Issues of class in light

of English
(Guardian: August 2014)

(BBC: June 2014)

Ex-Education Secretary Michael Gove told a Commons

education committee that rich, thick kids do better than
poor, clever children, even before they start school. (2010:
5)

Billy Elliot:
Clip provides a good representation of a an individual of working
class background with middle class aspirations similar to headlines
on initial page

Guardian (April:2014)
Clip highlights the Standard English used in the North East region
Also provides a good aspect of what home life may be like for a
child of a working class background
Juxtaposition of happiness within an educational environment
against a sadness of returning home
Does not apply to all students of a working class background,
but does highlight some of the issues that they may face both
inside and outside of the school environment

Stereotypes

Just as there is a stereotype that a child from a lower social class may
not arrive at secondary school with a wide vocabulary and an
appropriate grasp of reading and writing for their age, it is important
that the same issues are not dismissed in a child from a higher social
class.
Exclusions are based upon the stereotypes that an individual is
better or less equipped at certain tasks based on their class

How do we overcome social

exclusion?
Non-standard texts
Acknowledgement of other cultures
Representation of class in texts which can be
explored
You probably have to abolish private schools, and
introduce a French lycee system where everybody
whether youre in the sixteenth arrondissement, or
whether you come from an Algerian suburb, goes to the
same school.
(2011: 171)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH8HV5gXQB
4

 Research showed how middle-class

children attending a struggling innercity school did much better than
fellow students.
Decisive issue class.
(Jones, 2011)

Bibliography
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-27904204 (June 2014)
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/aug/03/poverty-diverse-school-language-barrier-headteacher (August 2014)
Jones, O (2011) Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, London: Verso

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/standard-English (September 2014)

Perry E., and Becky Francis (2010) The Social Class Gap for Educational Achievement: a review of the literature, RSA Projects