Education in a Nutshell

—————— ( Topic 1 - EXTERNAL Class differences ) ——————

CULTURAL DEPRIVATION:

BERNSTEIN - SPEECH CODES:

● Differences in speech codes put working-class children at a disadvantage because the elaborated code is used by
teachers, textbooks and exams. Early socialisation into the elaborated code means that middle-class pupils are already
at an advantage whilst WC generally has a restricted code of speech.

DOUGLAS - PARENT’S EDUCATION:

● Working-class parents place less value on education; they are less ambitious for their children and give them less
encouragement to participate in educational activities, such as homework. As a result of this, many working-class
parents do not attend parents evening.

SUGARMAN - WORKING-CLASS SUBCULTURES:

● He identifies 4 key acts that act as a barrier to educational achievement for working class pupils:
○ Fatalism - there's nothing you can do to change your status
○ Collectivism - valuing being part of a group more than being an individual
○ Immediate gratification - seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the
future
○ Present time orientation - seeing the present as more important than the future, therefore having no long-
term goals

MATERIAL DEPRIVATION:

POOR HOUSING - HOWARD

● Overcrowding means there is no room for educational activities, such as homework and reading. It also means
disturbed sleep from sharing bedrooms.
● Families living in temp accommodation may find themselves having to move frequently, leading to disturbed education
● Overcrowded homes mean greater risk of accidents and a higher risk of getting ill. This may lead to absence from
school

DIET AND HEALTH - HOWARD

● Young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals. Poor nutrition affects health, for
example, by weakening the child's immune system- this may result in more absences from school (Howard).

MONEY - TANNER
● Having little money can limit the success of a child. WC families might live in poverty and as a result cannot afford to
send their child to good schools. Good schools may be out of their catchment area; can’t afford tuition or transport fees

CULTURAL CAPITAL

BOURDIEU
● Middle-class children with cultural capital are better equipped to meet the demands on the school curriculum. Parents can
convert the cultural capital into economic capital, for example, they can send their children to private schools.

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 —————— ( Topic 2 - INTERNAL class differences ) ——————

LABELLING

BECKER
● Teachers judge and label pupils according to how closely they fit the “ideal pupil”. This would therefore dampen the
motivation of students who did not suit the ideal pupil, due to how teachers deferred their time away from them and were
unwilling to help.

SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY - ROSENTHAL AND JACOBSON

● When students are given a positive label, they react to it by creating a positive self-concept, which means they are motivated
to work hard and improve their grades. This also works in reverse, with negative labels leading to negative self-concepts and
less motivation.
● R&J studied this by informing teachers of students who scored highly on an IQ test and would be a quick learner. The catch
was that these test results were fabricated. Teachers treated those who were falsely identified as 'spurts’ differently. 47% of
those who were identified to ‘spurt’ had made significant improvement due to how teachers paid more attention to them by
giving them more feedback.

SETTING AND STREAMING

GILLBORN AND YOUDELL

● Gillborn and Youdell found that teachers labelled working-class students as unintelligent, resulting in them being placed in
lower streams and sets.

PUPIL SUBCULTURES

LACEY
● Found that there were 2 ways in which pupil subcultures developed: polarisation and differentiation. Polarisation is when
pupils respond to streaming by either moving to a pro-school subculture or an anti-school subculture. Differentiation is a
form of streaming, those who are placed in higher streams gain a higher status.

HARGREAVES
● Found that boys in lower streams were triple failures: they failed their 11+ exam; had been placed in lower streams; and then
labelled as “worthless louts”- their solution to this was to form a group which provided status to those who flouted the school
rules and guaranteed their educational failure.

PUPIL IDENTITIES

ARCHER ET AL
● Found that working-class pupils invest in ‘nike’ identities, leading to self-exclusion from education because it does not fit
their identity and way of life; they see it as unrealistic (it is for richer and cleverer people) and they also see it as undesirable
(it does not suit their habitus).

—————— ( Topic 3 - Ethnic differences ) ——————

EXTERNAL FACTORS

Linguistic skills - Bereiter and Engelmann

● Some pupils speak a different language and some pupils speak an informal version of English. Bereiter and Engelmann
state that the black Caribbean language is ungrammatical and disjointed, which means they cannot convey abstract
ideas.
Family structures - Moynihan
● There are higher rates of lone-parent families in black ethnicities. Moynihan found that many black families are headed
by a lone mother, leading to lower achievement of black boys due to how they do not have a male role model.
 Education in a Nutshell
Attitudes and values
● Some sociologists argue that some black pupils have a fatalistic outlook on life, meaning they want immediate
gratification and have limited motivation to achieve in the long term.

Material Deprivation
● Many minority ethnic groups are victims of racism in wider society, subsequently they face direct or indirect
discrimination at work or in the housing market, and in turn, they may be in low paid jobs or unemployed. This impacts
upon the children's educational opportunities.

INTERNAL FACTORS

LABELLING - Black Students

● Gillborn and Youdell found that teachers had racialised expectations of black pupils and expected more discipline
problems and saw their behaviour as threatening. Black pupils were more likely than others to be punished for the
same behaviour as white pupils.
● Fuller found that high achieving black girls maintained a positive self-image by rejecting teachers' stereotypes. They did
not seek teacher approval, but valued education.
● Mirza found that black girls' strategies for dealing with teacher racism still disadvantaged them. For instance, they
would not ask for help.

LABELLING - Asian Students

● Wright found that Asian primary school pupils were stereotyped and treated differently. Teachers used simple language
because they assumed they would speak poor English and became frustrated when pupils pronounced their names
incorrectly.
PUPIL SUBCULTURES - Sewell

● Found that black boys developed a range of responses to teachers racist labelling:
○ Conformists: keen to succeed, accepted the school's goals.
○ Innovators: pro-education, but anti-school. Valued success, but not teacher’s approval.
○ Retreatists: disconnected from the school and black subcultures outside of it.
○ Rebels: rejected the school's goals, and conformed to the stereotype of the ‘black macho lad’.

THE ETHNOCENTRIC CURRICULUM - Troyna and Williams

● state that the British curriculum prioritises white culture and the English language, for example through holidays in line
with the Christian calendar, and a focus on white leaders in History.

—————— ( Topic 4 - Gender Differences) ——————

GIRLS - EXTERNAL FACTORS

IMPACT OF FEMINISM - MCROBBIE

● Studied girls magazines and found that in the 1970s, they emphasised the importance of getting married. However,
nowadays, they contain images of strong, assertive and independent women. Feminists have campaigned for women's rights
and changes in the law (eg. equal rights).

CHANGES IN WOMEN EMPLOYMENT

● Changes in the law have improved the position of working women, for example the Equal Pay Act (1970) and the Sex
Discrimination Act (1975).

CHANGING GIRLS AMBITIONS - SHARPE

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● Interviewed girls and found that their ambitions in the 1970s were to marry and have children, and saw their future in terms
of a domestic role. However, in the 1990s, the girls priorities had changed to careers and wanting to be independent.

GIRLS - INTERNAL FACTORS

GCSE AND COURSEWORK

● Mitos and Brown found that girls do better than boys in coursework because they are more conscientious and better
organised.
● Gorad found that the gender gap in achievement increased sharply when GCSE was introduced in 1988.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES ACT

● GIST and WISE programmes to encourage girls into science and technology.
● National curriculum - girls and boys largely study the same subjects (eg. by making science compulsory).

ROLE MODELS
● There are more female teachers, which feminises the learning environment and encourages girls to see school as part
of a ‘female gender domain’.

TEACHER ATTENTION
● Swann found that boys dominate class discussions, whereas girls are better at listening and cooperating. Teachers
respond more positively to girls and give them more encouragement.
● French and French found that teachers paid boys and girls similar amounts of attention for academic reasons, but boys
received more attention overall because they were disciplined more often.

SELECTION AND LEAGUE TABLES

● Marketisation policies have led to increased competition between schools. Schools therefore have the incentive to
recruit more able students. Girls are generally more successful than boys, so are more attractive to schools.

BOYS - EXTERNAL FACTORS

BOYS LITERACY
● Parents spend less time reading to sons because it is seen as a 'feminine' activity.
● Boys leisure interests do not encourage language and communication skills, whereas girls ‘bedroom culture’ does.

DECLINE IN MANUAL LABOUR

● Globalisation had led to the decline in heavy industries (eg. shipbuilding, mining and manufacturing) in the UK. This has
led to a male ‘identity crisis’, giving them little motivation to get qualifications for a job.

BOYS - INTERNAL FACTORS

FEMINISATION OF SCHOOLING
● Boys fall behind because education has been ‘feminised’, meaning schools no longer nurture masculine traits.
● The introduction of coursework has disadvantaged boys.
● Lack of male primary school teachers - only 1 in 6 primary school teachers are male.

LADDISH SUBCULTURES
● There is peer-pressure on boys to demonstrate their masculinity by being ‘anti-school’.

—————— ( Topic 5 - The role of education ) ——————

FUNCTIONALISM
 Education in a Nutshell
DURKHEIM
● Identifies two main functions of education: social solidarity and specialist skills. The education system helps to create
social solidarity by transmitting society's culture from one generation to the next. Schools also act as a ‘society in
miniature’ preparing us for life in wider society.

PARSONS
● Parsons argues that schools are meritocratic. This is the belief that all pupils have an equal chance to succeed through
talent and abilities, irrespective of class, gender, ethnicity etc.
● Parsons also sees the school as an agent of socialisation, acting as a bridge between the family and wider society.

DAVIS AND MOORE

● Believe schools perform the function of selecting and allocating pupils to their future work roles by assessing
individuals aptitudes and abilities, schools help to match them to the job they are best suited to.

MARXISM

ALTHUSSER
● The education system performs two functions for the ideological state apparatus:
○ Reproduction - the education system reproduces class inequality by failing each generation of working-class
pupils.
○ Legitimation - the education system tries to convince people that inequality is inevitable and failure is the fault
of the individual, not the capitalist system

BOWLES AND GINTIS

● Schools create new generations of workers to serve the capitalist system.
● There is a hidden curriculum in schools (lessons that are 'learned' but not taught), which is used to serve the capitalist
system (Eg. pupils accept hierarchy, competition, alienation)
● meritocracy is a myth; success is based on class background, not ability or educational achievement.

WILLIS (neo marxist)

● Pupils can see through the ruling class ideology and resist attempts to indoctrinate it in school. Male working class
pupils formed a distinct counterculture that flouted school rules.

NEW RIGHT

● The New right believe schools should be centred around competition and choice, this is mainly done through
marketisation. By creating an ‘education market’, schools are forced to respond to the needs of teachers, parents and
pupils.

CHUBB AND MOE

● State education has failed to create equal opportunity because it does not have to respond to pupil’s needs.
● Parents and communities cannot do anything about failing schools when the schools are controlled by the state.
● Private schools deliver higher quality education because they are answerable to paying consumers (parents).

—————— ( Topic 6 - Educational Policy ) ——————

POLICIES THROUGH THE YEARS

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 THE TRIPARTITE SYSTEM
● Introduced in 1944, had two main types of secondary school (grammar and secondary modern) with selection by the 11+
exam. Most middle-class pupils attended the grammar school, whereas most working-class pupils attended the
secondary modern.

THE COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM

● Introduced in 1965, abolished the 11+ and all pupils attended the same local comprehensive school.

MARKETISATION POLICIES
● League tables - schools with good results encourage the best (usually middle-class pupils). Less successful schools end
up with less-able pupils.
● The funding formula - schools are funded on how many pupils they recruit, so good schools get more money, and can
improve staffing/resources.

NEW LABOUR POLICIES 1997-2010

● New Labour aimed to reduce inequality in education by introducing:
○ Education Action Zones
○ Aim Higher programmes
○ Education Maintenance Allowance for poorer 16-18-year-olds
○ Increased funding for state education

CONSERVATIVE POLICIES POST 2010

● Conservative policies since 2010 have reflected neo-liberal thinking about reducing the role of the state, and therefore
moving away from the comprehensive system.
○ Academies - all schools encouraged to become academies, some funded by privately-owned chains, some
funded by the central government.
○ Free schools - state-funded but set up and run by parents, teachers, religious groups or businesses
○ Spending cuts - there have been cuts in government spending on education (Eg. in areas such as Sure Start,
EMA, school building).
○ Grammar schools - parliament have discussed the reintroduction of grammar schools.