Download Class and Achievement

Class and Achievement
Sociologists are interested in the inside and outside school processes that lead to differentiated
achievement (where different groups achieve different grades base on a social characteristic e.g. class,
gender and ethnicity). There are many different sociologists that will be covered in this topic, and there is
also a lot of new language to get used to, however, if you stick with it the light bulb will come on. To start
with begin to think of all of these issues as separate and as unrelated, this will help you to learn all of the
separate components that might disadvantage a social group. Once you are ok with the processes of
external and internal factors on achievement then start to link them together under the branches of class,
gender and ethnicity. If you start to feel very clever then you can start to comment on which factors are
more influential on differentiated achievement.
Internal Factors- Factors inside schools that lead to students achieving or failing the education system, they
include labelling, student subcultures, the self-fulfilling prophecy and the type of school attended.
External Factors- outside school or home factors that can influence educational achievement, for example,
material deprivation, cultural deprivation, and cultural capital
There are also two other factors to take into account cultural and material
factors which can also be internal and external factors. Cultural factors are to
do with intellectual development, language and attitudes to the education
system So thinks you can touch that might advantage of disadvantage you in
the education e.g. cultural deprivation, poor socialisation, and not valuing the
schools values e.g. hard work. Material factors are factors that disadvantage
you because you physically lack something. So things like material deprivation,
a lack of resources, environmental poverty and poor housing that all might
affect achievement.
Cultural Deprivation
Think about this child, is he
born a brat, or has he learnt
this behaviour at home. If he
continues this behaviour which
has been learnt and accepted in
primary socialisation will he
have the social skills and
attitude needed to succeed at
school?
Cultural Deprivation Theorists (CDT) suggests that most people begin to gain
the basic values, attitudes and skills that are needed for educational success
during primary socialisation. This is things like good language skills, selfdiscipline and reasoning skills. However, CDT suggests that a large majority of
working class families fail to socialise their children with the appropriate skills.
They suggest they grow up culturally deprived- in other words without the social skills that are vital for
achieving in the education system. Cultural Deprivation is made up of the following factors: -
Linguisting
Development
(Bernstine)
Intellectual
Development
(Douglas)
Attitudes and
Values
(Sugarman)
Cultural
Deprivation
Intellectual Development- JWB Douglas
Can we really expect working
class parents who failed the
education system and who can’t
read to take an interest in their
child’s education? Or to read to
them when they might not be
able to themselves! Cultural
deprivation can lead to cultural
reproduction
Link
This is to do with the development of thinking and
reasoning skills needed for school- for example the
ability to solve problem. CDT suggest that working
class parents fail to provided intellectual toys, trips
and books that will aid a child’s intellectual
development. This is how they suggest working
class children are deprived of the vital foundation
needed to progress within school. Thus they are at
a disadvantage before they even begin at school- in other words they
are deprived of basic knowledge.
Douglas found that WC pupils scored lower on tests of ability than
middle class pupils. He suggested the one of the biggest factors that led
to cultural deprivation was the lack of parental interest in intellectual
development. He suggested working class parents were less likely to be
interested in their child’s education, to turn up to parents evening and
to read to their children at night.
Basil Bernstein and Douglas Young (1967) found that the way mothers think about
has and influence on their child’s intellectual development. Middle-class mothers
are more likely to choose toys that encourage thinking and reasoning skills and
prepare children for school
Language- Bernstine
Sociologists Carl Bereiter and Siegfried Engelmann suggest that the language used in lower-class homes is
poor and not developed enough for students to access the middle class education system. They suggested
that LC families use gestures to communicate, or single words or disjointed phrases rather than proper
English. This affects achievement as students lack the language skills to explain, describe, enquire, and
compare issues that might be discussed in schools. They are also incapable of reasoning skills, and are
unable to complete abstract thinking skills. Because of this they feel left out by the education system from
an early age.
Bernstein strengthens Bereiter and Engelmann’s ideas by developing the concepts elaborate and
restricted codes. He suggested that these differences in language codes gives middle-class
children and advantage at school as they speak the elaborate code which is the code used by the
textbooks and teachers at school. However the working-classes are disadvantaged as they use the
restricted code which is characterised by a very limited vocabulary, and is often grammatically
incorrect. Bernstein suggest that the elaborate code gives MC students that ‘tools’ needed in the education
system for reasoning, explaining and decoding texts that might be studied in schools.
As MC children are socialised into the elaborate code from
a young age they are already fluent with the language
being used at school and therefore feel included when
entering the education system. On the other hand WC
children feel excluded.
Bernsteins Method
Ao2- is language always an issue? Is it really the fault of the
parent- what about if they haven’t had the socialisation to
give their children the right speech code, shouldn’t the
education system be trying to stop this from happening and
make it accessible for all?
Attitudes and Values- Sugarman
CDTs suggest the parents’ attitudes and values are one of
the major factors that affect educational achievement.
Douglas found the WC parents places little values on
education and were less ambitions about their children’s
future. He also suggested they gave them less support and
encouragements and placed little values on visits to
school to discuss their child’s progress. He suggested that
these poor attitudes and lack of interest in their child
achievement leads to a lack of motivation from WC
students’ and therefore a lack of educational attainment.
Feinstein suggests the WC parent’s lack of interest in their
child education what the main reason for
underachievement. He suggests that a lack of interest was
a bigger barrier to achievement than financial hardships or
factors within school. He suggests MC children achieve
higher grades as their parents are more interested and
committed to their child’s achievement.
Bernstein used a storyboard similar to this in his
research (it depicted a football hitting a window) the
children who were 5 years old were asked to describe
what had happened in the pictures. The middle class
children used completed language to describe what
happened and could even suggest how people might
be feeling. However the WC student could only
basically describe the story as they are bound by the
language that they have at their disposal and are only
capable of a limited analysis of the scene in front of
them.
Is this experiment reliable?
Is it Valid?
Has he operationalized his concept of class and how
he picked the students to use? E.g. did he look at
parental occupation or income?
Subcultural attitudes- a subculture is a group whose attitudes and values differ from those of the
mainstream culture. According to CDTs they argue that the WCs have different goals,
beliefs, attitudes and vales from the rest of society
Marxists would suggest that the
and this is why their children fail at school, as their
education system is unfairly run,
and that it only favours
goals are different to those of the education system.
educational success for the MCs.
(Ao2- so far all of these CDT’s blame the WC’s for their
They would suggest that through
failure saying they ‘lack’ the tools to access the
the false consciousness WC
students have obtained these
education system, however, Bourdieu argues strongly against this, see
beliefs that they are unable to
Cultural Capital)
Hyman supports this subcultural view suggesting that these different values
and attitudes are a ‘self-imposed barrier’ to educational and career success.
He suggests that WC pupils believe they have less opportunity in society
and less change of gaining a high status job that they begin to devalue the
succeed and there for are
manipulated to take low paid jobs
that will benefit the RCs. This is
how cultural reproduction occurs.
Functionalists, however, would suggest that the
education system is meritocratic and that if WC student
does want to achieve they have the opportunity to do
so- however, they have to value the goals of the
education system in gaining qualifications.
education system. This leads them to no value the
education system and they become less willing to make
sacrifices for education e.g. staying on at sixth form and
believe leaving school early for manual paid labour is a
better goal that deferred gratification. Their subcultural
beliefs and values ensure that they neither want
educational success, nor know how to get it.
Barry Sugarman argues that a working class subculture has four key features that act as barriers to
educational achievement: -
Fatalism
Collectivisum
Immediate
Gratification
Present Time
Orientation
•Beliefe in fate- what will be will be and there is nothing you can do about it. Contrasts with MC values that they can work to change thier
fate. Believing that they are going to fail the education system based on their class before they even start.
•Valuing being a part of a group more than succseeding as an individual. Believing that the groups norms and values are more important
that ones own and not wanting to go against them. Contrasts to MC values that the indivudaly should follos their own goals
•Seeking pleasure now rather than making a scarrifice to enjoy a reqard later. For example leaving school at 16 to gain a manual job with
wages comming in every week but with a limited opportunity to earn more money in the future. Contrasts to MC attitudes of deffered
gratification e.g. going to universtity and getting into debt to have a better future in the long run.
•Seeing the present as more important the the future and not having ling term goals or plans. Contrasts to MC attitudes of future
planning (future-time orientation) e.g. saving for a morgage.
WC students internalise these beliefs and values that are part of their subculture through the socialisation
process and this results in underachievement.
Sugarman suggests these different class values occur because MC occupations tend to be more
secure careers offering promotional opportunities that will benefit the individual. This he suggests
encourages ambition, long-term planning and a willingness to invest time and effort in gaining
qualifications. In contrast WC jobs are less secure and have no career structure, which
gives no real change of promotion or individual advancement. Their earning potential also
peeks at an early age.
CDT suggests parents pass on their values of class to their children through primary socialisation.
They suggest MC values equip children for success whereas working-values fail to do so.
Ao2- Can you see how the WCs over time might really start to internalise these attitudes and values. However, you need to make
a judgment in an essay on Cultural Deprivation on what really came first- was it the Working classes who had bad attitudes or
was it the education system that really started to disadvantage and label these student’s creating a self-fulfilling prophecy and
made the WC’s part of an anti-school subculture. You don’t have to make a solid decision in an essay but you need to consider it
within your argument. Also are CDTs being deterministic- for examples are all working class families going to have these attitudes
and values? E.g. would a vicar’s family suffer from cultural deprivation? Also what is the starting point for social class, are
sociologists using the registrar general, are they using parental occupation or income to determine class- Don’t forget to be a
smart cookie in the exam!
Policies to Tackle Cultural Deprivation
Compensatory Education- a policy designed to provide extra resources to schools and communities in
deprived areas. This policy attempted to intervene in the early socialisation process t compensate for a lack
of cultural awareness in the home. This attempted to tackle language skills, intellectual development and
attitudes and values towards the education system.
Head Start is a program in America aimed at providing support for students who
suffer from cultural deprivation. This was a multi0billions dollar scheme aimed at
pre-school students in poor areas. Its aim was ‘planned enrichment’ of deprived
children’s environment to develop learning skills and instil achievement and
motivation. It also aimed to improve parenting skills, setting up nursery
classes, home visits by health visitors and educational psychologists, and
the creation of intensive learning programmes for deprived children.
Sesame Street was initially part of the Head Start program aimed at
providing a means of reaching young children and transmitting values and
attitudes needed for educational success. This included the importance of
punctuality, hard work, numeracy, literacy and general knowledge.
In Britain Educational Priority Areas were created in the 1960’s the Labour
government designated schools in deprived areas as "Educational Priority
Areas" and promised to give them extra money for school-building projects. It
had also been proposed by the Plowden Committee, whose idea it was that teachers should receive a special
allowance for working in difficult schools. The education priority areas were gradually absorbed into more
general aid programmes for deprived areas. They failed to make radical changes to the nature of schooling.
Hence the introduction of EAZ’s, which was all part of Tony Blair’s promise to concentrate government policy
on “education, education, education”
In the late 1990’s Educational Action Zones were introduced were local charitable partnerships (including
schools, parents and other representatives from the local community and private sector) which aim to
develop imaginative approaches to raising educational standards in seriously disadvantaged areas.
Each of the first 25 zones receives £750,000 of annual grant funding and is expected to raise £250,000 each
year in business contributions. They aimed at tackling schools that had high truancy rates, and which often
took in a very high proportion of working class pupils.
Sure Start was introduced in 2000 and was a nationwide programme
aimed at pre-school children and their parents. It had non-educational
goals like improving children’s health, but it had a huge impact on
educational achievement at Sure Start provided places with educational toys where children could improve
their intellectual development. By 2010 all young children in the most disadvantaged agrees had access to
one of these centres. The aim of Sure Start was to work with parents to promote physical, intellectual and
social development of babies and young children; it was designed to tackle cultural reproduction. It also
helped to identify children with special educational needs early on.
Counter Argument- Nell Keddie
CDTs have been widely criticised for explain the differences in class achievement. Nell
Keddie describes cultural deprivation as a ‘myth’ and sees it as a victim-blaming culture
and argues that working class children are simply culturally different, not culturally
deprived. She suggests they fail in education because they are put at a disadvantage by
middle class dominated values which oversee and run the education system in Britain.
Keddie suggests that rather than seeing WC culture as inadequate, schools should
recognise and build on its strengths and should challenge teachers’ anti-working class prejudices.
Barry Troyna and Jenny Williams argue that schools and teachers have a ‘speech hierarchy’ and that they
label middle class speech highest followed by working class speech and then finally black speech.
Blackstone and Mortimore reject the idea that WC parents are not interested in their child’s education. They
suggest they attend less parent’s
evenings because they have to
work more not because of a lack
of interest. They also suggest WC
parents might be put off by MC
teachers and the MC atmosphere
of school. They want to help their
children progress but often lack
the knowledge and education to
do so.
Some critics argue that
compensatory education schemes
are a smokescreen concealing the
real cause of under-achievement,
which is social inequality and poverty which is not being tackled by the government sufficiently. They argue
the problem is not cultural deprivation but poverty and material deprivation.
Material Deprivation
CDTs blame educational failure on the inadequacy of working-class norms and values. Other sociologists
disagree that this is the main reason why working class children underachieve in the education system and
suggest that material deprivation is the main factor. Material deprivation means that lack of materials and
necessities such as income and adequate housing, and is linked to poverty.
Link
Poverty is closely linked to educational under-achievement

In 2006 only 33% of children receiving free school meals gained 5 of more GCSEs at A*-C (as
apposed to 61% of children not on FSM)

Jan Flaherty (2004) suggests that money problems in the family are a significant factor in younger
children’s non attendance at school

Exclusion and truancy are more likely for children from poor families.

90% of failing schools are located in deprived areas
Working-class families are much more likely to experience poverty as their incomes
are much lower and they are more likely to live in inadequate cheap housing. These
factors can severely affect children’s achievement at school.
Housing
Poor housing can affect pupils’ achievement both directly and indirectly.
Overcrowding can have a direct effect by making it harder for the child to study.
They may also not have enough room for educational activities, nowhere to do
homework and their sleep might be disturbed as they may share bedrooms. All of
this can lead to poor performance in school and also to a lack
of teacher input as the student may become labelled at lazy.
For young children a lack of a safe space to play can affect
their development. Families who move from temporary
accommodation due to financial hardships may also affect achievement as children
may have to move schools, or may begin to feel disjointed and loose equipment by
moving so regularly.
Indirect affects of poor housing can have affects on the child’s health and welfare.
If children grow up in crowded homes there is a greater risk of accidents. Cold and
damp houses can also cause ill health for example breathing difficulties such as
asthma might mean children are more probe to chest infections and in turn have
long absences from school. Children may also suffer from psychological distress
from the fact that they are moving regularly or that they are worried about money
themselves.
Diet and Health- Marilyn Howard (2001)
Howards suggests that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of
energy, vitamins and minerals. Poor nutrition affects health as it can weaken the
immune system and lower a child’s energy levels. This can lead to absences form
school due to illness, and difficulties concentrating in class.
With the price of
fresh fruit and
vegetables constantly
going up especially
since the recession it
is not surprising that
on a limited income
families are bulk
buying un-nutritious
ready meals.
Imagine the future for
this young boy growing
up in a council flat in
London and suffering
from environmental
poverty. He has no safe
space to play, and he
often finds broken
bottles and needles in
his local playground. His
school is in a deprived
area and most of his
friends live in the same
block. His parents suffer
from material
deprivation and his only
hot meal of the day is
when he gets his FSM at
lunch time. How is his
future looking? Is he
culturally deprived or
just materially deprived?
Do you think he has
chosen this life for
himself or has this life
been chosen for him. If
he has the right attitude
towards education can
he still achieve and get
out of this area?
Children from poorer homes are also more likely to have emotional or behavioural
problems. Richard Wilkinson suggests that among ten year olds, the lower the social
class, the higher and the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders, all of
which are likely to have a negative affect on the child’s education.
The Cost of Education
David Bull (1980) looks at ‘the cost of free schooling’ in the UK. He suggests that
although the school system in the UK appears to be free there are many hidden costs
that disadvantage working class pupils, for example the cost of uniforms, transport,
basic equipment, lunch, and school trips. A study in Oxford by Emily Tanner also back
this up suggesting that the costs of all of the things needed place a heavy burden on
poorer families. As a result students may have to do with hand-me-downs and cheaper by unfashionable
equipment. This may result in them being stigmatised or bullied in school for being poor. #
Flaherty suggests that the fear of stigma can be clearly
seen when looking at FSM, where 20% of pupils eligible
for them refuse to take them.
Ridge found that children from low income families also
had to work to help with the family income, which often leads to a negative
impact on their schooling.
In contrast to CDTs who
suggest that it is because WC
pupils have a sub-cultural
attitude such as immediate
gratification and present
time orientation- Material
deprivation theories suggest
that this move is to do with
being stigmatised and
because of necessity.
Financial restriction can often explain why WC pupils leave school at 16 to gain
full time employment, rather than going to university. Sunderland University
13% of pupils dropped out compared to 1.4%
at Cambridge. This is linked to the fact that a
higher proportion of WC students attend
Sunderland than Cambridge.
Think about the educational opportunities
you would have if you lived in one of these
areas- do you think that you would be going
into higher education?
Rates of people entering Higher education
have risen year on year until 2005 when
student figures started to fall- this is linked
to the political situation and the social
policies that governments put in place to
help students access higher education.
However compare these maps to the ones
below and look at the poverty rates linked to
GCSE rates- see if there are any correlations.
In both of these graphs think about how
class and poverty are really linked to
educational achievement.
If you were given an exam question on cultural or material factors you need to be able to make a judgement
on whether one has more impact on a student’s achievement. Material factors like housing
clearly have some impact on achievement, however, children from poor families do still
achieve regardless of their material deprivation. Or is a lack of achievement really down to
attitudes and values? Think about Michel Carroll, the lottery winner, he technically is upper
class based on his monetary status; however, does he have the
attitudes and values that would allow him and his family to achieve in the education
system. Also what about the quality of the school? Can a child have the right attitudes
and values but attend a ‘bad’ school that can change their attitude towards educational
achievement, or vice versa with a poor WC student attending a grammar school e.g. by
passing the 11+ or gaining a scholarship (remember the Too Poor for Posh School
Documentary).Final Thought- Mortimore and Whitty (1997) argue that material
inequalities have a greater effect on achievement than school factors. Peter Robinson (1997) argues that
tackling child poverty would be the most effective way to boost achievement.
Cultural Capital
Marxism Link
You can link Bourdieu to other Marxists
Pierre Bourdieu (1994) suggests that both
that we have studied- for example see if
you can link any part of Bourdieu’s
cultural and material factors contribute to
concepts to Bowles and Gintis, Paul Willis
education achievement, and that they are not
and Althusser.
Key Marxists Concept Link
separate but interrelated. Also being a Marxist
Myth of meritocracy, Correspondence
he disliked the term ‘cultural deprivation’ as
principal, hidden curriculum
he suggested that the working classes were
Also think about the connections you
disadvantaged by a middle class system that
could make to other theories either
was bias against them- rather than them ‘lacking’ a set of
backing them up or criticising them. For
example could you link this idea to
appropriate norms and values he suggested that the WC’s had their
parentocracy and social policy with
own values that were devalued by the education system. This is why
parents moving to new catchment areas?
he chose to use the term Cultural Capital as he suggested that the
knowledge, attitudes, values and money that the MC’s possess has an advantage over that of the WC’s
(capital is a Marxist key term referring to money- here capital will be linked to knowledge as well as financial
capital).
Bourdieu 3
types of capital
Cultural
Capital
Econdomic
Capital
Educaional
Capital
Note:- although Bourdieu gives 3 distinct types of capital he suggests they can all be interrelated and all link to one and the same as it is these 3
types of capital that lead to WC education failure.

Cultural Capital
Bourdieu coined this term to refer to wealth of knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of
the middle classes possess. He suggests that the MC’s culture is a capital- like a wealth that gives and
advantage to those who possess it. He is similar to Bernstein who argues that through socialisation the
middle classes acquire the ability to grasp, analyse and express abstracts ideas, and because of this they are
more likely to develop intellectual interests and understanding of what the education system requires for
success.
Thus he suggests that the middle classes are at an advantage when they enter the education system as the
education system is based on Middle class values and run by middle class teachers teaching a middle class
curriculum. Bourdieu suggests that the education system in not natural but favours and transmits the
dominant middle-class culture (contrasts to functionalist theories who suggest that the education system
transmits the shared norms and values of the whole of society).
Working class children find that school devalues their culture and views it as ‘rough’ and inferior’. The WC’s
lack of cultural capital can lead to exam failure. He also suggests that the
education system transmits a message the education system in not meant
for working class students through the hidden and formal curriculum by
excluding their culture. In doing this working class students start to truant,
and try to leave school early and in doing this cultural reproduction occurs
and social mobility becomes more difficult.

Economic Capital
Middle class parents have a better income that working class parents and therefore can provide material
goods needed to success at school, for example laptops and access to the internet. They can also afford to
pay for cultural experiences such as holidays and museum trips that can all add to educational achievement.
They can also pay for the best schools by sending their children to private schools. They can also use their
economic and educational capital to move into areas with the best schools so that their children enter the
best comprehensive schools- this is known as selection by catchment (remember that selection is the
process by choosing students e.g. the 11+ or by a talent like drama or music). They can also pay for extra
tuition if their children require it. They are also more likely to have their children attend university as they
can help with the financial costs.

Educational Capital
This can be argued is the biggest reason why the MC’s achieve in the education system as if a WC parent has
economic capital they may give the correct attitudes and values of the education system to their child and
value education. They may also be able to help with homework thus allowing the cycle of cultural
reproduction to be broken. However, many WC parents have been failed by the middle class education
system and have a negative opinion of it and this is transmitted to their children. The WC’s are also less likely
to be able to understand the league tables which are publishedin MC paper and thus they do not understand
the hierarchy of schools in their local schools. They are also put off from attending parent’s evenings as they
feel inferior and excluded by the middle class teachers.
Does Bourdieu’s Concept Work Today?
Alice Sullivan (2001) used questionnaires to conduct a survey of
465 pupils in four schools. She wanted to assess the student’s
cultural capital, and in trying to assess it she asked them about a
range of activities they did in their spare time. As indicators of
cultural capital she asked about reading, watching TV, going on
visits to museums, theatres and art galleries. She also used their
vocabulary and knowledge as cultural indicators (similar to
Bernstein).
Research Methods
When any research method is used you must begin to
evaluate it using the following factors
Practical- did it work? Did they use the method as it was
the easiest one to use?
Ethical- did it break any moral codes? Did it endanger
anyone or make them feel uncomfortable?
Theoretical- what type of data was collected qualitative
or quantitative and what are the advantages and
disadvantages of that type of data
Reliability- could this research be done again and would
you get very similar or the same results?
Validity- did it measure what it set out to measure? Does
it give an accurate picture of what is occurring?
This is a great way to get you into Ao2 marks, and
although you wouldn’t spend too much time on
evaluating a method in the first half of the paper it is
useful to know and may give you a few marks if you can
point out issues with the evidence. Plus it all helps for
the theory and methods section.
She found that those who read complex fiction
and watched serious TV documentaries developed
a wider vocabulary and greater cultural
knowledge, which she suggested shows a greater cultural capital. The children with the greatest cultural
capital were children of graduates. These pupils were more likely to be successful at GCSE.
Although successful pupils with greater cultural capital were more likely to be middle-class, Sullivan found
that cultural capital only accounted for part of the class differences in achievement. Where cultural capital
was the same level between a WC and MC student the MC student still did better. In conclusion Sullivan
suggests that the greater resources and aspirations of MC families explain why the class gap in achievement
is so large.
Gewirtz- Marketization and Parental Choice
In 1988 the conservative government passed the Education reform act which lead to greater parental choice
of schools (marketization is the process where schools became more like a market place where parents
could pick and choose the school they wanted rather than just going to the school in your catchment area).
Since this act sociologists have been interested in the effect that greater parental choice has had on the
education system- for example has greater parental choice benefited all students or just those of the MC’s?
Gewirtz (1995) examines the question in a study of class differences in parental choice of secondary school.
She studies 14 London schools and used interviews with teachers and parents, and school documents (as
secondary data) to explore the impact of marketization. She also uses Bourdieu’s ideas of cultural capital to
explain her findings. She found that differences in economic and cultural capital lead to class differences in
how far parents can exercise choice of secondary school she identifies 3 main types of parents (see below),
who had varying degrees of cultural capital.
Privileged-Skilled Choosers
• Maily professional middle-class parents who used their economic and cultural capital tp gain
educational capital for their children. Being confident and well educated they were able to take
full advantage of the choices open to them. The parents had cultural capital, they knew how the
schools admissions sytem worked, could use the appeals system and could understand theleauge
tables. They also had econimic capilat meaning they could move into areas with the best schools,
or even pay for trnasport for their children to go to beeter schools. They saw picking the best
school as a way of planning for their childs future.
Disconnected- Local Choosers
• Working class parents whose choices were resticted by their lack of econimic and cultural capital.
They found the schools admissions process difficult and they were less confident in dealing with
the school. they were less aware of the opportunities open to them and less able to minipulate
the sytem to their advantage. Many of these parents attached more importance to the saftey and
quality of school facilites than to league tables or long-term abitions. The location of the school
was the bigest concern as they were unable to pay for costly transport. ofen the loac
comprehensive was they only option.
Semi-Skilled Choosers
• Minly working class but unlike disconnected loacl choosers they were abitios for theur children.
Hwoever they lacked the cultural capital and found the schools admission process very difficult.
They also had little knoeldge of the shcools market and often relied in peoples oppinions rather
than the leauge tables. They were often frustrated at the inability to get thier children to the best
schools.
Gewirtz concludes that MC families with cultural and economic capital are better placed to take advantage
of the opportunities available to them- for example moving home, or being able to understand the
admission process. In theory marketization gives all parents a better choice; however, in practice it
advantages MC parents who possess cultural capital. Whitty suggests that marketization has not led to more
opportunities for WC children. Instead it has allowed the middle class to use their wealth and knowledge
more effective than before.
How to use this information
The key to all sociology is to make links with things that you already know, and have already studied.
Differentiated educational achievement is the biggest topic in year 12 and you have to be able to make
linked to sociological theory (e.g. functionalism and Marxism) and methods (e.g. questionnaires,
observations). This pack just deals with class, but you must also link this to gender, ethnicity and social
policy. Don’t just think of this as loads of knowledge that you have to learn, just think of this as a document
to link to all the other knowledge that you will learn. For example look at the following 20 mark exam
question
Item A
For the last 25 years, the main aim of government education policies has been to create an education
market. Marketization policies such as league tables and open enrolment aim to create competition
between schools and to increase parental choice. It was claimed that such policies would raise standards.
Competition for ‘customers’ in the education market means that teachers and schools now have to work
hard to get the best results for their pupils. Schools that do not produce good exam results will lose pupils
and funding. However, some government policies, such as Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs), help
educationally disadvantaged social groups. Such policies are more concerned with creating equality of
educational opportunity than with producing an education market.
Q. Using material from Item A and elsewhere assess the claim that the main aim of education policies in
the last 25 years has been to create an education market.
This question is not only about the 1988
education reform act but also about class as
it mentions EMA and if you look above you
can also use Gewirtz work along with
Bourdieu. All of this information needs to be
linked together so try to make it easy for
yourself by making the connections in your
notes. You also must use the news as EMA
no longer exists and therefore you need to
keep up to date. Also use data, look at the
map and try to link the data show to the
question- that is the mark to a true
sociologists.
The rates shown are of young people gaining access to university