddie dismisses the idea that failure at school can be blamed on a culturally deprived home environment. What does she point out about the idea of being deprived of culture?

According to Keddie, why do working-class children often fail academically?

What should schools do to help working-class students?

Which sociologists argue that a 'speech hierarchy' exists in schools?

Tessa Blackstone and Jo Mortimore dismiss the view that working-class parents are uninterested in their children's education. They claim that such parents are interested, but are limited. Why?

What does the term 'material deprivation' refer to?

Poverty is closely linked to educational underachievement. What did the Department for Education find?

According to official statistics, what percentage of 'failing' schools are located in deprived areas?

There's a close link between poverty and social class. Working-class families are much more likely to live with factors that negatively affect their children's education. Which factors are these?

Poor housing can affect pupils' achievement both directly and indirectly. Give examples:

Children from poorer homes are more likely to have emotional or behavioural problems. What did Richard Wilkinson find?

Children from poor families often have to do without equipment and activities that could enhance their educational achievement. Which sociologist describes this as 'the cost of free schooling'?

Which sociologist found that the cost of items such as books, uniforms, computers, calculators and extracurricular equipment can be a heavy burden on poor families?

For many children, 'fashionable' clothing are essential for self-esteem and failing to have such items can result in stigmatisation. According to Jan Flaherty, what may the fear of stigmatisation explain?

Lack of funds can often mean that children from low-income families are required to work part-time around their studies. However, what can this result in?

Financial support for poor students remaining in education beyond the age of 16 used to exist. What was it called and when did it end?

The abolition of EMAs may explain why, according to UCAS, the number of UK applicants fell in 2012. How much did the application rate fall by?

Working-class students who do continue into higher education are less likely to receive financial support from their families. According to the NUS, what percentage of students from the highest social class received financial support from home, and how does this compare to the lowest social class?

The working class make up about 50% of the general population. What percentage of the higher education population do they make up?

Financial factors also restrict working-class students' choice of university. Which sociologist found that working-class students were more likely to apply to local universities to cut on costs, but this limited their opportunities to go to the top universities?

Pierre Bourdieu argues that both cultural and material factors contribute to educational success or failure. He states that the two are not separated but are interrelated. What concept does he use to explain why the middle class are more successful than the working class?

What are the three capitals Bourdieu refers to?

What does Bourdieu mean by 'cultural capital'?

Why does Bourdieu believe that culture provides a type of capital?

What does Bourdieu mean by 'economic capital'?

What does Bourdieu mean by 'educational capital'?

Dennis Leech and Erik Campos found that middle-class parents are more likely to be able to afford a house in the catchment area of a successful school, thus having a better chance of having their child enrolled in the school. What is this known as?

However, where students of different classes had the same level of cultural capital, the middle-class pupils were still more successful at school. This indicates that the greater resources and aspirations of middle-class families explain the remainder of the class gap in achievement. Which sociologist found this?