Social Class And Achievement

Question 1

External Factors: Material Deprivation (WC/MC)

Answer 1

• Refers to a lack of money and resources
  • Poor diet: cannot afford to eat breakfast, difficult to concentrate in class, do not receive the adequate nutrients = poor immune system, become ill, poor attendance
  • Overcrowding: do not have their own quiet space to study and revise
  • Cannot afford travel costs: have to settle for a poorer quality local school because they cannot afford the travel for a better school
• MC students have economic capital, can afford a large house (no overcrowding) and can move into the catchment area of an Outstanding school

Question 2

External Factors: Material Deprivation (Fear of Debt)

Answer 2

• Prevents many WC students from applying to University
• Callendar and Jackson found that WC students are debt averse - view debt as a negative thing that should be avoided at all costs (may be a result of witnessing a family member dealing with debt, loan sharks etc)
• If they do go then they often have to work part-time to fund their studies - makes it more difficult to achieve higher-class degrees

Question 3

Cultural Factors: Parents’ Attitudes

Answer 3

• WC parents may be unwilling or unable to support their child in creating a positive attitude towards education
• Unable to help with homework (do not understand it)
• Douglas: WC parents place less value on education, less ambitious for their children, give them less encouragement, show little interest
• Parents less likely to attend parents’ evenings - students become disinterested and demotivated in school, parents are not interested so why should they be
• Claims WC parents do not set a good example for their children e.g. parents wearing night wear when at the school gates, implies their children’s education is not worth getting dressed for

AO3 - WC parents do care but cannot attend parents’ evening because of work or transport costs (material deprivation)

Question 4

Cultural Factors: Language Use

Answer 4

• The type of language students learn from their home environment can directly impact their educational success
• Bernstein: the language used by WC students puts them at a disadvantage, they use the restricted code (simple language, limited vocab) whilst the MC use the elaborated code (complex, formal English)
• Schools are MC institutions so use the elaborated code, difficult for WC students to understand textbooks, write essays and take part in class discussions

Question 5

Cultural Factors: Subculture

Answer 5

• WC culture is different to that of MC culture
• WC make less progress because they have different goals and values to MC students
• Sugarman: claims the WC have a particular culture that consists of 4 characteristics, prevents them from doing as well in school
  • Fatalism - the belief that nothing can be done to change their situation so there is no point in working hard as they are unlikely to do well or get a good job anyway
  • Collectivism - the needs of the group outweigh the needs of the self (more important to hang out with friends instead of focusing on school work)
  • Immediate gratification - want rewards now e.g. get a job straightaway and earn money rather than going to University
  • Present-time orientation - focus on the here and now rather than the future (want to have fun now with no long-term goals)

AO3 - not all WC underachieve so the theory fails to explain why some WC students manage to succeed despite their cultural deprivation

Question 6

Cultural Factors: Cultural Capital

Answer 6

• Bourdieu argues that how well you do depends on the culture your parents have instilled in you
• MC students achieve better because they have cultural capital (a set of values, interests and knowledge that results in material rewards and success)
• MC students have an advantage over WC students who lack cultural capital (parents able to help with homework, value deferred gratification)
• Argues that MC also possess 3 other types of capital
  • Economic capital - money (pay for private tutor, move into catchment area)
  • Social capital - contacts, MC families know who can help their children succeed (contacts for work experience)
  • Educational capital - knowledge of the education system, know how schools work and what questions to ask

Question 7

Internal Factors: Labelling and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 7

• Some teachers label pupils according to their appearance, language use and attitudes, rather than academic ability
• Labels based on stereotypes: teachers are more prone to this because their working day involves categorising and labelling students (EAL, FSM)
• Tend to assume that WC students are less bright and less well behaved, giving them negative labels like ‘thick’ and ‘class clown’ whilst MC students are labelled positively, ‘bright’, ‘gifted’
• Can have a powerful effect on a student’s educational achievement - usually lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy (internalise the label and act accordingly to it)

Question 8

Internal Factors: Labelling and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - Becker (Ideal Pupil)

Answer 8

• Found that teachers judged pupils based on their image of the ‘ideal pupil’ (any pupil who followed the MC standards of behaviour, polite, well-behaved etc.)
• Teachers gave positive labels to the MC pupils because they fit the image of the ‘ideal pupil’
• WC pupils given negative labels because they did not fit the image of the ‘ideal pupil’
• Claims that once labelled, students internalise the label and it becomes a strong part of how they see themselves, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy
• WC feel demotivated due to negative labels, MC work harder due to positive labels

AO3 - some students reject the labels given to them by teachers.
Too deterministic - many different responses to being labelled (accept the label and continue to do well, reject the label at school but work hard at home)

Question 9

Internal Factors: Setting and Streaming

Answer 9

• Streaming - pupils are taught in the same ability group for all of their lessons
• Setting - pupils are taught in ability-based groups for different subjects (set 1 for maths, set 3 for English)
• Studies show that MC students have a greater chance of being places in a top stream/set compared to WC students
• Teachers often judge MC pupils as having more ability, so place them in top sets
• Gives MC pupils more opportunities to achieve (gain a higher standard for knowledge, better standards of behaviour and high expectations)
• Generally view WC as having less ability, usually placed in bottom sets (poor standards of behaviour, low expectations, less likely to be taught by highly qualified teachers) - affects their self-confidence, believe they are stupid and disengage from school
• WC students face a double disadvantage (start school disadvantaged and then placed in bottom sets which harms their achievement)
• Marxists: WC experience symbolic violence and are not aware that setting reproduces social inequalities (pupils in top set believe they deserve it, pupils in bottom sets believe that is where they belong), socialised to accept this as normal (do not challenge it)

Question 10

Internal Factors: Pupil Subcultures

Answer 10

• A group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns
• Pro-school subcultures: a group of pupils who follow the values and rules of the school (work hard in lessons, complete homework), commonly formed by those in the top sets, gain status from their peers by being well-behaved and successful in their school work, go on to achieve good grades
• Anti-school subcultures: a group of pupils whose values go against the school’s values, common among those in the bottom sets, tend to have low self-esteem and are anti-learning (unable to achieve the values of the school), form anti-school subcultures with their own deviant values, gain status from their peers for truanting, starting fights, go on to underachieve and leave school with low grades
• E.g. Willis - The Lads

Question 11

Internal Factors: Middle Class Curriculum

Answer 11

• White - argues the curriculum is based on middle class knowledge, placing WC students at a disadvantage
• Authors studied in English Lit are mainly MC, so MC students are more likely to identify with the language, views and ideas expressed in the text
• Curriculum rewards students who bring with them a range of general knowledge, usually considered MC (art, theatre), WC disadvantages as they do not possess this general knowledge

Question 12

Internal Factors: Pupil Identities

Answer 12

• Archer (Marxist Feminist) studied WC girls’ identities and how this affected their experiences at school, leading to their underachievement
• MC habitus of school made WC girls feel that they had to change how they talked and presented themselves to be successful
• Symbolic violence led to them finding alternative ways to create status and self-worth -> wearing Nike (sexy Nike appearance), earned them symbolic capital (status from their peers), felt accepted and valued
• Went against school dress code so they regularly got into trouble, continued despite this because it brought them status and self-worth
• Also involved in their rejection of University, believed it was for the rich and clever so they would not fit in (felt uncomfortable), also thought their Nike identity would not suit University

Question 13

Internal Factors: Marketisation

Answer 13

• Schools are run as businesses, becoming more selective about the students they take on
• MC often seen as more attractive because they are viewed as harder working and more likely to achieve better results
• Cream-skimming -> the most popular schools will select MC students because they will perform well in exams, making the school more appealing to new parents
• Puts pressure on schools to achieve the best possible exam results (to attract new parents and students)
• Has led to the creation of an A-C Economy, schools judged based on the no. of A-C grades achieved
• Educational triage (those who will pass anyway, C/D borderline, the hopeless cases)
• Spend lots of time and money on the C/D borderline students to turn as many Ds to Cs as possible (intervention sessions, extra resources)
• Hopeless cases (usually WC) not given extra support , unlikely to achieve higher than D