2. class and education (e)

Question 1

what are some facts about educational attainment?

Answer 1

-w/c get jobs at younger age- focus less on studies
-m/c better cultural capital
m/c may have education paid for

Question 2

what are class differences in education?

Answer 2

-pupil premium= april 2011 to raise achievement of disadvantaged pupils
*qualify for fsm in last 6 years
*looked after or previously looked after children
*parents in armed forces

Question 3

what is sub-culture?

Answer 3

group whose attitudes and values differ from those of the mainstream culture

Question 4

what are external factors?

Answer 4

elements from outside school environment which will affect educational achievement

Question 5

what did Hubbs-Tait say about language cultural deprivation?

Answer 5

-parents who challenge their children to evaluate their thinking are more likely to have higher cognitive ability

Question 6

what did Carl Bereiter and Seigfried Engelmann say about language cultural deprivation?

Answer 6

-language isnt used enough in l/c homes. children fail to develop necessary language skills

Question 7

what did Basil Bernstein say about language cultural deprivation?

Answer 7

-m/c and w/c have different language codes

Question 8

what did Douglas say about parents education within cultural deprivation?

Answer 8

-parental attitudes to education have big impacts on educational achievement. w/c parents place less value on education

Question 9

what did Leon Feinstein say about parents education within cultural deprivation?

Answer 9

parents own education is most important factor affecting childrens achievement

Question 10

how does parenting style affect childrens education?

Answer 10

-less educated parents parenting style marked by harsh ‘doing as youre told’
-prevents child from learning independence
-educated parents more likely to read to children, teach alphabet, paint and draw

Question 11

what do Bernstein and Young say about parents education?

Answer 11

-m/c mothers more likely to buy educational toys, books to encourage reasoning skills
w/c homes more likely to lack educational resources

Question 12

what did Barry Sugarman say about w/c subculture?

Answer 12

-4 features that act as barrier to educational achievement
*fatalism=contrasts with m/c values, can change through own efforts
*collectivism=being part of group rather than individual, contrasts m/c views individual shouldnt be held back
*immediate gratification=seeking pleasure now rather than future, contrasts m/c to make sacrifices now
*present-time orientation=present more important than future

Question 13

what are some evaluations of cultural deprivation?

Answer 13

-keddie dismisses cd as ‘myth’. argues child cant be deprived of own culture, w/c culture is different
-Tronya and Williams support Keddie suggesting w/c ‘restricted language’ isnt to blame
-Blackstone and Mortimore reject idea that w/c parents arent interested in childrens education. parents often unable to attend parents evenings due to work

Question 14

what are working class households likely to be?

Answer 14

-overcrowded-less quiet space for children to study, more likely to have disturbed sleep from sharing beds/bedrooms
-colder due to poorer insulation and less money for heating

Question 15

what did Marilyn Howard say about material deprivation?

Answer 15

-children from poorer homes are more likely to have poorer diets and nutrition
->lower intakes of energy, weakened immune system, more missed days at school

Question 16

what did Richard Wilson say about material deprivation?

Answer 16

-there is a higher rate of hyperactivity and ADHD among 10yr oldsfrom lower income households
->find it difficult to focus in lesson

Question 17

what did Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin say about material deprivation?

Answer 17

-children from lower income families were more likely to become involved in school fights

Question 18

what did Emily Tanner say about material deprivation?

Answer 18

-cost of items place heavy burden on poorer families
-poor children more likely to have hand me downs and cheaper equipment
-flaherty suggested children entitled to fsm dont always take their entitlement due to bullying

Question 19

what are some evaluations of material deprivation?

Answer 19

-Peter Mortimore & Geoff Whitty= material inequalities have greatest effect on achievement
-Peter Robinson= tackling child poverty would be most effective way to boost achievement
-material deprivation theorists ignore importance of culture
-feinstein argues educated parents make positive contribution to childs achievement

Question 20

what did Pierre Bourdieu say about cultural capital?

Answer 20

-cd + md =cc
-capital=refers to wealth, Bourdieu identifies ‘educational capital’ and ‘cultural capital’
-cultural capital= knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of m/c

Question 21

what did Robson (2003) say about cultural capital?

Answer 21

-children possess cc through activities like museums, zoos
-this gives improved chances of success in education. such cc can be turned into ec.
-can in turn lead to possession of economic capital

Question 22

why do upper and m/c have an advantage at school?

Answer 22

-possess more cc and feel more comfortable in education system
-theyre more familiar with what they have to do at school
-ppl from w/c are more likely to fail exams
-Bourdieu=school measure pupils against same culture and knowledge, so it isnt neutral

Question 23

what is social capital?

Answer 23

-social networks of influence and support that people have
-knowing the right people, who to talk to, who to get advice from who is in position to help in difficult times
-possession of social capital is highest in middle and upper classes

Question 24

what are education action zones and excellence in cities?

Answer 24

-set up in 1990s, attempt at compensatory education in socially disadvantaged areas where external factors were contributing to poor educational performance
-known as educational action zones, rebranded as excellence in cities in 2005
-schools given extra money and teachers to help them become better schools

Question 25

what are some advantages of excellence in cities?

Answer 25

-more cultural capital
-more money in deprived areas
-less likely to be excluded
-better education
-closing the gap

Question 26

what are some disadvantages of excellence in cities?

Answer 26

-judgement
-doesnt fix external factors
-positive discrimination
-trouble finding teachers
-no incentive for teachers
-higher taxes

Question 27

what did Power and Whitty say about the excellence of cities?

Answer 27

-though some individual schools, teachers and individuals benefited, the evidence suggested reforms failed to make significant impact on achievement gaps between adv. and dis. schools

Question 28

what did Kerr and West say about the excellence of cities?

Answer 28

-influence of schooling is limited by factors beyond the control of the school system
-childrens performance at school cant be divorced from what happens to them outside of school

Question 29

what did Howard Becker say about internal factors?

Answer 29

-conducted research in chicago, interviewed 60 high-school teachers.
-found they judged pupils according to how they fit ‘ideal pupil’
-pupils work, conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teachers judgements

Question 30

what did Mairead Dunne and Louise Gazeley say about internal factors?

Answer 30

-conducted interviews in 9 english secondary schools
-found teachers ‘normalised’ underachievement of w/c pupils, felt they could overcome underachievement of m/c pupils
-w/c parents seen as disinterested, m/c parents seen as supportive

Question 31

what did Ray Rist say about internal factors?

Answer 31

-studied american kindergarten
-found labelling occurs from outset of education
-teachers used info on childrens home backgrounds to place them in separate groups

Question 32

what is the self fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 32

-prediction which causes new behaviour. if a teacher labels you, youll start to behave like label
*step 1-teacher labels pupil + makes prediction
*step 2-teacher treats pupil like label is already true
*step 3-pupil internalises teachers expectation

Question 33

what did Robert Rosenthal and Leonora Jacobson say about self fulfilling prophecies?

Answer 33

-researchers told teachers certain students identified as ‘spurters’
-when they returned 1 year later, most had made significant progress
-suggests if teachers believe someone to be a certain type, they can make them into that type
-pygmalion effect= improvement in persons performance when someone expects them to achieve more

Question 34

what is streaming and setting?

Answer 34

-sets=ability based groups for one subject
-streams=ability based groups for multiple subjects
-becker argues teachers dont see w/c pupils as ideal + have lower expectations
-once streamed its difficult to move up
-children locked into teachers lower expectations

Question 35

what is educational triage?

Answer 35

-medical staff decide whos given scarce medical resources
1. ‘walking wounded’ can be ignored as theyll survive
2. those who will die anyway, also ignored
3. chance of survival so given treatment in hopes of saving them
-A-C schools judged based on number of students who achieve A-C grades

Question 36

what are some evaluation points for teachers expectations?

Answer 36

-s&s allows higher ability students to be stretched and lower ability to be supported, higher achievement
-marxists criticise labelling theory for ignoring wider structure of power
-not all w/c students accept their labels. theory is too deterministic
-many teachers avoid negative labelling

Question 37

what is pupil subculture?

Answer 37

-group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns

Question 38

what is a pro school subculture?

Answer 38

-academically able
committed to school values, gains status through academic success

Question 39

what is an anti school subculture?

Answer 39

-typically those placed in lower streams
-label of failure pushes them to search for alternative ways of gaining status- rejecting schools values
-gain status among peers

Question 40

what are some evaluation points for internal factors?

Answer 40

-not all students join subcultures
*peter woods argues that there are other responses to school. these include:
-ingratiation= being ‘teachers pet’
-ritualism= staying out of trouble
-retreatism= messing around
-rebellion= rejection of everything school stands for

-as Bourdieu pointed out, school has a m/c habitus, giving m/c pupils an advantage

Question 41

what are class identities?

Answer 41

-due to schools having m/c habitus, m/c pupils gain ‘symbolic capital’
-school devalues w/c habitus
-w/c pupils tastes are deemed worthless
-w/c pupils feel attacked by school itself

Question 42

what is marketisation?

Answer 42

-making schools compete with each other for government funding. essentially makes school into ‘businesses’ competing with one another

Question 43

what are some policies to promote marketisation?

Answer 43

-schools having to compete to attract pupils
-publication of school league table
-business sponsorship of schools
-schools being able to opt out of local authority control
-ofsted inspection reports available for parents to look at when choosing schools

Question 44

what is compensatory education?

Answer 44

-policies aiming to help overcome material and cultural deprivation
*e.g. education action zones
*education maintenance grants
*pupil premium

Question 45

what are marketisation policies?

Answer 45

-policy of publishing each schools exam results in a league table ensures schools that achieve good results are more in demand
-parents more attracted to schools with good league table rankings