SCLY 2 - Education - Topic 1 - Class (AQA AS sociology)

Children from middle class families on average perform _________ than working class children, and the class gap in education grows wider as children get older.

Although private schools educate only __ of Britain's children, nearly all of these pupils go on to university (over 90%). Adonis and Pollard (1998) see private education as a major way in which class privileges are transmitted from generation to generation.

According to ____________ _____________ theorists, many working-class families fail to socialise their children adequately. These children grow up lacking the cultural equipment needed to do well at school and so they underachieve.

Which term refers to the development of thinking and reasoning skills such as the ability to solve problems and use ideas and concepts?

______________ found that working-class pupils scored lower on tests of ability than middle-class pupils. He argues that this is because working-class parents are less likely to support their children's intellectual development through reading with them or other educational activities in the home

_________________ claim that language used in the lower-classes is deficient. They describe lower-class families as communicating by gestures, single words or disjointed phrases. As a result their children fail to develop the necessary language skills. They grow up incapable of abstract thinking and unable to use language to explain, describe, enquire or compare. Because of this they are unable to take advantage of the opportunities that school offers.

__________ identifies differences between working class and middle class language that influence achievement. He distinguishes between 2 types of code: Elaborated and Restricted.

Which type of code identified by Bernstein do the middle-class use? It includes a wider vocabulary and is based on longer complex sentences. Speech is more varied and communicates abstract ideas.

Which type of code do the working class use? It involves a limited vocabulary and is based on the use of short, often unfinished sentences. It is descriptive instead of analytic.

___________ code is the language used by teachers, in textbooks and in exams. Not only is it taken as the correct way to speak and write, but in Bernstein's view it is also a more effective tool for analysing and reasoning and for expressing thoughts clearly and effectively - essential skills in education.

Critic argue that Bernstein is a cultural deprivation theorist because he describes working class speech as inadequate. However, unlike most cultural deprivation theorists Bernstein recognises that the school and not just the home influences the child's achievement. He argues that working class pupils fail not because they are culturally deprived, but because schools fail to teach them to use the elaborated code.

______________ found that working class parents lack of interest was the main reason for their children's under-achievement and was even more important than financial hardship or factors within school. ________ argues that middle-class children are more successful because their parents provide them with the necessary motivation, discipline and support.

_____________ argues that the values and beliefs of lower-class subculture are a self-imposed barrier to educational and career success. The lower class believe that they have less opportunity for individual advancement and place little value on achieving high status jobs, so they see no point in education. They are less willing to make the sacrifices involved in staying on at school and leave early to take manual work. Their subcultural beliefs and values ensure that neither want educational success, nor know how to get it.

______________ argues that working class subculture has 4 key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement; Fatalism, Collectivism, Immediate Gratification and Present time orientation.

What is meant by Fatalism?

What is meant by collectivism?

What is meant by immediate gratification?

What is meant by present time orientation?

_________________ theorists argue that parents pass on the values of their class to their children through primary socialisation. Middle class values equip children for success, whereas working class values fail to do so.

_____________________ education is a policy designed to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas. They attempt to intervene early in the socialisation process to compensate children for the deprivation they experience at home.

An example of compensatory education is Operation Head Start in the united states, a multi- billion dollar scheme of preschool education in poorer areas introduced in the 1960's. Its aim was the planned enrichment of the deprived child's environment to develop learning skills and instil achievement motivation. It included improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes, home visits by health visitors and educational psychologists, and the creation intensive learning programmes for deprived children.

In Britain, there have been several compensatory education programmes. Education Priority Areas were created in the 1960's . More recently, Education Action Zones were introduced in the late ________, while sure start, a nationwide programme aimed at pre-school children ad their parents was launched in 2000.

The myth of cultural deprivation - ___________ describes cultural deprivation as a victim blaming myth. She dismisses the idea that failure at school can be blamed on a culturally deprived home background. She points out that a child cannot be deprived of its own culture and argues that working class children are simply culturally different, not culturally deprived. They fail because they are put at a disadvantage by an education system that is dominated by middle class values.

___________________ argue that the problem is not the child's language but the schools attitude towards it. Teachers have a speech hierarchy; they label middle class speech highest, followed by working class speech and finally black speech.

Some critics reject the view that working class parents are not interested in their children's education. According to _______________, they attend fewer parents evenings, not because of a lack of interest but because they work longer hours or are put off by the schools middle class atmosphere. They may want to help their child progress but they lack the knowledge and education to do so. There is also evidence that schools with mainly working class pupils have less effective systems of parent-school contacts. This makes it harder for parents to keep in touch about their children's progress.

Critics argue that compensatory education schemes act as a smokescreen concealing the real cause of under-achievement, namely social inequality and poverty. They argue that the real problem is not cultural deprivation, but poverty and material deprivation.

What term refers to poverty and a lack of material necessities such as adequate housing and income?

In 2006, only ___% of children receiving free school meals (a widely used measure of child poverty) gained five or more GCSE's at A*-C, as against 61% of pupils not receiving free school meals.

According to ___________, money problems in the family were a significant factor in younger children's non-attendance at school.

Nearly ___ of all failing schools are located in deprived areas.

__________ notes that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals. Poor nutrition affects health, for example by weakening the immune system and lowering children's energy levels. This may result in more absences from school due to illness, and difficulties concentrating in class.

Children from poorer homes are also more likely to have emotional or behavioural problems. According to ___________ among ten year olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders, all of which are likely to to haven negative effects on the child's 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 educational achievement. _________ refers to this as the costs of free schooling.

Drop out rates are higher for universities with a large proportion of poor students: for example Sunderland, a university with a large working class intake, had a ___% drop out rate compared to only 1.4% at Oxford.

____________________ argue that material inequalities have a greater effect on achievement than school factors. For this reason Robinson (1997) argues that tackling child poverty would be the most effective way to boost achievement.

___________ argues that both cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement and are not separate but interrelated. He uses the concept of 'capital' to explain why the middle class are more successful. The term capital usually refers to wealth but in addition to this economic capital, ________ identifies two further types. These are educational 'educational capital or qualifications, and cultural capital. He argues that the middle class generally possess more of all three types of capital.

__________________ refers to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle class.

_______________ children find that school devalues their culture as rough and inferior. Their lack of cultural capital leads to exam failure. Many of these pupils also 'get the message' that education is not meant for them and respond by truanting, early leaving or just not trying.

________________ show that middle class parents are more likely to be able to afford a house in the catchment area of a school which has placed highly in exam league tables. This has become known as selection by mortgage' because it drives up demand for houses near to successful schools and excludes working class families.

_____________ used questionnaires to conduct a survey of 465 pupils in four schools. To assess their cultural capital, she asked them about a range of activities, such as reading and TV viewing habits, and whether they visited art galleries, museums and theatres. She also tested their vocabulary and knowledge of cultural figures. She found that those who read complex fiction and watched TV documentaries developed a wider vocabulary and greater cultural knowledge, indicating greater cultural capital.

Has greater parental choice of school benefited one social class more than the other? _________ examines this question in a study of class differences in parental choice of secondary school. Her study of 14 London schools is based on interviews with teachers and parents, and on secondary data such as school documents. She uses Bourdieu's ideas to explain her findings. Found that differences in economic and cultural capital lead to class differences in how far parents can exercise choice of secondary school. She identifies three main types of parents, whom she calls privileged-skilled choosers, disconnected-local choosers and semi-skilled choosers.

___________________ choosers are mainly professional middle class parents who used their economic and cultural capital to gain educational capital for their children. Being prosperous, confident and well educated, they were able to take full advantage of the choices available to them.

_____________ choosers are working class parents whose choices were restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital. They found it difficult to understand school admissions procedures. They were less confident in their dealings with schools, less aware of the choices open to them, and less able to manipulate the system to their own advantage. Many of them attached more importance to safety and the quality of school facilities than to league tables to long-term ambitions.

_______________ choosers are mainly working class, but unlike the disconnected local choosers, they were ambitious for their children. However, they lack cultural capital and found it difficult to make sense of the education market, often having to rely on others opinions about schools. They were often frustrated at their inability to get their children in the schools they wanted.

___________ notes that marketisation has not lead to more opportunities for working class children. instead, it has allowed the middle class to use their wealth and knowledge even more effectively than before.