Social Class And Educational Attainment 6Ed Flashcards
(25 cards)
What is social class
Refers to the social background of an individual
may include their income, wealth, occupation, level of education,culture, attitudes and where they live
What is the average gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students by the end of secondary
18 months
Examples of material deprivation
1.housing
2.Diet and health
3.financial support and cost of education
What did Harker find (housing)
Poor overcrowded housing can make it harder for a child to study at home.
Sharing bedrooms can result in disturbed sleep and difficulty concentration
Less space may impair cognitive development and lead to higher rates of depression or agressive behaviour
What did Marilyn Howard find
(Diet and health)
Young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins, and minerals.
Poor nutrition affects health - wreaking immune system and lowers energy
Resulting in more absences from school and difficulty concentrating
Why are working class pupils less likely to go to university
The fear of debt deters people from applying (WC people are debt adverse)
The dropout rates are higher amongst poorer students
What are three types of cultural deprivation
- Parental interests
- Language
- Attitudes and values
What did Douglas find about middle class parents
More likely to attend parents evenings, inquire about homework and offer encouragement/help
Placed more emphasis on achievement and demanded more from their children
What is restricted code
Short hand speech found in people who share common values
Particularistic
Used by the middle class
What is the elaborated code
Context free and universalistic
Used by teacher and in exams
how do the mc benefit from beeing socialised into both speech codes
- socialised into both so they can easily switch between the two allowing them to excell in school (understand shakespear etc)
what is a critiscm of Berstine and speech codes
- argued bernstine is blaming wc paretns and their speech codes for their childs underperformance
- although bernsitne argues it is actually the schools fault for not teaching wc elaborated code
what did hyman say
values and attitudes
- wc culture failed to see education as a means to get on inlife
- wc are fatalistic parents passing on idea that little can be don to improve their status in life
what does sugarman say
values and attitudes
- wc are present time orintated - looking to leave school at the first opportunity. desire instant gratification ( wanting to leave school as soon as possible t oearn a wage. not willing to put money of by staying in education)
- mc prefer deffered gratification - being prepared to put money off until the future. staying in education in order to achieve this ‘gratification’ of a higher wage in the future
according to sugarman what are the different ways the classes experience the job market
- mc see and expieriencde opportuunities and promotion within their career proffessional jobs possesing clear progression lines
- less likely in wc jobs
what does Bourdieu say cultural capital is
- knowledge, values, attitudes, language, tastes and abilities of the mc
- mc culture is a type of cultural capital as like wealth it gives an advantage to those who posses it
how does cultural capital benefit mc children
- ability to grasp, analyse and express abstract ideas
- more likely to develop intellectual interests and an understanding of what the educ system requires for success
- advantage in school - these interests and abilites are highly valued and rewarded with qualifications
how does cultural capital disadvantage the wc
- school devalues their culture as ‘rough’ and inferior
- lack of cultural capital leads to exam failure
- get the message system is not meant from them and respond by truanting, early leaving or just not trying
Reays research
- interviews with mothers of 33 children at 2 london primary schools
- foud mc and wc mothers worked equally hard on thier childs education but mc mothers were more successful becuase they had more cultural capital
- mc mothers used this to a good effect, helping children wit homework, boosting confidence, sorting problems out with teachers
- wc mothers fet they lcked knowledge and abilities to help their children
what is social capitial
idea that middle class parents have connections and social networks to help thier child do well at school
what is a habitus
- learned or taken for granted way of thinking, being and acting shared by a particular social class
- included tastes and preferences about lifestyles and consumption (fashion and leisure persuits)
how do the middle class gain symbolic capital
- socialised at home into middle class tastes and preferences, gain symbolic capital or status and recognition and are deemed to have worth or value
how do the working class expierience symbolic violence
- school devalues the wc habitus, so wc tastes (clothing, accents) are deemed to be tastless and worthless
- by defining wc and their tastes and lifestyle as inferior, symbolic violence redproduces class structure and keeps lower classes ‘in their place’
- Bourdieu
what are nike identities
Archer
- pupils are conscious that society and school looks down on them
- seek out laternate ways of creating self worth, status and value
- did this by constructing meaningful class identies for themselves by investing healving in ‘styles’, especially branded clothing like nike
- a cause of educational marginalisation by the school
