If at any point they failed, they would see this as a big mistake and give up and have a lack of motivation. It can also be argued that working class children do not get the support of their parents, this is because many of the parents believe that they survived without an education, so believe that there children can do the same. Working class families can also lack in support in terms of if the child fails a particular exam, they would not give them positive feed back on how they could improve they would improve. Whereas, it can be argued that higher class families have more motivation and the parents also give the support to the children that is needed. This would have a positive influence on the child’s education as it would give them hope and not give them an opportunity of giving up.
It has been found that working class parents are less likely to give their children educational toys or read to them. They also have less stimulation on thinking and reasoning skills. This has a negative effect on the intellectual development of their children; therefore when working class pupils begin school, they are at a disadvantage compared to middle class pupils, whose parents have a high intellectual stimulation on their children. However, the gap between middle class advantage and working class disadvantage is narrow and so this may not have as much of an impact as implied. Another way in which cultural deprivation may lead to educational underachievement is due to the different speech codes used by middle class and working class people.
Children are hindered by these kinds of schools, teachers and peers lay a big role in the children’s lives. Some teachers are there for the income it will bring into their house hold and not the well-being of the child and students are pressued by their peers into thinking that education is lame and for losers. In most cases this is what children of low income go through but not all. Many may not realize that the surroundings of children may sometimes affect their future. Being raised in a low income area surrounded by people living the same lifestyle as you as if struggling is the norm of society.
Payne stated that students should learn the “hidden rules” of the middle class from their educators so that they have another set of rules to use if they choose to do so. Impoverished students, compared to students of middle or upper class, often have a lack of proper funding, thus, a lack of appropriate resources to use in their education. Due to this, they are often unprepared for school, not having the money to purchase books and other educational tools. Both authors realize this, but argue that the responsibility lies on different shoulders. Payne states that impoverished students face inequality at school, insinuating that the school should be responsible for helping to provide for these students so that they can have a better education.
This is often because parents from poorer backgrounds are less likely to meet the child’s educational needs. Often children’s parents from poorer families have no jobs or jobs with minimal skills in, therefore don’t have
Many lower class citizens are at or below the poverty line and are have and unavoidable disadvantages and poorer chances to discover life’s possibilities. Regardless of the potential and ambition that a lower class individual could possess, he or she will not be given opportunities to succeed like a higher class individual. People who are considered lower class do not have access to many of the resources like a wealthier societies do. Based on their economic situation, they automatically start behind the eight ball. Wealthier societies have exceptional educational services which include better teachers, utilities, and curriculum, whereas poorer societies just get by on the bare minimum.
This is a big influence on student’s educational achievement as they do not have enough money to buy the necessary equipment for school such as revision guides. Also, if a student comes from a poor background, the house is more likely to be overcrowded. This means that they do not have a quiet place to study and do their homework which puts them at a disadvantage. Thay may not be able to afford educational trips etc. this is known as cultural deprivation.
Assess sociological explanations of ethnic differences in educational achievement Some sociologists argue that some ethnic groups maybe underachieving in the education system whereas some say that these ethnic groups differ in the education system. Material factors may affect ethnic groups in the education system, material deprivation explanations see educational failure as results from factors such as substandard housing and low income. Ethnic minorities are more likely to face these problems according to Flaherty as unemployment is three times higher for African and Bangladeshi/Pakistani people than for whites, Pakistanis are nearly twice as likely to be in unskilled or semi-skilled jobs compared to whites. Ethnic minorities are more likely to be engaged in shift work. These inequalities parallel those in educational achievement e.g.
Assess the importance of school factors such as racism and pupils’ responses to racism in creating ethnic differences in education Racism in school is clearly an important factor in the differences in educational achievement between ethnic groups. Students are often labelled subconsciously by teachers according to their ethnic group, for example Gillborn and Youdell (2000) found that most teachers are quicker to discipline black pupils than other for the same behaviour. They argue this is a result of ‘racialised expectations’ – the idea that teachers expect black pupils to present more discipline problems and misinterpret their behaviour as threatening or a challenge to authority. Foster (1990) found that teacher stereotyping and racism often led black pupils being placed in lower sets, resulting in lower levels of achievement and differences between ethnic groups. Asian pupils were found to also be the victims of racism in school, especially girls as Wright found (1992), saying that teachers leave Asian children out of classroom discussions and speak to them in childish language, isolating them from the other children and making them feel uncomfortable in school.
A poor diet can also affect the child’s energy levels, so even if they do go into school they find it difficult to concentrate. Students may also be unable to afford equipment or tutors that middle class students would have access to due to their wealth. There is also the matter of the cost of education. If a child wants to continue onto university, then that would take money that parents do not have. Middle class parents would also be able to send their child to a private school, which often results in a better quality of education.