Differential achievement in Education

Social Class Lesson 1

What are the explanations for differences in educational achievement?

We will look at differential achievement based on 3 main factors.................... CLASS ETHNICITY GENDER There are different explanations for the trends in achievement, but they do follow themes and exam questions may focus on one of the following sets of ideas. Cultural On page 62 state whether this is a factor to do Material with inside the school or outside and then try to summarise that type of factor and give examples.... Intelligence Labelling EG: Cultural explanations are outside school factors. A Marxism cultural explanation is one that focuses on the norms and
values of the individual or home background. Eg: subcultures/language/cultural capital/parental interest etc.

Social Class Underachievement

Use your text books, pg 65+ and the text on pg 6465 to state 3 trends/pieces of evidence concerning the link between class and education...

The higher a persons social class, the higher their educational attainment is likely to be. The children of parents in higher social classes are more likely to attain high grades in Key Stage tests and at GCSE; they are more likely to take and pass A level examinations and more likely to gain university entrance. 2004, 77% of students from higher professional backgrounds attained five or more GCSE grades A*-C compared to only 33% from routine backgrounds. In 1991 there was a gap of 49 percentage points between the top and bottom classes university entrants and by 2001 this had grown to 64%.

Why is this the case? Brainstorm

The Explanations

Explanations for social class underachievement

1. IQ: intelligence/genetics.
2. Material: economical position 3. Cultural : Language/parental interest/norms and values/subcultures-peer group influence. 4. Interactionist: Labelling and teacher expectations/subcultures.

5. Marxist: Serves the needs of the ruling class minority.

6. Functionalist: Meritocracy and role allocation.

Education and IQ
Attempt the IQ test on page 67 of your booklet Read the article Intelligence and answer the questions on page 68 of your booklet

IQ is largely inherited Eysenck (1971) What children take out of school is proportional to what they bring into the schools in terms of IQ. Hernstein and Murray (1994) estimate that between 60-80% of intelligence is genetically based. Class differences in intelligence largely account for class differences in educational attainment.
Complete the box on Jenson/ Eysenk and Watson on your social class and educational underachievement studies chart. How can the genetic explanation of social class differences in educational achievement be criticised?

Material Explanations
How can material factors affect Educational attainment? How might economic capital be linked to cultural capital?

Using Haralambos pages 636-637 take notes and evaluate Smith and Noble/Raey et al and Callendar and Jacksons study on material factors.

Smith and Noble

barriers to learning because of low income
Unable to afford school uniforms, transport, textbooks and class materials which can lead to isolation and bullying. Less likely to have a computer/desk/Homework area. Marketisation of schools means the better resourced schools in affluent areas. Pupils more likely to work part time or care for younger siblings.

How can Smith and Noble be evaluated?

Raey et al
Private education converted economic capital (the fees) into cultural capital. Paying into cultural capital Working class students are more likely to have part time jobs and therefore more likely to work longer hours reducing their chances of attaining higher grades. Over 25% of private school students had extra tuition compared to 10% of state school students.

Callendar and Jackson

Survey of 2,000 prospective HE students Examined their attitudes to debt, class positions and decisions for HE Those afraid of debt were 4x less likely to apply for university Fear was greatest among the poor and the thought of debt stopped them applying.
How can Callendar and Jackson be evaluated?

How significant do you think material explanations are?

Cultural Explanations
There are 4 key cultural explanations for the underachievement of certain class groups.. Working class subcultures Home Background/parental interest Language and speech patterns Cultural capital.
Pg 72-74

Subcultures - Sugarman (1970)

Fatalism: they did not worry about the future or what would happen to them. They accepted their situation and did not attempt to change it. Immediate Gratification: they wanted rewards NOW e.g. Would rather leave school and earn money at 16 than stay in education longer to enable them to get a better job in the long term (deferred gratification). Present Time Orientation: they lived their lives in the present with no concern for what the future would bring. Collectivism: they were loyal to the peer group rather than being concerned with competing against each other for academic achievement.
Criticisms -May just be a response to circumstances of working class life e.g. Realistic values rather than fatalistic ones -Questionnaire response may not be an accurate indicator as sociologists ignore similarities (where there are many) and emphasis differences -Increase in wc students going to university in 2000-2010 = deferred gratification

Home Background Douglas (1964) and Feinstein (2003)

How did Douglas operationalise parental interest? What are the problems with this?
Frequency of visits to school - Working class may work more, more likely to be single parents and have more siblings.

How did Feinstein operationalise parental interest?

Teachers assessment of parents interest (subjective)

Are there any other ways you can test the impact of parental interest?
- Ask the children - Ask the parents - Multi method approach

Language and Speech Patterns - Bernstein

Research suggests that the language students use or are able to access effects their ability to get on in education and achieve. Working class students are less able to articulate themselves or speak in appropriate ways.
Read page 30 from Swale and define restricted and elaborated codes, make sure you link them to their class.

Basil Bernsteins Speech Patterns/Language codes

With a partner, take the role of someone using the elaborated code and someone using the restricted code, Describe the following situation.

Thinking
How do you think the use of the restricted language code would be perceived by others? -Teachers? -Police? -Family members? -Friends?
Do you think the restricted code is different or inferior?

Cultural Capital - Bourdieu (1977)

The working class cultural attributes are rejected because the system is defined by and for the middle classes who in turn succeed by default rather than grater ability. Their cultural assets are seen as worthy of investment and reward and hence have greater value as cultural capital.

Evaluation of Bourdieu (1977)

Support Research supports the claim that workingclass pupils are not encouraged to succeed in school. Criticisms How can we operationalise cultural capital? The focus is too class-based (Gender and ethnicity tend to be ignored).

Interactionist explanations
You have already looked at some studies that take an interactionist approach. Use pg 75 and identify the studies given, evaluating each one.
Becker Keddie Rosenthal and Jacobson Abraham

Marxist Theory
Education does not serve the interests of everyone in society, but those of a ruling minority For Marx education performs 3 main functions 1. Reproduces the inequalities and social relations of production of capitalist society. 2. Legitimises (justifies) these inequalities through the myth of meritocracy. 3. Characterises the infrastructure (economic base) of capitalist societies This is done through
The socialisation role The allocation role The vocational training role

Bowles and Gintis (1976)

Education serves to reproduce the capitalist relations of production (the hierarchy of workers from the boss down) with the appropriate skills and attitudes. Education ensures that workers will unquestioningly adapt to the needs of the system. Correspondence theory suggests that what goes on in school corresponds directly to the world of work. Teachers are like bosses and pupils are like workers who work for rewards. Those pupils that fit in and conform rise above those who express attitudes or display behaviour which challenge the system. This is irrespective of ability!

Complete page 40 of booklet

Evaluation of Bowles and Gintis (1976)

Support The national curriculum means that the freedom of teachers has been restricted and education has been designed to meet the needs of employers. BTECs, NVQs, Diplomas and work-orientated specialist schools or academies shows that employers have more direct say in organisation and curriculum of schools.

Evaluation of Bowles and Gintis (1976)

Criticisms Fails to recognise that the formal curriculum doesnt correspond to the economy. Reynolds (1984) points out that the popularity and existence of free thinking humanities-based subjects and applied knowledge suggests a lack of correspondence.
How can sociology be a popular subject if schools and collages are all about developing unthinking workers?

According to employers school leavers get low level employability skills. Modern businesses require shared creativity and teamwork.

Studies show that pupils can have little regard for the rules of the school and little respect for the authority of the teacher. E.g. Willis (1977)

Althusser (1971)
Education does not transmit common values It is an ideological state apparatus (ISA) Its function is to maintain, legitimate and reproduce, generation by generation, class inequalities in wealth and power by transmitting capitalist ruling class values disguised as common values. Along with other ISAs such as the media and the legal system, education reproduces the conditions needed for capitalism to flourish without having to use force. The ideology is transmitted subconsciously through the hidden curriculum. Therefore creating false class consciousness and the working class accept failure and inequality. Education has replaced religion as the dominant ideological state apparatus in modern capitalist societies.

Evaluation of Althusser (1971)

Support Recognises the influence of the economy and culture on education. Research shows that working-class pupils are not encouraged to succeed in school. Identifies the myth of meritocracy.
Criticisms The focus is too class-based (Gender and ethnicity ignored). Underestimate some pupils resistance to teachers and schools. Not supported by evidence and only suggests a framework.

Bourdieu (1977)
The working class cultural attributes are rejected because the system is defined by and for the middle classes who in turn succeed by default rather than grater ability. Their cultural assets are seen as worthy of investment and reward and hence have greater value as cultural capital.

Evaluation of Bourdieu (1977)

Support Research supports the claim that workingclass pupils are not encouraged to succeed in school. Criticisms How can we operationalise cultural capital? The focus is too class-based (Gender and ethnicity tend to be ignored).

Willis (1977)
Willis came from a Marxist approach but did a small scale study looking at classroom interactions and subcultures- an interactionist.

Working class lads learned to behave at schools in ways quite at odds with capitalisms supposed need for a docile workforce. However Willis supported the principle that schools reproduce the relations of production by demonstrating that the boys in the anti-school subculture shared a similar outlook to the workers in the factories they were likely to end up in.

Evaluation of Willis (1977)

Support Support Bowles and Gintis (1976) correspondence theory but argues that the correspondence is not produced by the school but by their anti-school subcultures. Attempts to link structure and action, links the wider society with the day to day activities of a small number of people (Social systems and social action). Criticism Based on 12 boys, small and unrepresentative sample. The lads are only one of a variety of pupil subcultures found in schools. Could have misinterpreted some evidence

Marxist Explanations
Read page 68+ in your textbook and answer the questions on pages 77-78

Gerwitz
Middle classes were much better able to take advantage of school choice as a result of their possession of cultural capital.
Privileged skilled choosers Semi-skilled choosers Disconnected choosers

It illustrates that an increase in school choice will result in the increase in social class differences (Marketisation of schools!)

Evaluation of Gerwitz
National curriculum, all children taught the same way. Government policies aiding poor achieving schools (academies etc). Too simplistic categories How can we operationalise cultural capital? The focus is too class-based (Gender and ethnicity tend to be ignored).

Sullivan
Supports the theory of cultural capital. Argues that the school has a limited effect on the culture of the child and parental background is most significant. Cultural capital is transmitted through the reading of classic books and quality newspapers and factual documentaries. This enables the development of a more sophisticated vocabulary and exam success. Material factors were also significant.

Lets Play Sociology Bingo

Choose Nine Sociologists who put forward explanations for social class underachievement Write their names on your bingo card I will describe an explanation for social class underachievement and if you think it refers to your sociologist mark it off Once you have marked off all your sociologists call out BINGO!

Complete the question

Outline and assess Interactionist explanations of social class inequalities within schools (50 marks)