Essay question: Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate sociological explanations of social class differences in educational achievement. (30 marks) A* essay answer useful for revision, improvement and learning. For AQA Exam board. From education unit.
Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate sociological explanations of social class
differences in educational achievement. (30 marks)
Social class is an important factor which affects educational attainment. Throughout the education
system, middle and upper classes consistently outperform working class students. Some
explanations for this by sociologists focus on inside school factors such as labelling, sub-cultures and
setting. Others focus on external factors such as income, upbringing and capital.
As stated in the item ‘material circumstances of pupils’ families’ are an important factor in
educational attainment. The material deprivation theory demonstrates how a lack of income in
families has a negative effect on the child’s education. Not being fed well can cause a lack of
concentration in class. Inability to buy learning resources such as textbooks and computers
significantly limits a child’s ability to learn. Without a quiet space at home, students struggle to
complete homework which negatively effects their prospects of achieving high grades. These issues
are most common amongst working class families and therefore they are most disadvantaged in the
education system. In addition to this, Smith and Noble studied barriers to learning that are
experienced by working class students.They found that pupils struggled to pay for school uniform
and school trips which led to bullying and falling behind in school work. However, a criticism of the
material deprivation theory is that working class students are offered financial help and therefore
don’t miss out on learning opportunities. Pupil premium sets aside additional funding for schools to
spend on disadvantaged pupils. This shows that working class students who lack resources are
helped and not hindered in the education system. Overall, it’s clear that working class students are
disadvantaged due to a lack of finance to buy learning aids as explained in the material deprivation
theory. Although pupil premium can help, the money isn’t enough and many head teachers say it
doesn’t make up for cuts elsewhere.
Another explanation for class educational differences is the cultural deprivation theory. Culture is
the way of life of a particular group in society. Some working class students are deprived because
they lack the right type of culture to succeed in the education system. Bernstein argues that there
are two different types of speech; the elaborated code (middle class) and the restricted code
(working class). He argued that in schools the elaborated code was considered more valuable and
because it was used in books, exams teachers thought more fondly of students using it. Therefore,
middle class students who spoke using the elaborated code were advantaged and working class
students disadvantaged due to not having the right culture. Furthermore, Evans argued that middle
class students also gained more culture growing up at home as their parents were more likely to
teach them, whereas working class families saw school as the only teaching body. This shows that
before even starting school, middle class students have more culture to succeed. However,
Bernstein’s research provides little evidence of speech codes existing, and also suggests that the
restricted code is substandard. This makes Bernstein’s theory seem flawed since there is little
evidence reinforcing it and there is no explanation as to how the elaborated code helps students.
Overall, the cultural deprivation theory fails to fully support its arguments and is vague in explaining
how they produce academic inequality amongst different classes. This theory is insignificant in
explaining class difference in education.
Another explanation of educational differences is the correct dispositions of the upper classes. These
are qualities gained by upper class students which benefit education. Neo-Marxist sociologist
Bourdieu argued that habitus of the dominant classes advanced their education. Their family values,
attitudes and expectations were more focused on education. They were more likely to invest in
schoolwork. In contrast, working class habitus had a more pessimistic view of education. Due to
often resisting teaching, their habitus had a negative effect on education. Bourdieu also found that
taste had a strong influence on educational attainment. The tastes of the dominant classes are seen
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