Class differences - External Factors Flashcards
(43 cards)
Cultural deprivation
Class differences in children’s development appear very early in life
Sociologists argue that most of us begin to acquire the basic values, attitudes and skills that are needed for educational success through primary socialisation in the family.
The basic cultural equipment include: language, self-discipline and reasoning skills
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
Hubbs-Tait et al (2002)
found that where parents use language that challenges their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities, cognitive performance improves
Leon Feinstein (2008)
found that educated parents are more likely to use language in this way
He also argued educated parents are more likely to use praise. This encourages their children to develop a sense of their own competence
Carl Beiter and Siegfried Engelmann (1966)
claim that language used in lower-class homes is deficient. They describe lower-class families as communicating by gestures, single words or disjointed phrases
How does the different use of language noted by sociologists effect a child’s education overall?
As a result of less sophisticated language, children fail to develop necessary language skills.
Grow incapable of abstract thinking
Unable to use language to explain, describe, enquire or compare
Unable to take advantage of opportunities the school offers
Basil Bernstein
istinguishes between two types of speech code:
The restricted code:
Typically used by working class
Limited vocabulary
Based on use of short, often unfinished, grammatically simple sentences
Predictable
May involve use of single word, or even just a gesture
Descriptive not analytic
Context bound: speaker assumes that listener shares same set of experiences
The elaborated code: Typically used by middle class Wider vocabulary Based on longer, grammatically more complex sentences Varied and communicates abstract ideas Context free
Gives middle class children an advantage at school
Elaborated code is used by teachers, textbooks and exams
In Bernstein’s view it is a more effective tool for analysing and reasoning and for expressing thoughts clearly and effectively - essential skills for education
Middle class children already fluent in elaborated code when they start school - more likely to succeed
What do critics of Bernstein argue?
Critics argue that Bernstein is a cultural deprivation theorist because he describes working-class speech as inadequate. However unlike most cultural deprivation theorists, Bernstein recognises that the school influences children’s achievement, He argues working-class pupils fail not because they are culturally deprived, but because the schools fail to teach them how to use elaborated code.
Douglas (1964)
Parents education
found that working-class parents placed less value on education. As a result, less ambitious for children, gave less encouragement and took less interest in their education. They visited schools less often and less likely to discuss child’s progress with teachers - child had lower levels of motivation and achievement.
Leon Feinstein (2008)
argues that parents’ own education is the most important factor and since middle class parents tend to be better educated, they are able to give their children an advantage by how they socialise them
How does parenting style effect a child’s education?
Educated parents emphasise consistent discipline and high expectations - supports achievement by encouraging active learning and exploration
Less educated parenting style marked by harsh or inconsistent discipline and doing what you’re told - prevents child from learning independence and self-control, leading to poorer motivation and problems interacting with teachers
How do parents’ educational behaviours effect a child’s education?
EDP: Educated parents more aware of what is need to assist their children
Educated parents more able to get expert advice on child learning - successful in making good relationships with teachers
Recognise educational value of visits to museums and libraries
Bernstein and Young (1967)
Use of income
found middle-class mothers are more likely to buy educational toys, books and activities that encourage reasoning skills and stimulate intellectual development.
Feinstein
argues parental education has an influence on children’s achievement in it’s own right, regardless of class or income
Barry Sugarman (1970)
argues working-class subculture has 4 features that act as a barrier to educational achievement:
Fatalism: believe in fate
Nothing you can do to change status
Middle class - emphasise you can change position through your own efforts
Collectivism: part of group rather than succeeding individually
Middle class - individual not held back by group loyalties
Immediate gratification: seeking pleasure now, not making sacrifices for rewards in future
Middle class - deferred gratification, greater rewards later
Present time orientation: seeing present as more important than future
Not having long term goals
Middle class - planning for future more important (future-time orientation)
Working class children internalise beliefs through socialisation process - underachievement at school
Sugarman argues that ideas come from fact that middle-class careers are secure and offering prospects for continuous individual achievement - encourages ambition, long-term planning and willingness to gain qualifications
Compensatory education
Programmes which aim to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities ind deprived areas.
Intervene in the early socialisation process to compensate children for the deprivation they experience at home
Operation head start in the USA: multi-billion dollar scheme or pre-school education in poorer areas introduced in the 1960s
Aim: “planned enrichment” of deprived child’s environment to develop skills and instil achievement motivation
Included improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes and home visits by educational psychologists
Sesame Street: initially part of head start
Providing a means of transmitting values, attitudes and skills needed for educational success (punctuality, numeracy and literacy)
Educational Priority Areas, Education Action Zones and Sure Start: In Britain
Nationwide programme aimed at pre-school children and their parents
Nell Keddie (1973)
describes cultural deprivation as a myth and sees it as a victim-blaming situation
Dismisses idea that failure at school can be blamed on deprived home background
Points out a child cannot be deprived of own culture
Argues working-class children simply different, not deprived - fail because put at disadvantage by education system dominated by middle-class values
Argues that rather than seeing working-class as deficient, schools should recognise and build on strengths and challenge teachers’ anti-working-class prejudices
Barry Troyna and Jenny Williams (1986)
argue problem is not child’s language but school’s attitude towards it. Speech hierarchy - middle class labelled highest, working class, black speech
Tessa Blackstone and Jo Mortimore (1994)
working class parents attend fewer parents’ evenings not because lack of interest but because they work longer or less regular hours or put off by schools middle class atmosphere May want to help child progress but lack knowledge and education to do so Evidence that schools with mainly working class pupils have less effective systems of parent-school contacts - harder for parents to understand child’s progress
How can a child’s housing effect their educational achievement?
Overcrowding - harder to study, less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework, disturbed sleep (sharing beds)
Development can be impaired through lack of space for safe play and exploration
Having to move frequently results in constant changes of school and disrupted education
Children in crowded housing run greater risk of accidents
Cold or damp housing = ill health - absences from school
Temporary housing = more psychological distress, infections and accidents
How do Marilyn and Howard argue diet and health can effect a child’s educational achievement?
Marilyn Howard (2001) notes young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals
Poor nutrition affects health - weakening the immune system and lowering children’s energy levels = more absences from school, difficulties concentrating in class
Richard Wilkinson (1996)
among ten year olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders, all of which are likely to have a negative effect on the child’s education
Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin (2007)
found that children from low income families were more likely to engage in “externalising” behaviour (such as fighting and temper tantrums) which are likely to disrupt their schooling
What does Bull (1980) mean when he refers to the ‘cost of free schooling’?
Children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences which enhance educational achievement
