Class differences in achievement: a summary

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  • Class differences in achievement
    • External factors
      • Capital
        • Pierre Bordieau (1984): three types of capital: cultural, economic and educational
    • Internal factors
      • Pupils' class identities and the school
        • Class identity and self-exclusion
          • Sarah Evans (2009) found that W/C pupils are reluctant to apply to elite universities, and those who did still felt a sense of hidden barriers and not fitting in. They are also reluctant to apply to universities away from home
            • Bordieu (1984): many W/C people think of elite universities as being 'not for the likes of us'. This is because it is part of W/C habitus to think this way
            • Reay et al (2005): this self-exclusion narrows the options for W/C students and therefore limits their success
        • 'Nike' identities
          • Not conforming is 'social sucide'
          • Play a part in W/C pupils' rejection of HE, which they see as unrealistic and undesirable
          • Archer: they are a way of W/C pupils generating symbolic capital
        • Working class identity and educational success
          • Nicola Ingram (2009) found that having a W/C identity is inseperable to belonging to a W/C locality
        • Habitus and symbolic capital/violence (Bordieu (1984))
          • M/C pupils gain symbolic capital because schools have a M/C habitus
            • This reproduces the class system and creates a clash between the W/C pupils' habitus and the M/C school's habitus
              • Symbolic capital is withheld from W/C pupils (symbolic violence) because schools devalue the W/C habitus
              • Louise Archer et al (2010) found therefore, to be educationally successful, W/C pupils have to go through a process of 'losing themselves'
          • Symbolic capital is withheld from W/C pupils (symbolic violence) because schools devalue the W/C habitus
      • Labelling
        • In primary schools
          • Ray Rist (1970) found that teachers use info. from children's home backgrounds and appearance to place them in separate groups
        • In secondary schools
          • Mairead Dunne and Louise Gazeley (2008): 'schools persistently produce W/C underachievement'
      • Pupil subcultures
        • Peter Woods (1979): other pupil responses
          • Ritualism
          • Rebellion
          • Ingratiation
          • Retreatism
        • Stephen Ball (1981): abolishing streaming
      • Streaming
        • The A-C economy
          • David Gillborn and Deborah Youdell (2001): publishing exam league tables creates the A-C economy, which leads to educational triage
      • Self-fulfilling prophecy
        • Teachers' expectations
          • Robert Rosenthal and Leonora Jacobson's 1968 study of a community elementary school in California
  • Cultural deprivation
    • Material deprivation
      • Diet and health
        • Marilyn Howard (2001):  young people from poorer homes have poorer nutrition
        • Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin (2007): young children from low income families are more likely to engage in externalising behaviour
        • Richard Wilkinson (1996): among 10 y/o children, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders
      • Financial support and the costs of education
        • David Bull (1980): 'the costs of free schooling'
        • Emily Tanner et al (2003): heavy burden on poor families
        • Teresa Smith and Michael Noble (1995): poverty acts as a barrier to learning in other ways
      • Fear of debt
        • Claire Callendar and Jon Jackson (2005): W/C students are more debt averse
        • Diane Reay (2005): W/C students are more likely to apply to local universities
    • Language
      • Basil Bernstein (1975): speech codes
        • Elaborated
        • Restricted
    • Working class subculture
      • Barry Sugarman (1970): four key features that act as barriers
        • Fatalism
        • Collectivism
        • Present-time orientation
        • Immediate gratification
    • Parents' education
      • Leon Feinstein (2008) identifies four ways M/C parents can give their children an advantage through socialisation
        • Parenting style
          • Well-educated parents' PS emphasises consistent discipline and high expectations which encourages active learning and exploration in their children
          • Poorly-educated parents' PS is marked by harsh or inconsistent discipline which prevents their children from learning independence and self-control
        • Use of income
          • Well-educated parents better understand the importance of good nutrition than poorly-educated parents
          • Bernstein and Young (1967) found that M/C mothers are more likely to buy educational toys, books and activities
        • Parents' educational behaviours
          • Well-educated parents are more aware of what is needed to assist their child's educational progress
          • Well-educated parents are more successful in establishing good relationships with teachers
          • Well-educated parents are better able to get expert advice on child rearing
        • Class, income and parental education
          • Parental education has an influence on children's achievement regardless of class or income
            • Even within a given social class, better educated parents tend to have more educationally successful children
  • Lack of space for safe play and exploration
    • Housing
      • Overcrowding
      • Material deprivation
        • Diet and health
          • Marilyn Howard (2001):  young people from poorer homes have poorer nutrition
          • Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin (2007): young children from low income families are more likely to engage in externalising behaviour
          • Richard Wilkinson (1996): among 10 y/o children, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders
        • Financial support and the costs of education
          • David Bull (1980): 'the costs of free schooling'
          • Emily Tanner et al (2003): heavy burden on poor families
          • Teresa Smith and Michael Noble (1995): poverty acts as a barrier to learning in other ways
        • Fear of debt
          • Claire Callendar and Jon Jackson (2005): W/C students are more debt averse
          • Diane Reay (2005): W/C students are more likely to apply to local universities
  • Howard Becker (1971) found that teachers judge pupils according to how closely they fit this
    • Image of the 'ideal pupil'
      • Labelling
        • In primary schools
          • Ray Rist (1970) found that teachers use info. from children's home backgrounds and appearance to place them in separate groups
        • In secondary schools
          • Mairead Dunne and Louise Gazeley (2008): 'schools persistently produce W/C underachievement'

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