Class Diffrences in Achievment

WC pupils in genral achieve less than MC pupils in education

Children of higher professionals are 2 -3 times more likely than manual workers to get 5 or more GCSES 

5 x more likely to go to uni

Sociologists have put forward a range of expnanations 

intenral factors - factors in school

External factors - Factors outside of school

Class diffrences in pupils home backround may play a roles in achivement 

Home backround includes things such as ....

Cultural factors - 

• Norms and values
• attitudes to education 
• Speech codes

Material factors -

• physical neccessities 
• Adequate housing
• diet and income 

Diffrent cultures socalise their children diffrently - this could affect their achievment 

Some WC parents fail to transmit the appropriate norms , values and attitudes needed for educational sucsess

cultural deprivational theoriest see 3 factors responsible for working class under achievment 

• Language
• parents education
• WC subculture 

Bernstien 1975 -2 speech codes

ELABORATED -  Mc , Analytic, wide vocab , complex sentences , universalistic , dont assume listners share same experiences

RESTRICTED -  less analytic , more decriptive , limited vocab , simple sentences / gestures , assumes listner shares same experiences 

Feinstein 2008   argues parents own education is the most important factor affecting childrens achievment

Parenting style -  Educated parents emphasise consistant disapline , high expectations , active learning and exploration. 

Less educated parents - inconsistant disapline leads to children having poor motivation and problems interacting with teachers 

Parents educational behaviour - educated parens are more aware of how to help children progress. good relationship with teachers

language - Way parents comunicate affects childrens cognitive development 

use of income - educated parents spend income on educational toys ect  

cultural deprivation theorists identify 3 aspects of WC subculture that leads to under achievment 

Imediate gratififcation 

Fataism -    Belief that what will be will be, dont belive they can improve their situation  

low value on education - WC dont value education so dont try - Hyman. Parents give them less support 

• ignores importants of material factors eg poverty 
• ignores impact of school factors eg labeling 
• blames victim for their failure

Poor housing - over crowding , cold , damp  = no where quiet to do homework.

temporary accomadation = frequant school change

Poor diet - illness , absense from school , lack of concentration in class

Low income - these issues are usualy caused by low income

poorer families can afford less educational oportuinites eg trips , computers and private resources

Children may be stigmatised or bulied for lacking corrcect uniform or fassion items

Callander and jackson found WC more concerned about debt that comes with higher education. Less go uni and recive less support if go to uni

Marxists argue MC pupils are more sucsessful than WC pupils as their parents posess more capital

2 Types of capial....

economic -  wealth middle class families own 

Cultural capital - Attitiudes , values . skills and knowledge of mc 

Educational capital  - MC use their economic and cultural capital to gain their children educational capital  (qualificatons)

Allows MC children to get jobs and more economic capital to pass down through generations

• Labeling
• selffulfilling prophecy
• streaming
• pupil subcultures 

Meanings and definitions we atatch to someone to make sense of them 

MC= bright , motivated , cooperative 

Becker - MC = ideal pupils and prefer to teach them 

Prediction that comes true by the virtue of it being made 

eg teacher saying somone will fail exams and they do just because the prediction has been made 

Teachers can create selffulfilling prophecys through labels

What teachers belive , students achieve 

extreme institutionalised form of labeling 

Grouping simmilar abilities together in sets/ classes/ tables

Lacey - streaming = differentation - way of seperating sheep and goats then educating them diffrently 

Often creates a selffulfilling prophecy 

Douglas  = IQ of people labled as less able and in bottom streams , fell over time where as high streams improved

Lower streams often entered for lower exams 

Subculture = group whose beliefs , values and attitudes differ to some extent from wider society 

Pupils may form subcultures in response to labeling

Pro school culture - Formed by higher streams , Aceept schools values and beliefs , regulry attend and work hard

Anti- school subculture - formed in lower streams, rejcect schools values, dislike school , disrespect teachers , play truant , sabotage their uniform 

Lacey = lower streamed pupils form or join antischool subcultures as school deprives them of status by labeling them as failures 

Therfore these students create their own status hierachy 

They gain status from peers by rejecting school and breaking rules

Pupil subcultures often lead to selffulfilling prophecys

Archer uses habitus to explain WC identites and underachievment 

Habitus = ways of thinking , being and acting 

Symbolic capital and symbolic violence - 

schools commit symbolic violence by devaluing WC habitus (judging their clothes / accents etc)

Also denies them symbolic capital (Recognition and staus)

Nike identities - symbolic violence leads to gaining symbolic capital from peers using branded goods , this conflicts with MC habitus

Losing yourself - Succeeding at school means changing how you present yourself to fit in eg nike identities however these cause conflict with schools 

ingram - found fitting in was a problem for WC gramma school boys

They experienced tension between their neighbourhood habitus and their school 

Faced being judged worthless at school or worthless in their community 

self exclusion from sucess - Evans - found even sucsessful WC girls faced hidden barriers

They felt their identity wouldnt fit in with habitus of elite uni

Girls had strong attatcment to families and intended to study at home 

Marketisation policies increased the amount of streaming in schools

policies on issues such as grants , fees , maintanance allowence , school leaving age, compensatory education impact home backround factors such as material or cultural deprivation