Reasons for Class Differences (Education)

• Keddie - Cultural deprivation argument is 'victim blaming' - blame the prejudice of the teachers of society.
• Working class parents may seem unsupportive by not turning up to parents' evening etc - May be unable to (nursery, transport, work)
• Ignores internal factors (e.g. labelling)

• Douglas - Cumulative reasons

                   - Low income/unemployment

                   - Overcrowded homes

                   - Poor diet

• Bull - Hidden cost of education

            - School trips

            - Textbooks / internet access

            - Student debts

• Compensatory Education - Policies to help even the playing field for working class e.g. Pupil Premium - Money set aside. (TAs, meals, trips)
• Education Action Zones - Money into rebuilding schools in deprived areas
• Sure Start - Offered classes and programmes for under-priviliged families

Working class - Restricted code

• Limited vocabulary
• Grammatically simple
• Gesticulations - Using hands when speaking
• Context bound - Refer to a real life situation
• Particularist - Applies to them or people that they may know

Middle class - Elaborated code

• Large vocabulary
• Grammatically complex
• Using speech to elaborate
• Abstract - hypotheticals, philosophical ideas
• Universal - Applies to many people

• Becker - Interviewed 60 teachers

 - Stereotyped students based on appearance, conduct and work

 - Working class students were seen as less ideal

• Hargreaves - Halo effect (Positive labels stick with pupils throughout their academic career)
• Rosenthal and Jacobson - Children who were given more attention from teachers (e.g. answering questions) showed better results in tests.

• Middle class - Considered to have a non-manual job with qualifications
• Working class - Manual occupation (plumber, waiter etc), semi-skilled worker

Working class compared to middle class of the same ability:

• Less likely to start school able to read
• Less well in SATs
• Less likely to get a place in the best state schools
• More likely to be in low sets
• Acheive lower exam results (1/3 A* - C)
• More likely to go onto vocational courses
• Less likely to go to university

• Within every ethnic group, middle class does better

• Keddie - Cultural deprivation argument is 'victim blaming' - Blame the prejudice of teachers of society
• Ignores internal factors (e.g. labelling)

• Bourdieu - Habitus

- Cultural capital (preferred lifestyle, langauges and values of the middle class - hegemony)

• Douglas and Feinstein - Working class parents are less likely to take an interest in their child's education

• Assumptions that all teachers label students
• Not all labels stick
• Deterministic
• Reductionist
• Ignores cultural and material deprivation

• Marketisation of education - Cream skimming and silt shifting (middle class = cream) - schools want to boost league table ranking

• Deterministic
• Ignores cultural and material deprivation
• Reductionist
• Policies aimed towards reducing the achievement gap

• Lacey - Students respond to school in two different ways (Pro-school & Anti-school (Polarisation))

Pro-School Subculture (Middle Class)

• Positive stereotypes
• Halo effect
• Higher sets
• Higher expectations

Anti-School Subculture (Working Class)

• Negative stereotypes
• Negative labels
• No halos
• Low sets
• Low expectations

• Ball - When mixed ability teaching is used, these subcultures do not appear as strongly.

• Deterministic
• Ignores cultural and material deprivation
• Reductionist
• Policies aimed towards reducing the achievement gap

• Ignores internal factors (e.g. labelling)

• Keddie - Unequal access to classroom knowledge

                - Working class students are taught less

Low Ability (Working Class)

• Descriptive - relative to what they would be able to understand.
• Basic
• Dumbed down

Top Ability (Middle Class)

• Abstract- hypothetical/theoretical
• Detailed
• Full curriculum

• Hargreaves - Setting and Streaming (Setting - per subject & Streaming - all subjects)

                       - Working class are more likely to be in bottom sets

• Hyman and Sugarman

Working Class

• Fatalism - End is already decided
• Collectivism - All in it together
• Immediate gratification - They want things now
• Present-time orientation - YOLO

Middle Class

• Optimism/desire - Dream bigger
• Individualism - Concerned about yourself first
• Deferred gratification - Investing in something now for payoff later
• Future orientation

• Assumptions that all teachers label pupils
• Not all labels stick
• Deterministic
• Reductionist
• Many policies are aimed towards reducing the achievement gap (e.g. pupil premium)