Material Deprivation

Material Deprivation…read more

Material Deprivation
· Having a lack of money so you are unable
to afford basic necessities and
consequently due to the lack of money,
you live in overcrowded conditions.…read more

Basic Statistics
· In 2006, only 33% of children receiving free
school meals (a measure of poverty within
school aged children) gained 5 or more good
GCSE's against 61% of children not on free
school meals.
· A lack of money at home can lead to truancy in
many children for several different reasons e.g.
work, child care. This truancy then leads to
expulsion and then many of these expellees
never return to the education system.
· Nearly 90% of all failing schools are situated in
deprived areas.…read more

Housing
· Housing situations can affect a child directly and indirectly. Overcrowding is
often a big issue in working class homes as many people can sleep in one
room where they are all different ages and genders. This over crowding can
mean that the child doesn't get enough sleep which then leads to lack of
concentration in schools. Or there could be no where to concentrate to
complete homework so they are behind in school compared to middle class
children. These places are often unsafe so there is nowhere for the child to
play and explore which stops them from being educationally stimulated.
· Many working class families are constantly on the move so this can disturb
the child making them unsettled, unable to concentrate and consequently
lacking in educational development.
· Poor housing situations often affect the child's health. For example living in
a rough council estate can lead to psychological damage through what they
may of seen. Whilst the usually damp, cold conditions often make the child
more prone to infections and once they are ill, it is very difficult for them to
fully recover due to lack of sleep and unsuitable conditions.…read more

Diet and Health
· Having a lack of money often means that you can't buy sufficient
food that is recommended daily for you child e.g. fruit and
vegetables, whole grains etc. This often means that the child lacks
in certain minerals and nutrients making them more likely to get ill.
This lack of decent food then often means that they have a lack of
energy, which then leads to lack of concentration and lack of
enthusiasm towards education and exploration. This is believed by
Howard.
· Wilkinson believed that living in a poorer home often led to
emotional or behavioural issues. He did a study where he found out
that many children that have ADHD and other behavioural/
emotional issues came from working class/ lower social
backgrounds. These issues then lead to labelling, lack of
educational development and therefore failure.…read more

Costs of Education
· Due to lack of money, many working class families can't afford equipment
(new or old). If the child has new/ old equipment e.g. trainers, it can lead to
severe embarrassment for them and therefore don't want to participate in
activities within school, which leads to educational failure.
· Also going on trips ,which many of their middle class school peers can go
on, are very limited for the working class child as they can't go on to the
trips as the money needs to be spent elsewhere that is more important.
· It is believed that 20% of children entitled for free school meals don't accept
them. This may be due to the humility of not having enough money.
Although these benefits do help, it can cause extreme embarrassment for
the child which leads to not trying at school.
· Even after compulsory education, the working class child will struggle with
getting to college, affording equipment, even wearing your own clothes due
to lack of money at home and more recently the scrapping of Educational
Maintenance Allowance. This may be the reason for so many working class
children leaving school at 16. Then at university they may struggle to cope
with the debt after university and even then there may not be a job at the
end of it. This may contribute to the circle of "failure" within working class
societies.…read more