Social Class & Educational Attainment: External Factors

Social Class & Educational Attainment: External Factors

1. Material Deprivation

   • Housing
     • Harker
       • Poor overcrowded housing can make it harder for a child to study at home.
       • Sharing bedrooms can result in disturbed sleep & difficulty concentrating. Less space to play may impair cognitive development leading to higher rates of depression or aggressive behviour
       • Children in crowded homes have greater risk of accidents. Cold & damp housing can cause ill health - More absence from school
       • Families living in temporary b&b accommodation may find frequently move - disrupted education
   • Diet & Health
     • Howard
       • Found young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins & minerals
         • Weakens immune system & lowers energy - More absence & difficulty concentrating in class
     • Wilkinson
       • Children from poorer homes are more likely to have emotional or behavioural problems.
       • Study of 10yr olds found the lower the social class - Higher rate of hyperactivity, anxiety & conduct disorders - Negative effect on child's education
   • Financial support & costs of equipment
     • Tanner - Study in Oxford found cost of transport, uniform, computers places a heavier burden on poor families
       • May have to make do with hand me downs - can be applied to clothing - possible bullying
     • Ridge - Found in her study that some children felt that they were teased for having hand me downs . Noted some children may not take up free school meals for fear of being stigmatised
       • Found children from poor homes more likely to work babysitting etc - could have a negative effect on school work
     • University - less likely to go - fear of debt - Dropout rates are higher among poorer students

2. Cultural Deprivation

   • Parental Interest
     • Douglas
       • Conducted a large scale study - 5000 at 11 yrs with 80% followed up at 16
       • Found that working class pupils scored lower on test of ability than middle class - Argued this is because working class parents were less likely to support their children's intellectual development through reading or other educational activities at home
         • Middle class parents are more likely to attend parents' evenings, inquire about homework & offer encouragement & support
         • Middle class parents placed more emphasis on achievement & demand more from their children at home & school
       • Criticism - Douglas may be being unfair to working class parents - May find school a middle class institution - uncomfortable with. Shift work may make attendance to parent evenings difficult - Blackstone & Mortimore
     • Feinstein - Many working class parents' lack of interest was main reason for childs underachievement - more important than financial hardship or factors within school
   • Language
     • Bernstein
       • Identified two forms of speech pattern
         • Restricted code - Shorthand speech and found in conversation between family & friends - explanations not given & info left out
         • Elaborated code - Meanings are made explicit , explanations provided
       • Middle class children have been socialised in both codes. Working class limited to restricted code. Teachers use elaborated code - less likely to understand & more likely to be misunderstood & criticised for what they say
         • Criticism - Some would argue Bernstein is blaming working class parents & speech codes for children's underachievement. However Bernstein argues that schools fail to teach them how to use elaborated code
         • Bernstein insists that working class speech patterns are not substandard or inadequate - but do place working class at a disadvantage
   • Values & Attitudes
     • Hyman - Felt working culture fails to see education as a means to get you on in life. Combined with low career aspirations, school is seen as something to do before getting a manual job. Claimed working class were fatalistic - Parents passing on idea - little can be done about status
       • Murray - New Right - Believes there is an underclass - group below working class who have a distinct set of values from single parenthood, illegitimacy etc
       • Instant gratification - wanting to leave school asap to earn a wage. Deferred gratification - Staying in education in order to achieve gratification of a higher wage
     • Sugarman - Agreed with Hyman. Noted working class were present time orientated - looking to leave school at first opportunity while middle class emphasised deferred gratification
   • Cultural Capital
     • Bourdieu - Middle class culture is a type of capital because like wealth it gives and advantage to those who posses it
     • Diane Reay
       • Interviewed with mothers of 33 children at 2 London primary schools. Argues mothers who make cultural capital work for their children
         • Found working & middle class mothers worked equally hard on their children's education but middle class mothers were more successful because they had more cultural capital ( more educational qualifications etc) Middle class mothers used this to good effect . Working class mothers felt they lacked knowledge & abilities to help their children
           • Middle class parents more likely to have domestic help - more time to spend with children. Bourdieu also identifies 'social capital' - idea middle class parents have connections & social networks to help their children
           • Keddie - Cultural deprivation is a myth & victim blaming explanation
             • Solution to Cultural deprivation - Compensatory education - Sure start EMA