Social class background has a powerful influence
success in the education system
Cultural Deprivation
Theorists argue that most of us begin to acquire the basic values,
attitudes & skills that are need for educational success through
primary socialisation in the family
Three main aspects of cultural deprivation:
Intellectual Development
This refers to the development of thinking and reasoning skills
e,g, ability to solve problems & use ideas and concepts
Cultural deprivation theorists argue many W/C
homes lack books, educational toys and activities
that stimulate children's intellectual development
Children from such homes start school without
developed intellectual skills
Bernstein & Douglas:
They found that the way mothers think & choose toys
has an influence on their children's intellectual
development
Middle-class mothers are more likely to
choose toys that encourage thinking &
reasoning skills
Language
The importance of language for educational achievement is highlighted but
Bereiter & Engelmann
They claim that language used in lower-class homes is deficient
They describe lower-class families as
communicating by gestures, single words
or disjointed phrases.
Bernstein distinguishes between two types of speech code:
The Restricted Code
Typically used by working class
Has limited vocabulary and based on short, unfinished,
grammatically simple sentences
Speech is predicable and may involve a
simple word or even gesture
Is context-bound
The Elaborated Code
Typically used by middle class
Wider vocabulary and based on longer, grammatically
more complex sentences
Speech is more varied and communicates more
complex abstract ideas
Is more context-free
Attitudes & Values
Cultural Deprivation theorists argue..
Parents' attitudes and values are a key factor affecting educational achievement
Douglas found that W/C parents places less value on
education, less ambitious for their children & took less interest
in their eudcation
That the lack of parental interest in their children's education reflects the
subcultural values of the W/C
A subculture is a group whose attitudes & values differ from
those of the mainstream culture
Large sections of the W/C have different goals, beliefs,
attitudes & values from the rest of society and is why their
children fail in school
Hyman argues the values & beliefs of L/C
subculture are a 'self-imposed barrier' to
educational and career success
Sugarman argues that W/C subculture has four key features that act as a
barrier to educational achievement:
Fatalism
A belief in fate - that 'whatever will be, will be' and there is
nothing you can do to change your status
Collectivism
Valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual
Immediate Gratification
Seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get
rewards in the future
Present-time Orientation
Seeing the present as more important than the future and so not
having long-term goals or plans
W/C children internalise the beliefs & values if their subculture
through the socialisation process
Compensatory Education
Is a policy designed to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by
providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived
areas
Programmes attempt to compensate children for the deprivation they experience at home
Best known example of this is Operation Head Start in the United States - its aim was
'planned enrichment' of the deprived child's enviroment
Myth of Cultural Deprivation
Although it draws attention to the child's
background, the theory has been widely
criticised as an explanation of class differences
in achievement
Keddie describes cultural deprivation as a
'myth' & sees it as a victim blaming
explanation
And argues that W/C children are simply culturally different, not
culturally deprived
Critics reject the view that W/C parents are not interested in their
children's education
Material Deprivation
Some sociologists see material deprivation as the main
cause of under-achievement
'Material Deprivation' refers to poverty
& a lack of material necessities such
as adequate housing & income
Poverty is closely linked to educational under-achievement, there is a
close link between poverty and social class
W/C families are much more likely to have low incomes or
inadequate housing
Housing
Poor housing can affect pupils' achievement both directly and
indirectly e,g, overcrowding can have a direct effect by making it
harder to study
Overcrowding means less room for
educational activities & no room to do
homework
Poor housing can have indirect effects on the child's health and welfare:
Children in overcrowded homes run a greater risk of accidents
Cold or damp housing can cause ill health, especially respiratory illnesses
Diet & Health
Howard notes young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of
energy, vitamins and minerals
Children from poorer homes are likely to have emotional or behavioural problems also
Financial Support & The Costs of Education
Lack of financial support means that children from poor families
have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that
would enhance their achievement
As a result, poor children will have to
make do with hand-me-downs and
cheaper but unfashionable equipment
Lack of funds also means that children from low-income families
often need to work
Ridge found that children in poverty take on jobs such
as baby sitting, cleaning & paper rounds, this could have
a negative impact on their schoolwork
Cultural Capital
Bourdieu: Three Types of Capital
Bourdieu argues that both cultural & material factors contribute to educational
achievement and are not separate but interrelated
Educational & Economic Capital
Bourdieu argues that educational, economic and cultural capital can be
converted into one another
For example, M/C children with cultural capital are better equipped to meet
the demands of the school curriculum and gain qualifications
Wealthier parents can convert their economic capital into education capital by sending
their children to private schools and paying extra tuition
A Test of Bourdieu's
Ideas
Sullivan found that those who read complex fiction and watched serious TV
documentaries developed a wider vocabulary and greater cultural knowledge
Although successful pupils with greater cultural capital were more
likely to be M/C
Bordieu uses the term 'cultural capital' to refer to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and
abilities of the M/C
He sees M/C culture as a type of capital because, like wealth, it gives an advantage to those
who possess it
By contrast, W/C children find that school devalues their culture as
'rough' and inferior
Gewirtz: Marketisation & Parental Choice
Since the creation of an 'education market' by the 1988 Education Reform
Act, sociologists have been interested in the effect of increased parental
choice that the Act introduced
Gewirtz identifies three main types of parents, whom she
calls:
Privileged-skill choosers
These were mainly professional M/C parents who used their economic
and cultural capital to gain education capital for their children
These parents possessed cultural capital
They understood the importance of putting a particular school as first choice,
meeting deadlines and using appeals procedures and waiting lists to get what they
wanted
Disconnected-local choosers
These were mainly W/C parents whose choices were restricted by their lack of
economic and cultural capital
They found it difficult to understand school admissions and procedures
They were less confident in their dealings with schools, less aware of the choices open to them, and
were less able to manipulate the system to their own advantages
Semi-skilled Choosers
These were mainly W/C, but unlike the
disconnected-local choosers, they were
ambitious for their children
However, they too lacked cultural capital and found it difficult to make sense of the education market
they often rely on other people's opinions about schools
Qewirtz concludes that M/C families with cultural capital and economic capital are better
placed to take advantage of the available opportunities for a good education