Class differences in achievement - education (external)

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A-Level Sociology (Education) Flashcards on Class differences in achievement - education (external), created by Molly Hope on 13/03/2017.
Molly Hope
Flashcards by Molly Hope, updated more than 1 year ago
Molly Hope
Created by Molly Hope about 7 years ago
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Cultural deprivation This is where many working class families fail to socialize their children adequately. These children grow up 'culturally deprived' . That is that they lack cultural equipment needed to do well at school, so they underachieve. - language -parents education - working class subculture
Centre for Longitudinal studies (2007) Found that by the age of three, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already up to one year behind those from more privileged homes and the gap widens with age.
Language Language is an essential part of the process of education and the way in which parents communicate with their children affects their cognitive development and their ability to benefit from the process of schooling.
Hubbs-Tait et al (2002) - Language found that where parents use language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities e.g 'what do you think?' 'are you ready for the next step?' cognitive performance improves.
Feinstein (2008) - Language he agreed with Hubbs-Tait et al (2002) and said that more well educated parents are more likely to use language in this way. He also found that educated parents are more likely to use praise , which encourages children to develop of sense of their own competence.
Bereiter and Englemann (1966) - Language Claim that language used in lower-class families is deficient. They describe lower class families as communicating by single words, gestures or disjointed phrases, as a result children fail to develop necessary language skills, they grow up incapable of abstract thinking, unable to use language to explain and describe. Ultimately this means they cannot take advantage of the opportunities that school has to offer.
Bernstein (1975) Restricted code - Language Restricted code - typically used by the working class, has limited vocabulary. Speech is predictable and may only involve a single word or even just a gesture, it is descriptive, not analytic. It is context bound so the speaker shares the same experiences with the listener.
Bernstein (1975) Elaborated code - Language Elaborated code - Typically used by the middle-class, has a wider vocabulary and is based on longer, grammatically more complex sentences. Speech is more varied and communicates abstract ideas. It is context free meaning that the speaker doesn't assume that the listener shares the same experiences , and so they use language o spell out their meanings explicitly for the listener.
What else did Bernstein (1975) say? He said that working class tend to fail in education because teachers use the elaborate code to teach and that the elaborate code is the correct way to write and speak, early socialisation into the elaborated code means that middle-class children are already fluent users when they get into education, thus working class children will feel excluded as they don't understand, leading them to be unsuccessful.
Parents Education cultural deprivation theorists argue that parents' attitudes to education are a key factor in affecting children's achievement.
Douglas (1964) - Parents education Found that working class parents placed less value on education. As a result, they were less ambitious for their children, gave them less encouragement and took loess interest in their education. They visited schools less often, and were less likely to discuss their children's progress with their teachers, a sa result children had lower levels of motivation and achievement.
Feinstein (2008) - Parents education Reaches similar conclusions to Douglas (1964), he argues that parents own education is the most important factor affecting children's achievement, and since middle-class parents tend to be better educated, they are able to give their children an advantage by how they socialise them: - parenting style - parents educational behaviours - use of income - class, income and parental education
Parenting style - Parents education Educated parent's parenting style emphasises consistent discipline and high expectations of their children, and the supports achievement by encouraging active learning and exploration. By contrast, less educated parents parenting style is marked by harsh or inconsistent discipline that emphasizes 'doing as you're told' and 'behaving yourself' this prevents children from learning independence and self control, leading to poorer motivation at school and interacting with teachers.
Parents' educational behaviours - Parents education Educated parents are more aware of what is needed to assist their children's educational progress. They are also better able to get expert advice on childrearing, more successful in establishing good relationships with teachers and better at guiding their children's interactions with school. They also recognise educational value of activities such as visits to museums and libraries.
Use of income - Parents education Better educated parents are more likely to spend their money on helping their children be educationally successful. Educated parents also have a better understanding of nutrition and its importance in child development and a higher income with which to buy more nutritious food.
Use of income Bernstein and Young (1967) - Parents education Found that middle class mothers are more likely to buy more educational, toys, books and activities that encourage reasoning skills and stimulate intellectual development. Whereas working class homes are more likely to lack these resources and this means children from such homes start schools without the intellectual skills needed to progress.
Class, income and parental education - Parents education While better-paid, middle-class parents tend to be better educated than lower-paid, working class parents Feinstein notes that parental education has an influence on children's achievement in its own right, regardless of class or income. Thus even within a given social class, better educated parents tend to have children who are more successful at school. This may help to explain why not all children of working-class parents do equally badly, and why not all children from middle class families are equally as successful.
Working-class subculture Cultural deprivation theorists argue that lack of parental interest in their children's education reflects the subcultural values of the working class. A subculture is a group whose attitudes and values differ from those of the mainstream culture, According to cultural deprivation theorists, large sections of the working class have different goals, beliefs, attitudes and values from the rest of society and this is why their children fail at school.
Sugarman (1970) - working-class subcluture He argues that working class subculture have four key elements that act as a barrier to educational achievement: - fatalism -collectivism - immediate gratification - Present-time orientation
Fatalism - Working class subculture fatalism - a belief in fate - that 'whatever will be, will be' and there is nothing you can do to change your status. This contrasts with middle-class values, which emphasises that you can change your position through your own efforts.
Collectivism - Working class subculture collectivism - valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual. This contrasts with the middle class view that an individual should not be held back by group loyalties.
Immediate gratification - Working class subculture Seeking pleasure now, rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future. By contrast , middle-class values emphasise deferred gratification, making sacrifices now for greater rewards later.
Present-time orientation - Working class subculture Seeing the present time as more important than the future, which means you do not have any long term goals or plans. By contrast middle class culture has a future-time orientation that sees planning for the future as important.
What does Sugarman (1970) also say? He argues that they stem from the fact that middle-class jobs are secure careers offering prospects for continuous individual advancement. This encourages ambition, long-term planning and a willingness to invest time and effort in gaining qualifications. By contrast, working class jobs are less secure and have no career structure through which individuals can advance. There are few promotion opportunities and earnings peak at an early age.
Why else are the working class disadvantaged? Cultural deprivation theorists argue that parents pass on the values of their class to their children through primary socialisation. Middle-class values equip children for success whereas the working class values fail to do so.
Compensatory education These programmes aim to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation b y providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas. They intervene early in the socialization process to compensate children for the deprivation they experience at home.
Compensatory education - Operation Head Start US Is a multi-billion dollar scheme of pre-school education in poorer areas introduced in the 1960's. It's aim was 'planned enrichment' of the deprived child's environment to develop skills and instil achievement motivation. It included improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes and home visits by educational psychologists.
Compensatory education - in the UK There have been several compensatory education programmes such as Educational Priority areas, education action zones and sure start, a nationwide programme which their aims are to target pre-school children and their parent/s.
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