Sociology: Social Class and Education

Social Class and Education

• Material deprivation in working-class homes can lead to underachievement in education due to poor diet and higher levels of illness.
• Working-class students are more likely to apply to local universities to save on travel costs and work part-time to fund their studies, making it harder to gain a higher-class degree.

Cultural Deprivation

• Sugarman argues that working-class students are fatalistic, present-time oriented, and seek immediate gratification, whereas middle-class students are more future-oriented and value education and hard work.
• Critics argue that Sugarman's theory is overgeneralized and emphasizes differences between classes rather than similarities.

Language and Social Class

• Bernstein's theory of language codes suggests that working-class students use restricted codes, while middle-class students use elaborated codes.
• Critics argue that Bernstein's theory is oversimplified and doesn't account for working-class students' ability to use middle-class language.

Cultural and Economic Capital

• Bourdieu's theory suggests that middle-class students have more cultural and economic capital, which gives them an advantage in education.
• Gewirtz identifies three types of choosers: privileged-skilled choosers, semi-skilled choosers, and disconnected-local choosers.

Teacher Expectations and Labelling

• Becker's theory suggests that teachers have an "ideal" pupil in mind, which is typically middle-class.
• Rosenthal and Jacobson's study showed that teachers' expectations can influence student performance, leading to self-fulfilling prophecy.

School Factors and Educational Policy

• Stephen Ball's study found that banding in schools leads to stereotyping and a decline in student behavior.
• Gillborn and Youdell argue that educational policies only support A-C economy, leading to "educational triage" where students who don't meet expectations are neglected.
• Lacey's theory suggests that differentiation leads to polarization, where students form subcultures in response to ability grouping.

Teacher Typing and Classification

• Rist's study found that teachers classify students into three tables: fast, average, and slow learners, leading to a "clown" or "tiger" mentality.
• Hargreaves et al. argue that teachers type and classify students, influencing their expectations and behavior.

Pupil Responses and Subcultures

• Woods identifies four pupil responses to teacher expectations: ingratiation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.
• Archer argues that working-class students see themselves as having a certain self-worth, but teachers perceive it as a threat.

Gender and Education

• Mac an Ghaill's study found that male laddish subcultures are formed in response to teacher expectations and class-based identities.
• Spender argues that schools reinforce patriarchy, with boys receiving more attention than girls.
• Mitsos and Browne found that coursework benefits girls, who perform better in reading, which is seen as a feminine activity.

Ethnicity and Education

• Charles Murray's theory suggests that some ethnic groups have higher IQs, but critics argue that this is a flawed and racist argument.
• Palmer found that ethnic minorities are more likely to come from low-income families and experience racism in education.
• Hatcher argues that institutional racism is a major obstacle to ethnic minority students' success.

This quiz explores how social class affects education, including the impact of material deprivation and family background on academic achievement.