Social Class Differences in Educational Achievement.

OS show great improvements in educational achievement, but social class differences continue. The class gap grows wider as children get older. MC do better at GCSE, A level and take uni places.

Outside School Explanations:

Developed as a response to biological explanations and account for class differances in educational achievement  in terms of home and family backgrounds and impact of wider society.

1. Material Deprivation - lacking basic material necessities due to poverty or low income:

• Lack of educational equipment reduces access to important learning experiences.
• OFSTED evidence show 90% of 'failing' schoolsin deprived areas.
• Poor diet linked to low achievement as affects concentration, energy levels, health and attendance to school.
• Impact on housing, poor housing can depress achievement as leads to overcrowding and lack of space to study. Also health problems and accidents that could cause absence.
• Temporary housing may mean moving school alot.
• WC may not be able to go to uni/drop out due to debt, spend less time on studies due to work, made worse in 2015 when tuition fees increased.

2. Cultural deprivation - inadequate socialisation in the home leading to lack of appropriate attitudes, values and language.

a) Subcultural Attitudes and Values:

• Douglas (1964) argued WC home 'deficient' as encouraged immediate gratification not deffered gratification.
• E.g. MC more likely than WC to defer finanical gains of full time emploement by going to univeristy, greater recognition that graduate will earn more money.
• Douglas found class differences in achievement, WC parents put less value on education and were less interested, ambitious and encouraging compared to MC.
• E.g. Less likely to attend parents evenings or stimulate intellectual develop through reading or appropriate toys.
• :( Critics argue WC parents go to less parents evenings due to working longer hours, night shifts or cannot afford to pay for travel or babysitting.

b)  Language:

• WC children use language differently to MC which restricts intellectual development and ability to process through schooling.
• E.g. MC parents may use language that challenges their children like 'What do you think?'.
• Bernstein (1973) argues WC students underachive as socialised into restricted language codes which does not fit the elaborated code favoured by the education system and used by the MC.

3. Cultural Capital:

• Bordieu argues MC outperform WC as they have more cultural capital.
• This is gained through reading to children, trips to museums, art galleries and building relationships with teachers.

4. Economic and Cultural Capital and Marketisation:

• Economic capital means MC can afford private schools with smaller classes than state schools.
• Gewirtz (1995)

Evaluation - Weaknesses.

1. Too readily blames the victim, the cause of educational underachievement is seen as a result of deprived culture when schools may be to blame.

2. Generalise and are deterministic, assume WC households that suffer from deprivations will pass them on. Research shows well…