Key Words

• Internal factors
• External factors
• Cultural Deprivation
• Material Deprivation
 Class differences in education
–
External factors
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
•Be able to describe the pattern of class differences in
educational achievement
•Understand the difference between internal and external
factors affecting achievement
•Understand and be able to evaluate the role of different
external factors, including cultural deprivation, material
deprivation and cultural capital
 Inequalities in Education
The Facts
• Only 1 in 5 young people from
working-class backgrounds participate
in higher education (Connor & Dewson 2001)
• Less than half of ‘high ability’
working-class boys make it into the
service class
• Compared with ¾ of the ‘high ability’
middle class boys
• Furthermore 65% of ‘low ability’
middle-class boys avoided manual
work. (Savage & Egerton 1997)
Cultural Deprivation
• Cultural deprivation theorists argue that most of us begin to acquire
the basic values, attitudes and skills that are needed for educational
success through primary socialization in the family.
• Many working class families fail to socialise their children adequately
children grow up culturally deprived
lack the cultural equipment to succeed at school = fail / underachieve.
 Intellectual development
• Intellectual development is believed by
cultural deprivation theorists to be lacking for
working class children because they do not
have the books and educational toys to
stretch their intellectual skills.
• Douglas Young and Basil Bernstein (1967)
found mother’s choice of toys affects their
child’s intellectual development. Middle-class
mothers tend to choose toys which encourage
thinking and reasoning skills and prepare
children for school.
Language

• Working class children are thought to be socialised into using less

advanced, academic language and so are less likely to achieve later in
school.
Language and Basil Bernstein (1975)
• He is interested in the ways in which different social classes use
language & how this impacts on educational success.
• Bernstein comes up with two different kinds of language code that
impact on educational achievement:
• The Restricted Code
• The Elaborate Code
Bernstein’s Restricted code
• Used by working class students
• Made un-stated assumptions
• Implicit
• Context bound
• Suited to communication of practical experience.
• Non standard English & slang
Bernstein’s Elaborated code

• Universalistic
• Logical
• Explicit
• Abstract ideas
• Explanatory
Bernstein’s findings
• Elaborated code more suitable to the demands of formal education.
• Restricted code not inferior..just different!
• So, Bernstein is useful because he helps us to understand one of the
major questions in the sociology of education why working class
students under perform in education & examinations.
Attitudes and values
• The attitudes and values of a child’s parents are thought to be a key factor in how
well that child will do in school.
• Douglas found that working class parents have do not place a high value on
education compared to middle class parents:
• They are less ambitious for their child’s career
• show less encouragement for educational achievements
• take less of an interest in their child’s education.
• They pay schools and teachers less visits and their child’s motivation for education was less
• And so was their achievement.
• Cultural theorists believe that lack of parental interest is part of a working class sub-
culture of disregard for education which goes a long way to explain working class
underachievement. A sub-culture is group whose values and attitudes are different
to society’s mainstream culture’s way of thinking.
Barry Sugarman (1970)
• Argues working class subculture has four main elements:
• Fatalism: a belief in fate, ‘whatever will be will be’ and there’s nothing you
can do about it
• Collectivism: the belief that being part of a group is more important than
individual success. This is a contrast to the middle class thinking that group
loyalty shouldn’t hold you back.
• Immediate gratification: seeking pleasure now, rather than making sacrifices
for future gains. So going straight into a low wage, rather than going on no
wage to get a higher wage later on.
• Present-time orientation: seeing the present as more important than the
future and so having no long-term plans
Fatalism immediate gratification present time
orientation collectivism
‘I might be under a bus tomorrow, so what’s the point of waiting? I
want to enjoy myself now. I’d much rather go out and have a good
time while I can, not do lots of extra work. I’ve got no chance of
moving up in the world anyway – things are stacked against me.
Working hard for tomorrow is for fools. The only way I’m likely to
improve my position and wages is by standing together with my
mates against the bosses.’
Fatalism immediate gratification present time
orientation collectivism
‘I might be under a bus tomorrow, so what’s the point of waiting? I
want to enjoy myself now. I’d much rather go out and have a good
time while I can, not do lots of extra work. I’ve got no chance of
moving up in the world anyway – things are stacked against me.
Working hard for tomorrow is for fools. The only way I’m likely to
improve my position and wages is by standing together with my
mates against the bosses.’
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47yzUtxkLdY

Material deprivation
• Unlike cultural deprivation theorists many other sociologists see
material deprivation as the main cause of under-achievement:
• Housing
• Diet and health
• Financial support and the costs of education
Poor diet
• Students who have a poor diet are less likely to be able to concentrate
• Poor diet can lead to a stunted growth
• Students may worry about where their next meal is coming from
• In 2006 only 33% of children receiving school meals achieved 5 GCSEs
A* - C. Compared to 61% not receiving school meals.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DewWBW53dE

Housing
• Difficult for students to study in over crowded houses
• Over crowding means there is less room for educational activities
• Disturbed sleep if sharing beds or bedrooms
• Families in temporary accommodation are more likely to moves around,
results in disruption
• Cold and damp can cause ill health
• Students may worry if housing is a problem.
Low - income
• Poorer families can miss out on educational opportunities
• After school clubs
• Resources, books, pens etc
• Travel
• The students themselves may need to work to supplement
• More likely to have to take on domestic chores
• Bull (1980) looks at the costs of free schooling  transport, uniform,
books, computers, calculators, music and art equipment  ITS NOT
FREE!
Emotional burden
• Stress as a result of poor housing
• Bullied as they may not fit in
• Worries about family
• Trying to fit it all in, work, study, care and support
• Status frustrations
Candidate A
Parents attitudes and values may lead to social class differences
if parents are working class and have a working class
subculture. Students may not have had the early intellectual
development and therefore speak with a restricted code and
not achieve.

Candidate B
Overcrowding at home and a poor diet.

Candidate C
Pupils who are from a low income family may not be able to afford the correct school
uniform or fashionable items of clothing which may lead to bullying and an
unwillingness to attend or try at school. Resulting in poor achievement.
Parents who have more than one job or work long hours in order to make ends meet
on a low wage will have less time to help their children with their homework or support
their educational needs and therefore will result in poor achievement.
 What is the difference
between material and cultural
deprivation?
Cultural Capital and Bourdieu
• Pierre Bourdieu (1984) argues that both cultural and material factors
contribute to educational achievement, they are not separate but
interrelated.
• Bourdieu identifies three types of capital that explain why the middle
class’ do better:
• Cultural capital
• Educational capital
• Economic capital
https://www.y
outube.com/
watch?v=gH1
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https://www.yo
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Economic Capital

Bourdieu argues that middle class families are able to use their economic
capital (their wealth) to support their child's educational success:
• Buying a house near a desirable school
• Affording all resources needed (books, tutors, guides, etc)
Educational Capital
The combination of cultural and economic
capital creates educational capital –
qualifications!

As a result of their qualifications they are able

to navigate the education system with more
ease and are more confident when talking to
teachers, application processes, admissions to
schools and universities.
 Pierre Bourdieu - Cultural capital
• Bourdieu argues that the main function of the education system is the social
reproduction of the class system. Why?
• He starts from the idea that there is a dominate culture:- An awareness of and
appreciation for literature, art, classical music and drama etc. ‘young people from the
higher classes move in their world as fish in water’ (Bourdieu 1990)
• Cultural capital can be converted into material rewards. Examples?
• A major function of the education system is ‘eliminating members of the working
class from higher levels of education’ Why? How?
• Alice Sullivan 2001 – An empirical test of Bourdieu’s theory – 465 Yr 11 self-
completion questionnaires. Books, newspapers, TV programmes, past times, vocab etc
• Results show strong link between cultural capital of parents/children
 Cultural capital
Bourdieu’s work on the importance of cultural capital has been very influential.
• Ball, Bowe & Gewirtz 1994 – Cultural Capital and Educational Choice. Examined impact
of educational reforms. Found that ‘middle-class parents are exploiting the market in
education and bringing their social and cultural advantages to bear’. How?

• Stephen Ball 2003 – Class strategies and the Education Market. Govt. policies of choice
and competition place the middle class at an advantage. ‘enough capitals in the right
currency to ensure a high probability of success for their children’

• Reay, David & Ball 2005 – Class and Higher Education. Looked at the influence of social
class on choices of higher education institutions.
• Found that privately educated, middle class students were most likely to attend the elite
universities. Oxford / Cambridge
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=Tb0v1L87okA
Useful revision video
 Paul Willis – Learning to Labour 1977
• Willis’ study looked at how working class kids get working
class jobs. Studied 12 working-class boys ‘the lads’ during
their last year and a half at school and their first few months
at work.
• Found that the lads rejected school and created their own
counter-school culture. Prepared them for the low-skill, low-
status jobs they were to end up in. Examples?

Mairtin Mac an Ghaill 1994. The Macho Lads

•Similar study to Willis’ conducted in the West Midlands.
Similar behaviour to Willis’ lads but was becoming outdated
as the jobs the macho lads were being prepared for were fast
becoming a thing of the past.
Gewirtz (1995): marketisation and parental
choice
1988 education reform act
Privileged skilled choosers

Disconnected-local choosers

Semi-skilled choosers