...Social class is the key factor influencing a child’s education attainment. There are major differences between the levels of achievement of the working class and middle class. Generally the higher the social class of the parents the more successful a child will be in education. Social class inequality begins in primary school and becomes greater as you move up through the education system with the higher levels of the education system dominated by middle and upper-class students. There are many other factors that can explain differences in educational achievements for different social classes, these include material explanations which put the emphasis on social and economic conditions, cultural explanations which focus on values, attitudes and lifestyles and factors within the school itself. Material factors such as poverty, low wages, diet, health and housing can all have important direct effects on how well individuals do at school. Material deprivation such as this helps when explaining the pattern of working-class underachievement in education. Douglas (1964) found that poor housing conditions such as overcrowding and insufficient quiet can make study at home difficult meaning they cannot complete homework and may not pass exams. In working class families, low income or unemployment may mean resources such as computers and text books cannot be bought which will restrict the amount of studying the child can do. They may also not be able to attend school trips that could...
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...Examining class differences in achievement (1) external factors a) Explain briefly what is meant by the term ‘elaborated speech code’. (2 marks) The term ‘elaborated speech code’ refers to the language used by the middle class. It has longer, grammatically correct sentences and a wide vocabulary. It is a varied type of speech and may can communicate abstract ideas, in addition to this it is context free. b) Identify three policies that governments have introduced to compensate for material and cultural disadvantage, apart from education priority areas. (6 marks) Firstly, one policy is Operation Head which is a multi-billion dollar scheme in the USA, its aim was planned enrichment of the deprived child’s environment in order to motivate them and help them to develop learning skills, the well-known television programme Sesame Street was part of Operation Head Start and it provided means of reaching young children and transmitting values and attitudes needed for educational success. Secondly there is the United Kingdom version of Operation Head Start, called Sure Start. Sure Start is a nationwide programme aimed at pre-school children and their parents. However, unlike Operation Head Start it also has non-educational goals, like improving the child’s health. Sure Start promotes physical, intellectual and social development so that they can flourish and be educational successes in the future. Finally, there are EAZs (Education Action Zones) There can be many zones in a community;...
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...Modern America has not changed very much from the America back then. I believe that if someone where to tour America today they would include in their work the class differences, our equality, and our pride. During Dickens, Trollope, and Tocqueville’s era America had not truly developed class systems. Either a person was poor or rich, and it was not common for someone to fluctuate between the two. In todays society the middle class is becoming smaller while the lower class becomes larger. The gap between lower and middle builds every year, creating a steeper slope for the next lower generations to climb. Hand and hand with class differences is the idea of equality. While the United States is leaps and bounds further in equality than it was in the 1800’s we still are not completely equal....
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...ENCOUNTERING SOCIAL CLASS DIFFERENCES AT WORK: HOW “CLASS WORK” PERPETUATES INEQUALITY Using a microsociological lens, we develop a theoretical framework that explains how social class distinctions are sustained within organizations. In particular, we intro- duce the concept of “class work” and explicate the cognitions and practices that members of different classes engage in when they come in contact with each other in cross-class encounters. We also elucidate how class work perpetuates inequality, as well as the consequences of class work on organizations and those at the lower end of the organizational hierarchy. By examining microlevel interactions and how they become institutionalized within organizations as prevailing rules and practices, we contribute to both institutional theory and the sociology of social class differences. We encourage future research on social class and discuss some of the challenges inher- ent in conducting it. Several contemporary developments—includ- ing the financial crisis of 2008 (Rajan, 2010), the shrinking of the middle class (Leicht & Fitzger- ald, 2007), and the rise of the “new poor” in America (Cohen, 2010)— have reinjected the is- sue of social class differences and inequality (Stiglitz, 2012) into contemporary discourse. Within organization studies, however, social class has received only scant consideration (cf. Castilla & Benard, 2010; Dacin, Munir, & Tracey, 2010; Scully & Blake-Beard, 2006). While two re- cent exceptions...
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...“School class differences in educational achievement are the results of factors within home” only? Differences in educational achievement can be assessed through three forms of stratification; social class, ethnicity and gender. Moreover, the main factor s which spill light on the matter are both the home and school factors. For instance, the picture of academic achievement by social class is consistent. The survey of Halsey, Heath and Ridge (1980) showed that boys from the service class (top strata) had 40 times more chance of attending a public than a boy from the working class. Even after the abolition of the tripartite system, with 1944 Act, the chance of a working class boy to rise through academic ranks, is four time less than a service class boy of still being in school at the age of 16 , eight times less at 17, ten times less at 18 and eleven times less at university while the above is a general review of the relation between class and educational achievement, it is essential to isolate the two distinct contribute factors: home factor and school factor a concrete discussion. Primarily, let’s take into consideration the home factors; subdivided in material factors and cultural factors. J.W.B Douglas (1964) carried out a survey of over 5,000 children born in 1946.He found out that on overall, children from the working class are less performing in ability test. According to him, the home background, parent attitudes, parents’ hours of work and mostly parental interest...
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...When sociologists talk of social class, they refer to a group of individuals who occupy a similar position in the economic system of production. Within that system occupation is very important because it provides financial rewards, stability and benefits like healthcare. A status hierarchy in which individuals and groups are classified on the basis of esteem and prestige acquired mainly via economic success and accumulation of wealth. Social class may withal refer to any particular level in such a hierarchy. Four prevalent social classes informally recognized in many societies are: (1) Upper class, (2) Middle class, (3) Working class, and the (4) Lower class. The effects of social class can be felt anywhere. Virtually every aspect of society is influenced in some manner by social class. The magazines one reads, the television shows one watches, and the apparel a person buys affect social class. School, work, religious, and home lives are withal linked to the influence of social classes. Schools and the workplace are greatly influenced by social class. The look of employment is transmuting because workers can no longer expect to work their way up through a company. Many companies look outside of the company for people with the right educational background instead of hiring from within. The reporting of social class contributes to the lack of reliability as well. Since social class is often self-reported, it is difficult to assure the precision of the information collected...
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...Assess the view that social class differences in educational achievement are the results of school processes such as labelling (20) James Palman School processes such as labelling and streaming are examples of factors which can effect students achievement. This can be linked to the difference in social classes of students which will have an adverse effect on their achievement, partly due to different school processes which can put certain students at a disadvantage. Labelling is attaching a meaning or definition to a specific person or group. Teachers can label students negatively due to their social class. If the student is labelled in a negative manor such as being a trouble maker or thick the student can react to this label. Consequently a self-fulfilling prophesy can occur, this is when a student takes the label they are given and continue to show this characteristic. For example is a student is labelled as a trouble maker then the student can start to believe that they actually are a trouble maker and therefore continue to act in this manner. Howard Becker carried out an interactionist study of labelling. He found that from the 60 teachers he asked most of them judged pupils on how closely they fitted an image of the ‘ideal pupil’. The students work, conduct and appearance all effected this judgement, the teachers saw students from middle class backgrounds as the closest to the ‘ideal pupils’. Cicourel and Kitsuse studies educational counsellors in America and found that...
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...Assess the view that social class differences in educational achievement are the result of internal processes such as labelling. Many sociologists would agree school processes such as labelling have an effect on a child’s educational achievement. However there are many other school processes that cause underachievement. To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. For example, teachers may label a student as smart, thick, hardworking or troublemaker. Studies have shown that teachers often attach such labels regardless of the pupil’s actual ability or attitude. Instead they label pupils on the basis of stereotyped assumptions about their class background. Becker carried out an important study of labelling. He carried out interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers. His findings were that they judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an image of the ‘ideal pupil’. Pupils work, conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teacher’s judgments. Middle class children were seen as the closest to ideal by teachers however lower working class children were seen as furthest away from it because they regarded them as badly behaved. Cicourel and Kitsuse’s study of educational councilors in an American high school shows how such labelling can disadvantage working class students. Cicourel and Kitsuse found inconsistencies in the way the councilors assessed students’ suitability for courses. Although they claimed to judge students according...
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...Sociology explanations have suggested many different reasons for the class base differences in education achievement. Studies have shown that there is a 45% gap between classes in A* - C GCSE outcomes. It is suggested that the diversity in educational success between different classes are due to inside factors. These are factors within schools and the education system that could cause these differences. One internal factor is labelling. To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them, which is done in schools between the different classes – especially by teachers as they usually label working class as negative because of their look, speech code (restricted) and attitude to learning. Becker’s study in 1971 is a prime example of labelling as he studied 60 high school teachers reporting that teachers’ ‘ideal’ pupil most closely fitted the characteristics of the middle class students. Labelling done by teachers can influence a student’s level of confidence and self-esteem, therefore making them feel like they may as well not try and not achieve well in school. However, Fuller’s researcher found that some students fight back against their negative labels and achieve more than expected. The self-fulfilling prophecy is another internal factor that can be linked to social class differences in achievement. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it being made and some sociologists argue that labelling can affect pupil’s achievement...
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...negatively impact their educational achievement. Labelling is also another factor that can cause social class differences in the education system. To label someone is to attach a name to someone. Interactionist Howard Becker would argue that teachers would often label students on stereotyped assumptions based on their class. Therefore working class pupils would often be labelled negatively while middle class children were labelled positively. Becker would argue that when children are labelled, a self fulfilling prophecy will occur which is an explanation of why working class students can sometimes not achieve much as they live up to their negative labels. Pupil subcultures could also be another factor which impacts on social class differences in education achievement. Lacey would argue that pro-school sub cultures would usually be common for middle class students as they enjoyed and tended to be committed to school. However the anti-school subculture was usually found with working pupils who rejected schools and turned to other things. Paul Willis would argue in favour of this as he would say working class lads were in the anti-school subculture as they knew that the education would fail them, so they showed signs of fatalism and accepted that they would never be successful, especially from the education system. Barry sugarman would further argue that these working class lads would then want immediate gratification, so they looked for jobs as a means to get by and make...
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...In this essay, the view that social class differences in educational underachievement are the result of school processes such as labelling will be assessed. Internal and external factors will be assessed with the use of researchers such as: Bernstein, Bereiter & Engelmann, Keddie and Howard. Internal factors such as labelling have been shown to effect education achievement. To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. Becker carried out a study on labelling on 60 Chicago high school teachers, and found that they judged pupils according to how closely they fit an image of the ideal pupil. The pupils work, conduct, and appearance were key factors to the teachers’ judgements. Becker found that middle class children were closer to the image of the ideal pupil whereas the working class children were furthest away and seen as badly behaved. Cicourel & Kituse’s study of educational counsellors in an American high school shows how this labelling can disadvantage working class student. They found that the way in which counsellors would assess the student’s suitability for courses. They judged students on the basis of their class and/or race. Where students would have the same grades, they work more likely to label middle class pupils as having college potential and to place them on higher level courses. Rist did a study on an American kindergarten and found that the teachers used information about the children’s home, background and appearance to place them...
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...attitude. Instead they label pupils on the basis of stereotyped assumptions about their class background. Howard Becker (1971) carried out an important interactionist study of labelling. He carried out interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers. His findings were that they judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an image of the ‘ideal pupil’. Pupils work, conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teacher’s judgements. Middle class children were seen as the closest to ideal by teachers however lower working class children were seen as furthest away from it because they regarded them as badly behaved. Aaron Cicourel and john Kitsuse’s (1963) study of educational councillors in an American high school shows how such labelling can disadvantage working class students. Cicourel and Kitsuse found inconsistences in the way the councillors assessed students’ suitability for courses. Although they claimed to judge students according to their ability, in practice they judged students largely on the basis of their social class and/or race. Another type of social process that leads to educational underachievement is streaming. Streaming involves separating children into different ability groups or classes called streams. Each ability group is then taught separately from the others, for all subjects. As Becker shows, teachers do not usually see working class...
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...In school factors can have a big impact on the social class differences in education achievement. However, it isn’t the only factor. In school factors include labelling; this is done by both students and teachers. Pupils will be labelled based on social class; a working class child is more likely to be labelled as ‘stupid’, and other degrading names. This labelling can lead to the self-fulfilling prophecy; this disadvantages them because the teacher is favouring other students. However, teachers are more likely to label a middle class child as smart, intelligent etc. Which makes them feel good and they achieve. This puts them at a starting advantage over their working class peers. Marxists would say this is creating inequality, and reproducing the ruling class ideology as they are above working class from an early age. Class size is also an in school factor; a small class means more one to one time with a teacher. Only middle class can afford public schools, and therefore have smaller class sizes and therefore are more likely to achieve more due to more time with the teacher. A middle class child is more likely to be placed in a higher set, as Bowles and Gintis says. This means they are more likely to be taught to a higher grade, which means they will perform better in the exam as they will be prepared for the exam. Some people may also argue that public schools have better teacher standards, only middle class can afford the public schools, which means they get this higher teaching...
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...In this essay, the view that social class differences in educational underachievement are the result of school processes such as labelling will be assessed. Internal and external factors will be assessed with the use of researchers such as: Bernstein, Bereiter & Engelmann, Keddie and Howard. Internal factors such as labelling have been shown to effect education achievement. To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. Becker carried out a study on labelling on 60 Chicago high school teachers, and found that they judged pupils according to how closely they fit an image of the ideal pupil. The pupils work, conduct, and appearance were key factors to the teachers’ judgements. Becker found that middle class children were closer to the image of the ideal pupil whereas the working class children were furthest away and seen as badly behaved. Cicourel & Kituse’s study of educational counsellors in an American high school shows how this labelling can disadvantage working class student. They found that the way in which counsellors would assess the student’s suitability for courses. They judged students on the basis of their class and/or race. Where students would have the same grades, they work more likely to label middle class pupils as having college potential and to place them on higher level courses. Rist did a study on an American kindergarten and found that the teachers used information about the children’s home, background and appearance to place them in separate...
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...Over the board, middle class students generally do better than working class students in educational achievement. Some sociologists argue that this is due to three key factors. Labelling, subcultures and marketisation. This focuses on things that occur internally. One of these key factors is labelling. To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to someone. An example of this would be that teachers often apply labels to students on the basis of their behaviour or appearance. Becker found some evidence behind this after he did some research on high school teachers. He found they would label students according to how closely they fitted the image of the, “ideal pupil.” Pupils work conduct and appearance were the key factors in influencing their judgement. Cicourel and Kitsuse also found some evidence when studying counsellors. They found inconsistencies in the way in which students suitability for courses were assessed. The councellors said they judged students according to their ability. In practise however they judged them on the basis of social class or race. Middle class students were more likely to be placed on higher level courses and seen as suitable college material. Following on from this labelling theory, Rist did some research and found that teachers used a range of methods to place students in separate groups and this had implications in terms of access to knowledge and achievement. Each pupil was streamed into a different group. Streaming is when a...
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