Differential Educational Achievement by Social Class

Material deprivation refers to lack of physical and economic resources affecting educational achievement.
Low income can lead to inadequate diet, poor housing, and health problems which can hinder pupils’ concentration and energy levels.
Bernstein & Young argue that middle-class parents can provide more educational toys and books, helping their children to achieve.
Flaherty highlights how money worries might cause distress and distraction to pupils, negatively impacting their academic performance.

Cultural deprivation means the absence of certain expected knowledge, attitudes, and skills which are important for educational success.
Bernstein distinguishes between elaborated code used by middle-class students, and restricted code used by working-class students, which affects their communication skills in school.
Bourdieu refers to cultural capital that middle-class children possess, providing them with an advantage in school.
Feinstein demonstrates how middle-class parents are more likely to provide an intellectually stimulating environment, offering reading and museum visits.

School factors include issues related to schools themselves, such as leadership quality, teaching staff, and resources which could affect educational achievement.
Ball argues that schools’ ethos and policies might reflect middle-class values, leading to disadvantages for working-class pupils.
Streaming or setting can result in self-fulfilling prophecies, perpetuating class differences. Rosenthal & Jacobson highlight the ‘Pygmalion effect’.
Rist argues that teachers use pupils’ appearance to judge their ability and potential, resulting in discrimination based on social class.

Interactionists focus on small-scale, face-to-face interactions within school.
Becker claims teachers label pupils based on their perceived ‘ideal student’. Working-class students are disadvantaged in this process.
Labelling can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, where students conform to labels attached to them.
Ball’s study of ‘Beachside comprehensive’ provides evidence of negative labels assigned to working-class students.

Examining differential achievement by social class reveals deep-seated social issues that affect education. By understanding these factors, one can better comprehend the barriers to educational achievement.

Material Deprivation and Social Class

Cultural Deprivation and Social Class

School Factors and Social Class

Interactionism, Labelling Theory, and Social Class