Theodore Larkin

Sociology of Education
SOC307/EDS307
TTh 11:30-12:45

Professor Rubinson
Fall 2013
Tarbutton 111

The Primary Importance of Social Background

Dewey proposed his education system in hope that individuals would be able to
cooperate together as equals. Theoretically if every free American, wealthy or plebian, is granted
identical schooling opportunities, educational attainment should not oscillate according to ones
upbringing. In veracity, however, people with more money are generally able to provide their
children with auxiliary cultural capital, any advantages a person has which gives them a higher
status in society, including high expectations, and auxiliary social capital the capacity of a
family to invest a wealth of attention, advice, support, interest, values, or care in children
(Riordan, 72). A few intervening variables that help explain the effects of cultural and social
capital home background variables include early language and cognitive development, parental
values, and self-esteem on educational achievement and attainment.
A familys socioeconomic status (SES) and the language they use with and around their
children significantly affects the future academic performance of those children. Basil Bernstein
and others argue that children of middle SES learn an elaborate and abstract linguistic code
that corresponds to classroom communication while lower SES children are exposed to a much
more restrictive code. Students poor oral vocabulary skills will likely impede their attempts to
become proficient readers while also possibly increasing the frequency of their problem
behaviors. A study supporting Bernsteins position, Farkas and Beron (2001), argues and shows
empirically that the social reproduction process begins during the first 3 years of life and is
mediated largely by oral language socialization: The childs oral language skills and habits are

the principal vehicles for cognitive development until the child learns to read. (Farkas and
Beron, 2001). Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, Farkas and Beron
argue that oral language development differs according to class and race in the early years, and
that these gaps establish a projection for success and failure in areas of school that are not
generally learned before school such as reading and math (Riordan, 92). Farkas and Beron used
a measure of linguistic cultural capital consisting of a verbal test, a cognitive stimulation scale,
and an emotional warmth scale. The results showed that throughout the first three months of life
the oral vocabularies of African American and low SES children increase at only half the rate of
White and high SES childrens vocabularies, engendering White-Black and High SES-Low SES
vocabulary gaps that are never requited later in schooling. Early language and cognitive
development are therefore inevitably linked with SES, causing children of lower SES to enter the
school system at a disadvantage and stay on unequal foundations as they proceed through
schooling.
Similarly to language, within the family unit is where most children gain some of their
essential fundamental values. Melvin Kohn identified that middle-class families were
significantly more likely than lower-class families to accentuate the values of self-control and
self-direction; by contrast, relative to the middle-class, low-class families hold highest the
values of conformity and obedience to external rules and authority (Riordan 95). The middleclass children come to school with internalized norms of conformity and obedience to authority,
are able to focus on the course material, and further their development of self-control. On the
other hand, lower-class children come to school still learning the norms of conformity and
obedience. Riordan writes: Hence, part of the visible difference teachers sees among students in
the early grades may be simply due to a mastery or lack of mastery of the essential behaviors for

success in school: conformity and obedience. Jeannie Oakes, in her book Keeping Track, warns
that this lack of obedience could lead to teachers mistaking the misbehaving or unmanageable
students as slow learners and placing them in slow tracks. Schools work out of a middle
class value model that assumes connectedness between home and school. Lower class parents are
often incapable of adequately socializing children and may not be capable of engaging in
parental involvement to the degree expected by the school. Lower class children do not possess a
strong connection between home and school; due to insufficient support at home these students
also struggle to keep up with middle class students in terms of mastering conformity and
obedience, essential behavior for success in school.
Midst the affective outcomes that are analogous to both social upbringing and school
encounters are the variables of self-esteem and locus of control. Self-esteem is defined as simply
liking and respecting oneself and locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals
believe they have power over their actions and the ramifications of their actions. Feelings of high
or low self-esteem are congruous to feelings defining a personality, such as feeling introverted or
gregarious. An individual can have high self-esteem while having low environmental control or
an individual could possess low self-esteem and have a feeling of high environmental control.
One extremely important issue pertaining to self-esteem and locus of control is whether either or
both of these variables influence academic achievement: Of course self-esteem and locus
control will increase as a result of success in school, but will self-esteem and locus control
influence subsequent successful achievement? (Riordan 100). Hewitt believes it is probable that
high self-esteem individuals slacken their efforts due to overconfidence in their achievements
and individuals with high locus control feel responsible to direct their own academic
performance, feeling that they have power over the results, and are keen in their studies. Ross

and Brohs findings are in agreement with Hewitts claims. Locus control in the 10th grade
affects 12th grade achievement while self esteem in the 10th grade does not affect 12th grade
achievement. Additionally Ross and Broh reported that males and high SES students had higher
levels of self-esteem and self-control than females and low SES students. Learning is prone to
transpire most successfully when students feel that they have authority over their environment
but feel slightly ambiguous of their self worth and satisfaction.
Language and cognitive development, parental values, and self-esteem on educational
achievement are intervening variables that help explain the effects of these cultural and social
capital home background variables. Early language and cognitive development is linked with
SES, causing children of lower SES to enter the school system at a disadvantage and stay on
unequal foundations as they proceed through schooling. Low-class children do not possess a
strong connection between home and school; due to insufficient support at home these students
also struggle to keep up with middle class students in terms of mastering conformity and
obedience, essential behavior for success in school. Males and high SES students had higher
levels of self-esteem and self-control than females and low SES students. Learning is prone to
transpire most successfully when students feel that they have influence over their environment
but feel slightly ambiguous of their self worth and satisfaction. These intervening variables each
help express the severity of the effects of socio-economic status on educational achievement and
attainment.