SOCIOLOGISTS FOR EDUCATION PAPER 1

SOCIAL CLASS
Feinstein Found that poor diet amongst low income groups can affect school performance,
(Diet, parental interaction with peers, & reduce self-esteem e.g. not able to concentrate, irritability,
interest & aggressive behaviour & personality changes. Found diet to have a direct impact on
language) children’s ability to think in the short- & long-term.

Argues that the main reason for working class children underachieving was their parents’
lack of interest in their children’s education. Less educated, working-class parents are less
likely to give their children educational toys & activities that will stimulate their thinking &
reasoning skills, & are less likely to read to them. This affects their intellectual
development so that when they begin school they are at a disadvantage compared to
middle class children.

Also found that educated parents are more likely to use language in a way that challenges
their children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities (e.g. ‘why do you think
that?’). In contrast, less educated parents tend to use language in ways that only require
children to make simple descriptive statements (e.g. ‘what is that animal called?’) which
results in lower performance.

Bull Lack of financial support means that children from poor families have to do without
(Financial equipment & miss out on experiences that would enhance their educational achievement.
support) He refers to this as ‘the costs of free schooling’.

Sugarman Related certain aspects of middle- & working-class subculture more directly to differential
(w/c subculture, educational attainment. He argued that differences in the nature of jobs tended to
attitudes & produce differences in attitude & outlook. He claimed many middle-class jobs provided an
values)
opportunity for continuous advancement in income & status. This encouraged planning for
the future & deferred gratification. w/c jobs reached full earning capacity quite quickly.
Manual workers are more likely to be unemployed or made redundant than m/c workers.
The absence of a career structure in many w/c jobs meant attitudes of immediate
gratification & fatalism are an established part of w/c subculture.

Bernstein Distinguishes between elaborated & restricted speech codes. w/c children tend to use a
(Language) restricted code which is less analytic & more descriptive. It is context-bound – it assumes
that the listener shares the same set of experiences, so does not spell them out. m/c
children use an elaborate code which is more analytic in which speakers spell out exactly
what they mean. Crucially, the elaborate code is the one used in the education system, by
teachers, textbooks & exams which can give middle class children an advantage over
working class children. This could partly explain the social class gap in achievement.

Keddie Describes cultural deprivation as a myth & sees it as a victim-blaming explanation. She
(Criticises argues that w/c kids are culturally different not culturally deprived. They fail because they
cultural are disadvantaged by an education system that is dominated by m/c values. E.g. textbooks
deprivation written from a m/c bias; teachers promoting m/c values.
theory)
She says the same for ethnicity & achievement – i.e. underachieving ethnic minority
groups are culturally different, not culturally deprived.
 Reay Points out that w/c people often lack the same degree of confidence & assertiveness that
(Criticises the middle classes possess in their interactions with teachers & schools. These factors can
cultural prevent working-class people from turning parental interest into practical support in the
deprivation
way m/c parents can.
theory)
Blackstone & Argue that as more w/c jobs require shift patterns of work, parents may not be able to
Mortimore attend parents’ evenings because of their work commitments not because they lack
(Criticise cultural interest in their children’s education.
deprivation
theory)
Bourdieu Argues that both cultural & material factors contribute to educational achievement & are
(Cultural capital not separate but interrelated. He uses the term cultural capital to refer to the knowledge,
& habitus) attitudes, values, language, tastes & abilities of the m/c that help them succeed in the
education system. The m/c use this cultural capital, alongside their economic capital
(money) to ‘buy’ educational capital (qualifications) & this is passed on again to the next
generation & so on. Sees m/c culture as ‘capital’ because it can be translated into wealth
& power, & gives an advantage to those who have it. This is because the culture,
knowledge & language of the school fit more closely to middle class culture; therefore
middle class students have an in-built advantage.

Also uses the concept of ‘habitus’ to refer to learned, taken-for-granted ways of thinking,
being & acting that are shared by a particular social class. It includes their tastes &
preferences about lifestyles & consumption (such as fashion & leisure pursuits), their
outlook on life & their expectations about what is normal or realistic for ‘people like us’. A
group’s habitus is formed as a response to its position in the class structure & can have
significant influence on achievement because schools have m/c habitus which gives m/c
students an advantage over w/c students.

Becker Found that teachers judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an image of the
(Labelling & the ‘ideal pupil’. Teachers are m/c & have a view of what this ‘ideal pupil’ should be like based
ideal pupil) a pupil’s appearance, language, social skills & social class background rather than in terms
of their real intellectual abilities. Therefore, w/c children were often perceived by teachers
as being on average less intelligent than m/c children. This can also lead to the ‘halo
effect’ when pupils then become stereotyped, either favourably or unfavourably, on the
basis of earlier impressions. E.g. a teacher who has formed a good impression of a student
because they have been cooperative & polite, may then assume that student is also bright
& hard-working (even if they are not!).

Rosenthal & Showed the self-fulfilling prophecy at work in their study at a Californian primary school.
Jacobson Simply by accepting the prediction that some pupils would spurt ahead, the teachers
(Labelling & the passed on these beliefs to the pupils through the way they interacted with them & the
self-fulfilling prediction was fulfilled for many despite being selected at random. This process can also
prophecy) produce under-achievement when teachers have low expectations of certain groups or
pupils such as those from a w/c background.
Lacey Polarisation is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of
(Streaming & two opposite ‘poles’ or extremes. In his study of Hightown boys’ grammar school, he
polarisation) found that streaming polarised boys into pro-school (mostly m/c) & anti-school (mostly
w/c) subcultures.
 Gillborn & Link streaming to the policy of publishing exam league tables. Schools need to achieve a
Youdell good league table position if they are to attract pupils & funding – this creates an ‘A-to-C
(A-C economy & economy’ in schools. This is a system in which schools focus their time, effort & resources
the educational
on those pupils they see as having the potential to get five grade Cs & so boost the
triage)
school’s league table position. This can put many w/c and certain ethnic minority children
at a big disadvantage.

The ‘A-to-C economy’ occurs through what the ‘educational triage’. Pupils who are likely
to get As or Bs are on the whole left to get on with it, borderline C-D pupils are targeted
for extra help as this will help the school’s league table position and pupils labelled as
‘hopeless cases’ are simply ‘warehoused’ in the bottom sets/streams. These ‘hopeless
cases’ are far more likely to be w/c. This produces a self-fulfilling prophecy & failure and
these concepts help to show how interactionist concepts such a labelling often interact
with wider educational processes like the ‘marketisation’ of schools.

ETHNICITY
Gillborn Gillborn points out that the very high attainment of Indian pupils suggests that having
English as an Additional Language is not always a barrier to success.
Driver & Ballard
Driver & Ballard found that by the age of 16, Asian children whose main home language
(EAL is not a was not English were at least as competent in English as their classmates.
barrier for most)
Department for Pupils with English as a second language, who speak another language in their homes,
Education (2013) outperformed in the EBacc their classmates who had English as their mother tongue.
Nehaul Criticised the explanation that black Caribbean parents have different attitudes from other
(Black Caribbean ethnic groups. In her research, she found that black Caribbean parents do value education
parents do value just as much as other ethnic groups & they are supportive of their children’s schooling.
education just as E.g. encouragement given to reading, the priority placed on talking regularly about the
much as other school day, the provision of materials & books for the school & the commitment to
ethnic groups) supporting homework
Charles Murray Argues that a high rate of lone parenthood & a lack of positive male role models lead to
(Cultural the underachievement of some minorities from a New Right perspective.
deprivation)
Ruth Lupton Argues that adult authority in Asian families is similar to the model that operates in
(Asian family schools. She found that respectful behaviour towards adults was expected from children.
structure) This had a knock-on effect in school, since parents were more likely to be supportive of
school behaviour policies.
Gillborn & Argue that teachers can hold ‘racialised expectations’ & these negative labels may then
Youdell lead to different treatment which could lead to failure through the self-fulfilling prophecy.
(Racialised The negative stereotypes about black pupils’ ability that some teachers hold means they
expectations
are more likely to be placed in lower sets or streams through the educational triage & the
leading to SFP)
pressure of the A-C economy in schools.
Cecile Wright Conducted research in a multi-ethnic primary school & found that Asian pupils were
(Asian pupils marginalised (pushed to the sides). E.g. it was assumed Asian pupils would have a poor
marginalised) grasp of English & so they were often left out of class discussions or spoke to in simplistic
language. Pupils felt isolated when teachers expressed disapproval of their cultural
customs or mispronounced their names.
 Tony Sewell Found that black boys adopted a range of responses to teacher’s racist labelling of them as
(Black boys & rebellious & anti-school (e.g. conform, retreat or rebel). Some responses led to failure
different within the school system (e.g. the rebels) while others lead to success (e.g. the
subcultural conformists).
reactions to
labelling)
Fuller Found that the black girls in her study resisted the attempt to label them as failures by
(Negative devoting themselves to school work in order to be successful, while still maintaining
labelling does not successful relationships with their peers.
always lead to a
SFP)
David Describes our National Curriculum as ‘specifically British’ as it largely ignores non-
(National European languages, literature & music. It is argued that this can make ethnic minority
Curriculum is pupils feel isolated & ignored which could lead to underachievement due to anger,
ethnocentric) rebellion or a lack of engagement at school.

GENDER
Sue Sharpe Compared the results of interviews she carried out with girls in the 1970s & girls in the
(Changing 1990s. In the 1970s girls had low aspirations, saw educational success as unfeminine &
expectations of gave their priorities as love, marriage, husbands & children before careers. In the 1990s,
girls research)
however, girls were more likely to see their future as independent women with a career,
rather than being dependent on a husband & his income.
Carol Fuller Found that educational success was a central aspect of many girls’ identities. They saw
(Supports Sue themselves as creators of their own future & aimed for a professional career that would
Sharpe) enable them to support themselves which clearly requires good educational qualifications.
Gorard Argues that changes in the way students are examined have favoured girls &
(1988 ERA is the disadvantaged boys. The gender-gap in achievement increased after the introduction of
root cause of GCSEs & coursework in 1988. He says the gender gap in achievement is a "product of the
gender
changed system of assessment rather than any more general failing of boys".
differences)
Mitsos & Browne Argue that girls are more successful in coursework because they are better organised &
(Girls are more more conscientious than boys. They found that girls tend to spend more time on their
successful at work, take more care on its presentation, & are better at keeping to deadlines. All of this
coursework) helped girls to benefit from the introduction of coursework in GCSE, AS & A level.
Elwood Although coursework has some impact on results, Elwood notes that exams have more
(Criticism that influence on final grades, so the introduction of coursework had only a limited effect on
the answer is gender differences in achievement. Moreover, coursework has been phased out in many
coursework)
subjects & girls still achieve higher results overall despite this & the more recent
introduction of linear exams (completed over two years).

Barber Teacher-pupil interactions are very significant. For girls, feedback from teachers focuses
(Teacher more on their work rather than their behaviour; for boys the reverse is true.
feedback)
Mitsos & Browne The decline in male manual work may result in working class boys lacking motivation.
(Globalisation & Argue that this decline in male employment opportunities has led to a crisis of masculinity.
decline of male Many boys now believe that they have little chance of getting a ‘proper job’, which
manual work)
undermines some boys’ self-esteem & motivation and so they give up trying to gain
qualifications.
 Francis Points out that boys are more likely to have career aspirations that are not only unrealistic
(Boys unrealistic but often require few formal qualifications, e.g professional footballer. Girls’ aspirations,
expectations) however, tend to require academic effort, e.g. teacher, doctor, & therefore they have a
commitment to schoolwork.

Also found boys are more concerned than girls about being labelled by peers as swots,
because this label is more of a threat to their masculinity than it is to girls' femininity. This
is supported by Epstein who found working class boys are likely to be harassed, bullied &
subject to homophobic verbal abuse if they appear to be 'swots' ('real boys don't work').

Sewell Boys fall behind in education because schools have become feminised. This means that
(Feminisation of schools tend to emphasise feminine traits such as methodical working & attentiveness,
education) which disadvantages boys. Schools do not nurture 'masculine' traits such as
competitiveness & leadership. Sees coursework as a major cause of gender differences in
achievement as this favours feminine approaches to work.

Jackson Found that laddish behaviour was based on the idea that it is uncool to work hard at
(‘Laddish’ school. She found that boys based their laddish behaviour on the dominant view of
subcultures) masculinity – they acted tough, messed around, disrupted lessons & rejected schoolwork
as ‘feminine’.

Murphy & Argue that early difference in gender socialisation leads to boys & girls having different
Elwood tastes in reading & these can lead to differences in subject choice. Boys tend to read
(Gender hobby books which develops an interest in the sciences, whereas girls tend to read stories
socialisation &
about people which can lead to an interest in English. The gendered toys that are given to
subject choice)
boys & girls can also have an influence. Girls are often given dolls & domesticated toys to
play with. This can encourage the desire to work with children when they are older
leading to an interest in primary teaching & HSC. Boys are stereotypically given more
active toys, construction sets & science kits which lead into PE, maths & hard sciences
such as Chemistry.

Connell ‘Hegemonic masculinity’ – the dominance of heterosexual masculine identity & the
(Hegemonic lowering of female & gay identities. According to Connell boys use name-calling to put girls
masculinity in down if they behave in certain ways & other boys down who do not fit into this dominant
schools)
version of male identity.

THEORY

Durkheim Social solidarity – the education system helps to integrate people into society by giving
(Functionalist) them a sense of belonging & teaching us a value consensus though both the formal &
hidden curriculum. This gives individuals commitment to the social group & creates a
feeling of ‘togetherness’.

Economic training – the division of labour in modern society requires an adequate supply
of trained workers. Education teaches the specific skills necessary for the economy.
 Parsons Secondary socialisation – education acts as a necessary bridge between the family &
(Functionalist) wider society. It gets individuals used to being judged against universalistic standards in
the ‘gentler, more forgiving’ environment of school by being like a society in miniature.

Meritocracy – status in schools is achieved rather than ascribed & everyone is given an
equal opportunity to succeed according to functionalists. Rewards are given through the
effort & ability of individuals.
Davis & Moore Role allocation – education sifts & sorts pupils into their future work roles.
(Functionalist)
Althusser Ideological state apparatus – education helps to control people’s ideas, values & beliefs
(Marxist) for the benefit & interests of the ruling capitalist class. Schools contribute to a false
consciousness & the w/c learn to cooperate in their own exploitation.
Bourdieu Cultural capital – what counts as educational knowledge is not the culture of society as a
(Marxist) whole, but that of the dominant social class. The knowledge, attitudes, values, language,
tastes, etc. of the dominant class are more accessible to the better-off m/c & upper-class
& so the educational failure of the majority of the w/c is inevitable.
Bowles & Gintis Correspondence principle – schooling mirrors (or corresponds) to work through the
(Marxist) hidden curriculum to prepare future workers for their roles in society. E.g. pupils learning
how to work within & accept a hierarchy.

Myth of meritocracy – the education system is a ‘giant myth-making machine’ making

inequality seem fair, natural & inevitable.
Paul Willis In contrast to Bowles & Gintis, Willis found in his study of 12 non-academic working class
(Marxist who boys that they were fully aware of the myth of meritocracy & they did rebel against the
uses system. Willis noted how the ‘lads’ formed an anti-school subculture which rejected the
interactionist
schools rules & saw through the ‘con’ of meritocracy. The boys went to school to have a
methods)
‘laff’. However, this attitude ensured that the boys failed in school & ended up doing the
dead end jobs they had always been destined for.

POLICY (Often cross-over here with social class, gender & ethnicity too)
Gerwitz She found that differences in economic & cultural capital lead to class differences in how
(m/c privileged far parents can exercise choice of secondary school. Professional m/c parents tend to be
skilled choosers) privileged skilled choosers who understand how the schools admissions procedures work
& can use this knowledge to access the best schools.

Bartlett Says marketisation leads popular schools to ‘cream-skim’ higher ability students & ‘silt-
(Cream-skimming shift’ lower ability students from disadvantaged backgrounds into unpopular schools who
& silt shifting) are obliged to take them for funding reasons.

Ball Marketisation gives the appearance of creating a parentocracy where parents have free
(myth of choice over which schools they send their children to. However, this is really a myth
parentocracy) because not all parents have the same freedom of choice. It can be argued that
marketisation has actually increased inequalities between pupils, e.g. m/c parents are
better placed to take advantage of the available choices as w/c parents lack the cultural &
economic capital to take full advantage of the system.