AS Unit 2: Education Never Miss A Beat.

Class Differences in Achievement: The Facts Poorer children achieve less well than their affluent counterparts at every key stage and level of education. They are under-represented in post-compulsory education and Higher Education. Middle class children do better in all exams  Middle class children stay on longer at school  Middle class children are disproportionately represented in higher bands, higher sets, grammar schools etc.

It can take a number of forms... Cultural Deprivation Language (cognitive challenge) Different subcultural values Parental Attitudes Culture Clash Speech Codes

Parents’ Attitudes to Education Douglas (1964) W/C parents put less value on education and are less ambitious for their children, gave them less encouragement, less likely to attend parents’ evenings. Thinking Aloud: Is this true today Thinking Aloud: Is this true today

Feinstein (2008) Blame the Parents Less educated, less consistent, harsh, do as your told. Does not foster independence and self control Parenting Styles Reading to children, painting, drawing, helping with homework. Parents’ educational behaviours MC spend money on educational toys that encourage reasoning and thinking. MC better nutrition. Use of Income Parents’ own feelings about school, teachers and the education system. Parents’ experience of education

Barry Sugarman (1970) – Working Class Subculture A belief that you cannot change your lot in life. Fatalism Value being part of a group rather than an individual. Collectivism Seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in the future. Immediate gratification Present is more important that the future. Present-time orientation

Material Deprivation Poverty and lack of material resources (housing and income) cause educational underachievement. W/C families are more likely to be on a low income or live below the poverty line. Strong correlation with FSM statistics and educational underachievement.

Bourdieu (1984) Cultural Capital Material and cultural factors are interrelated. Cultural Capital Educational and Economic Capital Read the article in your handout!

Sullivan (2001) Cultural Capital? Questionnaires of 465 pupils in 4 schools to assess their cultural capital – what they read, trips, vocab and knowledge. Successful pupils tended to have more cultural capital and were MC (read complex fiction, documentaries).

Gerwitz (1995) Marketisation and Parental Choice Professional MC parents who used their position to gain advantage for their children. They understood how the system worked – knew deadlines and appeal processes. They could also use their economic capital to move into catchment area. Privileged Skilled Choosers WC parents whose choices were restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital. Did not understand the system, not confident in how to gain advantage. Distance and cost of travel were more important than quality of school. Disconnected Local Choosers WC parents but aspirational. Did not understand the system – felt frustrated that they could not get children into their schools of choice. Semi-skilled Choosers

Who said what? JWB Douglas (1964) Bernstein et al (1975) Leon Feinstein (2008) Herbert Hyman (1967) Barry Sugarman (1970) Marilyn Howard (2001) David Bull (1980) Emily Tanner (2003) Leech and Campos (2003) Alice Sullivan (2001) Sharon Gewirtz (1995) Jan Flaherty (2004)

Exam Questions – External Factors (a)Define the term ‘immediate gratification’ (2 marks) (a)Use one example, briefly explain how the restricted code may lead to underachievement. (2 marks) (a)Outline three ways in which housing may affect achievement. (6 marks) (b)Evaluate the view that middle class pupils’ higher achievement is due to external factors. (20 marks)