Summary
Summary Educational achievement AQA -level sociology
- Institution
- AQA
Aqa a level sociology education summary notes for educational achievement.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
IMPORTANCE OF PARENTAL INTEREST SUGARMAN’S CONCLUSIONS HYMAN: WORKING-CLASS VALUESDouglas (1964) argued that parental interest So Sugarman argued that, as these attitudes For example, Hyman suggests the working-
was the most important factor in shaping a and orientations were passed on to their classes place more value on manual work or
child’s level of educational success. Whilst he children, this helped to explain the differences ‘getting a trade’ which is seen as a stable and
did identify other factors that could influence in educational achievement that result in secure job that involves less risk than non-
an individual’s educational achievement such working-class children being disadvantaged. manual jobs that may require greater risks to
as family size, health, and the quality of the Sugarman concluded that working-class achieve. So Hyman argues that the values of
school they attended, he found that the level parents place lower value on education that working-class parents limit the educational
of parental support was the crucial factor. middle-class parents. achievement of their children.
MIDDLE-CLASS PARENTAL SUPPORT LEON FEINSTEIN’S (2003) SOURCES SOCIAL CLASS: DIFFERENCE IN
As such, he argued that middle-class parents Leon Feinstein (2003) used data from the ACHIEVEMENT
were more likely to provide support to their British Cohort Study and the National Child
children in some of the following ways: provide Development Study to argue that there was a STUDIES OF DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVEMENT:
help with schoolwork; visit schools more link between social class and educational BOURDIEU
regularly to check on progress; encourage their achievement. Bourdieu (1971, 1974) argues that cultural
children to stay on in post-compulsory inferiority is not the reason why the working
FEINSTEIN’S (2003) FINDINGS
education. Douglas also emphasised the classes perform less well in education.
importance of primary socialisation and He suggested that lower rates of educational
suggested that middle-class families were achievement by working-class children was ROLE: CULTURAL REPRODUCTION
more likely to provide support to their children linked to several factors such as the extent of He develops a Marxist approach and locates
at an earlier age compared to working-class parents’ education; the quality of the school educational inequalities within a capitalist
families. attended and material deprivation. But he society. As such, he argues that the role of the
argued that parental interest or the extent of education system is cultural reproduction.
SOCIAL CLASS: ATTITUDES TO parental support was the key factor in That is, the education system reproduces the
EDUCATION determining a child’s educational success. His culture of the dominant or ruling capitalist
work reinforces that of Douglas (1964) in class. He argues that education is biased in
SUGARMAN (1970): SUBCULTURES
suggesting that middle-class parents provide favour of the middle classes as they share
Sugarman (1970) argued that the differences in more support and take a greater interest in similar norms and values to these higher
educational achievement between middle and their children’s educational development. social groups.
working-class children can directly linked to the
subcultures into which they are socialised. He HYMAN (1967) CULTURAL CAPITAL
argued that the norms, values and attitudes of
Hyman (1967) suggests that the working- Bourdieu argues that by having knowledge and
middle-class parents transmitted to their children
were significantly different to that of working-class classes and middle-classes have different experience of the dominant culture, upper- and
parents and that these were linked to their ‘value systems’ and that these different middle-class children possess what he calls
respective occupations in non-manual and manual values help explain differences in educational ‘cultural capital’ or a cultural advantage. Examples
work. achievement. He argues that the working of cultural capital include certain language norms;
classes place a lower value on education cultural activities such as visiting the museum and
SUGARMAN (1970): PARENTS’ ATTITUDE compared to the middle-classes. The working-
reading literature. That is, middle-class children
are more likely to share aspects of higher culture,
Sugarman argued that working class parents were classes are less likely to value professional
whereas working-class children do not always have
more likely to be fatalistic, concerned with jobs that have a higher status in society and access to such cultural practices and knowledge.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller maybishop. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £7.46. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
66579 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now