Topic 3

• functionalist writers such as Parsons have suggested that social inequality in contemporary society is based on the principles of meritocracy.
  • social inequality is based on the different abilities, talents and skills individuals have, which are represented by academic qualifications.
• however, there is there is substantial evidence that Britain is not meritocratic, and the link between educational qualifications and pay levels is actually good. 
• most sociologists argue that not everyone has the same chance of developing their skills, and there is no real equality of opportunity in education. 
• marxists argue that the education system maintains and reproduces existing inequalities in society. 
• there are wide differences in achievement even among students of the same ability, which closely linked to social class origins, and gender and ethnic characteristics.

• since there s little information available on the social class of students, the eligibility for receipt of free school meals is often used as an indicator of economic disadvantage.
• perry and Francis point out that social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement in the UK. 
• michael gove said 'rich, thick kids do better than poor, clever children'
• the higher the social class of the parents, the more successful a child will be in education
• Waldfogel and Washbrook (2010) using data from the Millenium cohort survey found many children from disadvantaged backgrounds were already up to a year behind more privileged children by the age of 3.
• the degree of social class inequality becomes even greater as children move upward through the education system

External factors- outside of the school, such as the family or neighbourhood, or socioeconomic status, over which the school has little control. 

• material explanations- put emphasis on the social and economic conditions outside school
• cultural explanations-  focus on values, attitudes, and lifestyles outside the school.

Internal factors- factors within the school itself that can affect the progress of the pupils there.

• poverty and home circumstances 
  • Cooper and Stewart (2013) found money makes a difference to children's educational success. poorer children have worse cognitive, social-behavioural and health outcomes in part because they are poorer, and not just because poverty is linked with other household characteristics.
  • Waldfogel and Washbrook point out that children from low-income families are more likely to live in crowded or damp accommodation, and have a home that is dark, unclean or unsafe. this can make study at home difficult. they suggest poorer diets and high levels of sickness in disadvantaged homes may mean tiredness at school, making learning more difficult and more absence.
  • poorer parents are less likely to have access to preschool or nursery facilities
  • low income may mean educational books and toys are not bought and computers may not be available. there may also be a lack of money for other hidden costs of education. 
  • young people from poorer families are more likely to have part-time jobs which may create conflict between demands from school and work.
  • schools in poorer areas may suffer disadvantages such as lack of funding and may rely on parents funding, and the poorer parents struggle to pay this
  • it may be different for parents on a low income to support students in education after school leaving age.

• the areas from which primary and secondary schools draw their students. 
• in deprived areas, there are often poor role models for young people to imitate
• the accumulative effects of the environment on children's behaviour mean schools in such areas may have discipline problems that influence achievement
• in contrast, schools in middle-class areas will probably have stronger and more conformist role models for young people, have fewer discipline problems and therefore offer a better learning environment 
• Gibson and Asthana found that the greater the level of family disadvantage, the smaller was the percentage of students gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C.
• the national equality panel confirmed this, pointing out that the highest achievers come from the most advantaged areas.
• more than 85% of teachers said poverty had a negative impact on the well being and attainment of pupils they taught. 

• suggest that the values, attitudes, language and other aspects of the cultural life of some social groups are deficient or deprived in various ways in relation to the white, middle-class culture of the education system.
• this is known as cultural deprivation. 
• Sodha and Margo suggest cultural factors cause disengagement from education for the most disadvantaged sections of the working class. this involves a cultural barrier of low aspirations
• Douglas found, fifty years ago that the most important factor in educational achievement was the degree of parental encouragement, expectation, interest and involvement in education. 
• feinstein and Symons (1999) Goodman and Gregg (2010) and Gorard, See and Davies (2012) have shown that this remains true today. 
• middle-class parents, compared to working-class parents tend to take more interest in their children's progress at school and become more interested as the children become older, and are more likely to want their children to stay in school beyond the minimum leaving age 

• because they are generally better educated, middle-class parents tend to understand the school system better than working-class parents
• lower working-class parents may feel less confident dealing with teachers at parents evenings, and with dealing with subject options and exam choices.
• middle-class parents know more about schools, therefore can advise and counsel their children

Sugarman (1970) and H. H. Hyman (1967) found that different values and attitudes may influence children's progress in school. 

• in middle-class jobs, the promise of career progress through individual efforts leads to future orientation and deferred gratification. individual effort and intelligence are seen as the key to success.
• this means students are socialised into values which encourage ambition and educational success, future orientation and deferred gratification create a recognition of the need for individual hard work in order to achieve qualifications needed for success.
• in working-class jobs, educational qualifications are often not very important for work. the lack of promotion opportunities leads to a present time orientation, immediate gratification and fatalism. working together provides more gains than individual effort.
• children are socialised into values and attitudes which don't encourage ambition and educational success. these values discourage effort for future rewards such as exam success. leaving school and getting a job are seen as more important than qualifications. collectivism discourages the individual effort which school demands.

Perry and Francis's 2010 review found that similar attitudes are found today. 

• success in education depends very heavily on language; the ability to read and understand books, write clearly, an explain yourself clearly in both speech and writing are key language skills. 
• if these skills are not developed through discussion, negotiation and explanation in the family, such children will be disadvantaged in education.
• Berenstein has argued that there are two types of language use, the elaborated code and the restricted code. it is middle-class young peoples familiarity with the elaborated code that gives them better chances of success in education. 
  • the restricted code is the language that is used between friends or family members, it is informal, simple, everyday language with limited explanation.  It is used by both middle-class and working-class people, but Bernstein argues lower working-class people are limited to this form of language.
  • the elaborated code is the formal language, used in situations where detail and explanation are required. it has a much wider vocabulary than restricted code. bernstein argues that the language used in schools is the elaborated code of the middle class, which gives them an advantage at school. 
• however, bernstein tends to group the middle class together as having equal use of the elaborated code, gives few examples to back up his claims and some (Labov) claim that working-class language is simply different rather than less effective. 

• A theory developed by Bourdieu, who was a Marxist.
• he argued that school gave an inbuilt advantage to middle and upper-class children as the education system is based on the habitus of the ruling class. this habitus is picked up by socialisation in the family.he argues that what counts as educational knowledge isn't the culture of society as a whole but that of the dominant class.
• middle and upper-class students have more access to dominant class culture, therefore having an advantage that Bourdieu calls cultural capital.
• Robson found that cultural capital in the form of activities such as going to museums, zoos, operas and reading give greatly improved chances of educational success.
• cultural capital can be turned into educational capital which can be turned into economic capital.
• since schools measure all pupils against the same culture and knowledge, the education system isn't really neutral
• Bourdieu also refers to social capital which refers to the networks of influence and support people have
• archer suggests that cultural capital suggests middle-class children are more likely to experience a smoother transition from home to school, helping them to be more tuned with the demands of schooling and may appear as more intelligent to teachers, whereas working-class children may face conflict between home and school. this is called culture clash.

• exaggerates differences between social classes and downplays similarities
• use attendance of parents days as a measure for parental involvement, however, there are practical and self-confidence issues with this such as working-class parents having jobs that prevent them from attending. 
• ignores the role of schools in forming the attitudes and ambitions of students. negative stereotypes of working-class pupils can lead to negative labelling as 'born to fail' and a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• keddie argues that there is no cultural deprivation, only cultural differences, and if there is a culture clash, schools should change the situation. 

• cultural deprivation theories suggest that for all people to have an equal chance, those from deprived backgrounds need extra resources to help them compete on equal terms.
• compensatory education involves positive discrimination, which means that schools in disadvantaged areas are singled out for favourable treatment to help them succeed.
• education action zones (the late 1990s) socially disadvantaged areas given extra money and teachers to improve educational achievement. rebranded to excellence in cities in 2005.
• Power and Whitty pointed out that while some individuals benefited evidence suggests reforms didn't work. Kerr and West (2010) conclude that while evidence shows schooling lessens the impact of deprivation on childrens process, influence is limited by factors beyond the control of the school system.

• Interactionist perspective sees pupils not simply as passive victims of structural, material or cultural forces outside of school control, but puts emphasis on the way teachers and pupils come to interpret and define situations and develop meanings which influence the way they behave. 
• sociological evidence of a link between working-class origin and underachievement may have lead teachers to expect working class pupils to perform poorly which may lead to students lacking confidence and become a self-fulfilling prophecy.