Sociology Education

• cultural factors: class differences in norms and values
• theorists argue we aquire basic values, attitudes & skills needed for educational success through primary socialisation

intellectual development: - development of thinking & reasoning skills eg problem solving

• W/C home lacks books & educational toys which stimulate a childs ID so they start school without having developed intellectual skills needed to progress.

language:  -Bernstein 

- the restricted code - used by W/C - limited vocab,short, unfinished and simple sentences, gestures, context bound

- the elaborated code - used by M/C - wider vocab, long, grammatically more complex sentences, context free. Gives M/C an advantage at school - textbooks,teachers & exams use elaborated code so feel 'at home' at school so are more likely to succeed . Textbooks use EC - dont know readers so have to spell out their meanings explicity so understood universally. School fails to teach W/C EC

+ recognises the school as well as home influences children's achievements

attitudes and values -parents' attitudes & values affect educational achievement. 

• W/C parents  placed less value on education, visited schools less often, less ambitious for their children = children had less levels of achievement moivation - lack of interest reflects subcultural values
• Hyman - values & beliefs of LC subculture = 'self-imposed barrier' to educational and career success - believe they have less opportunity for individual achievement & place little value on achieving high status jobs so see no point in education
• Sugarman - W/C subculture has 4 key features which act as a barrier to educational achievment:

1) fatalism- belief in fate, 'whatever will be, will be', nothing you can do to change your status.

2) collectivism- valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual

3) immediate gratifacation- seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future

4) present time orientation- seeing the present as more important than the future = no long term plans/goals

compensatory education - a policy designed to tackle the problem of C/D by providing extra resources to schools & communities in deprived areas

• attempt to intervene early in socialisation to compensate children for deprivation they experience at home
• Operation Head Start (US) - introduced in 1960s to preschools in poorer areas - included impvoing parenting skills, setting up nursery classes, home vistors by health vistors & creating an intensive learning programme for deprived children.