Class differences in achievement external factors

Question 1

What is cultural deprivation?

Answer 1

A theory in sociology where a person has inferior norms, values, skills and knowledge

Question 2

What are Speech Codes and who came up with this idea?

Answer 2

Basil Bernstein and it is the idea that middle class language gives them an avantage in education.,

Question 3

What are the four working class subcultures and who came up with them?

Answer 3

Fatalism, collectivism, immediate gratification and present time orientation - Barry Sugarman

Question 4

How does Parents’ Education affect their children’s education?

Answer 4

• Their attitude towards education can affect their child’s achievement in school.
• Goodmand and Gregg (sociologists) found that parental involvement in their child’s schooling was the single most important factor towards their achievement in education.

Question 5

How does language affect a child’s education?

Answer 5

• If they use restricted speech codes then teachers may look down on them
• Parents with higher qualifications use more complex language that challenges their child in education
• Hubbs-Tait et al found that when parents use language that challenges their children, the child’s cognitive thinking improves

Question 6

What is material deprivation?

Answer 6

Refers to poverty and a lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income.

Question 7

What is cultural deprivation?

Answer 7

Many working class families fail to socialise their children adequately. These children will grow up ‘culturally deprived’. They lack the cultural equipmen needed to do well.

Question 8

What are some criticisms of cultural deprivation theory?

Answer 8

Victim blaming: takes a ‘deficit’ view that blames the victims on their own failure. Ignores inequalities built into the education system and into wider society

Different, not deprived: Nell Keddie - dismisses the idea that failure can be blamed on culturally deprived background, points out a child cannot be deprived of their own culture, they are simply culturally different

Question 9

How does housing affect class difference in achievement?

Answer 9

Poor housing can affect it both directly and indirectly. Overcrowding can have a direct effect making it harder for the child to study and less room for educational activities. It can also indirectly affect the child’s welfare and health, e.g. mould and damp.

Question 10

How does diet and health affect class difference in achievement?

Answer 10

Marilyn Howard - notes that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals. Poor nutrition affects health, e.g weakening immune system, not getting enough sleep and therefore being absent from school

Question 11

How does financial support and hidden costs of education affect class differences in achievement?

Answer 11

Children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that would enhance their education.

David Bull calls this the ‘costs of free schooling’

Question 12

How does fear of debt affect class differences in achievement?

Answer 12

University usually involves going in to debt. The attitude towards this debt may deter working-class students and only wealthier students will get this advancement in their education.

Question 13

Who came up with cultural capital and what is it?

Answer 13

Pierre Bourdieu - refers to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle class. He sees middle-class culture as a type of capital, because it gives an advantage to those who possess it.

Question 14

What is the educational and economic capital?

Answer 14

Bourdieu argues that educational, economic and cultural capital can be converted into one another. Middle class children with cultural capitcal are better equipped to meet the demands of the school curriculum an gain qualifications.

Question 15

What is a test of Bourdieu’s ideas on cultural capital?

Answer 15

Alice Sullivan - used questionnaires to conduct survey on pupils about cultural capital. She asked about a range of activities, such as about reading and TV. She found that those who read complex fiction and watched serious TV documentaries developed a wider vocabulary and a greater cultural knowledge. These pupils were also more likely to receive high GCSE results.