Education: Social Class Differences

Question 1

Durham Uni Study (2016)

Answer 1

Found privately educated children are two years ahead of students in the state sector by the time they reach 16.

Question 2

UCL and Kings College Study

Answer 2

Found that a child’s chances of success in Britain today are still largely dependent on the background and earnings of their parents. Children also do better the more ‘middle-class’ the school they attend.

Question 3

A child from a working class background is less likely to:

Answer 3

• Be in nursery or a pre-school play group.
• Leave school with 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSEs.
• Progress to university.

Question 4

A child from a working class backround is more likely to:

Answer 4

• Start school unable to read.
• Fall behind in reading, writing, and numeracy.
• Suffer from mental health problems, illness, poor attendance and poor performance.
• Be placed in lower sets.
• Study vocational subjects.
• Achieve lower scores in SATs and GCSEs.
• Attend a failing school.
• Have a shorter educational career: leave school early.

Question 5

What did the government review on social class differences in education find?

Answer 5

That children from the poorest homes hear 13 million words by the time they are 4, whereas children from more affluent homes hear 45 million.

Question 6

Perry and Francis (2010)

Answer 6

• Found that social class remains the strongest predictor of educational achievement in the UK,.
• Found a clear connection between poverty and educational underachievement.

Question 7

Meritocracy

Answer 7

Achievement based on merit, ability and effort rather than social backround.

Question 8

Social mobility

Answer 8

Movement up or down the social ladder (class system).

Question 9

Gove (2010)

Answer 9

Told the a Commons education committee that “rich thick kids do better than poor clever children”.

Question 10

Sodha and Margo (2010)

Answer 10

• Highlight that children’s educational attainment is overwhelmingly linked to parental occupation, income, and qualifications.
• Marked differences become apparent in early childhood with readiness for school.

Question 11

BBC (2010)

Answer 11

Found that by the age of three, poor children have been assessed to be a year behind richer ones in terms of communication.

Question 12

National Equality Panel (2010)

Answer 12

In some disadvantages areas up to 50% of children begin primary school without the necessary language and communication skills.

Question 13

At key stage 2, 53.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals reach the expected level in English and Maths compared with…

Answer 13

75.5% of pupils who are not eligible.

Question 14

Cassen and Kingdom (2007)

Answer 14

Found that children on free school meals are more likely to attend the lowest-performing schools in deprived areas. They are also disproportionately likely to have been in care, or have special needs.

Question 15

Kerr and West (2010)

Answer 15

• Note that social deprivation has a negative impact on educational attainment across all OEDC countries.
• UK has a particularly high degree of social segregation and the most highly differentiated results.

Question 16

What are External Factors?

Answer 16

Factors outside of the school, such as, home, culture, and parental influences.

Question 17

What are Internal Explanations?

Answer 17

Factors inside of the school. E.g. type of school, pupil teacher relationships, setting and streaming, and pupil subcultures.

Question 18

What do External Explanations emphasise?

Answer 18

• The influence of the home, culture, and wider society.
• A macro level of analysis and structural explanation of the social class gap.
• Input/output approach.
• Assumes that if pupils bring good things from home they are likely to reap the rewards and succeed.

Question 19

Identify the three key External Factors:

Answer 19

1. Material Deprivation
2. Cultural Deprivation
3. Cultural Capital

Question 20

What are theories of material deprivation?

Answer 20

• Theories linked to economic poverty,
• As a result of lack of financial resources in working class homes children are deprived of material resources which could enhance their eductaional achievement.
• Low income therefore understood as creating a barrier to learning, where children are unable to make the most of educational opportunities.

Question 21

Examples of Material Deprivation:

Answer 21

Inability to afford: Heating, revision guides, school trips, transport costs, uniform, stationary, tutoring, food.

Question 22

90% of failing schools are located in …

Answer 22

economically deprived areas.

Question 23

Material Deprivation Theory:

HOUSING

Answer 23

• Overcrowding - can make it harder to study and do homework, and can lead to disturbed sleep from shared bedrooms.
• Lack of space - can impair young children’s development for safe play and exploration.
• Poor quality housing - More accidents impacts health, cold or damp housing can also cause ill health.
• Temporary accommodation - Families in temporary accommodation suffer more psycological distress, infection, and accidents, schooling is also disrupted by constantly having to move.

Question 24

Material Deprivation Theory:

DIET AND HEALTH

Answer 24

• Poor nutrition - weakens the immune system and lowers energy levels, which may lead to diffuiculties concentrating in class and more absences from school.

Question 25

Howard (2001)

Answer 25

Notes that young people from poorer homes have a lower intake of energy, vitamins, and minerals.

Question 26

Wilkinson (1996)

Answer 26

Found that among 10 year-olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety, and conduct disorders, all or which are likely to have a negative effect on education

Question 27

Blanden and Machin (2007)

Answer 27

Found that children from low income families are more likely to engage in externalising behaviour (fighting and temper tantrums), which are likely to disrupt their schooling.

Question 28

Material Deprivation Theroy:

FINANCES

Answer 28

• Children from poorer families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that would enhance their educational achievement.
• Also those who are less likely to achieve financial support from their families are more likely to apply to local universities so they could live at home.

Question 30

Bull (1980)

Answer 30

Refers to the fact that certain pupils have to do without schooling as ‘the costs of free schooling’.

Question 31

Tanner et al (2003)

Answer 31

Found that the cost of items such ad transport, uniforms, books, calculators, and sports equipment, places a heavy burden on poor families.

Question 32

Smith and Noble (1995)

Answer 32

Poverty acts as a barrier to learning because it contributes to the inability to access private schooling or tuition, and results in children going to poorer quality schools.

Question 33

Ridge (2002)

Answer 33

Found that children in poverty are more likely to take on jobs and that this often has a negative impact on school work.

Question 34

Callendar and Jackson (2005)

Answer 34

Found that WC students are more debt adverse and saw more costs than benefits from going to university.

Question 35

What is the dropout rate at Sunderland - A university with a large proportion of working-class students?

Answer 35

13%, compared to 1.4% at Oxford.

Question 36

How many students at Oxford are originally from private schools?

Answer 36

4 in 10.

Question 37

What is Cultural deprivation?

Answer 37

Theories linked to the home, cultural backround and parental values. The view is that as a result of socialisation patterns working class parents do not instill values which encourage children to value school and their education.

Question 38

How does cultural deprivation theory view WC culture?

Answer 38

WC culture is understood as inadequate - failing to nurture, stimulate and enrich interest and therefore working-class children lack the ‘cultural equipment’ essential for educational success, thus, they are at a disadvantage.