There are many different factors that cause social class differences in educational achievement. In this essay I will be discussing the cultural factors of poverty and material deprivation, cultural deprivation, family socialisation and factors within the school. Some sociologists argue that material factors and the home background of students affect the attainment of students. They believe to due to the lack of income from working class parents, the students don’t receive a proper diet with vitamins, meaning they lack concentration. Also they will have a weaker immune system causing them to miss school due to illness.
Intellectual development is one aspect to cultural deprivation. Many theorists argue that many working class children lack equipment at home for example books and toys, so they can’t prepare themselves for school. The reason for the lack of equipment is because their parents get low paid working jobs so they can’t afford the equipment. Even if the parents can afford books J.W.B Douglas (1964) found that the parents wouldn’t help their children with reading or give them enough support for school. Basil Bernstein and Douglas Young (1967) found that middle class mothers would buy books and toys that would encourage their thinking and reasoning skills and prepare children for school.
The cultural ecological theory attempts to explain that some macro-ethnographic groups perform well in school, while others do not. Adult students or learners are the ones with the most diverse backgrounds. They have been adult for most part of their lives. They like to have control over whatever they learn and where and how it is learned. They should be given with the course having some kind of autonomy.
The questionnaires asked questions about reading and TV viewing habits. The conclusion was that those that read complex fiction and watched documentaries for example developed a greater vocabulary and knowledge, thus doing better in school. However, working class parents often can’t support their children in the same way due to material deprivation, and therefore their children are more culturally deprived, this clearly shows that cultural factors are a main cause for social class differences in educational achievement. Use of language between different social classes is also under cultural deprivation and can cause educational achievement differences. Bernstein distinguishes between two speech codes that he associates with two social classes, one being the restricted code, which he commonly associates with the working class where they use one word answers or hand gestures to communicate.
He argues that this is due to working-class parents being less likely to support and encourage their child’s intellectual development at home, therefore they are intellectually deprived compared to the middle-class pupils they are at school with. Sociologists such as Douglas believe that working-class homes often lack the books, educational toys and activities that would stimulate a child’s intellectual development. Language is another factor that is believed to create a social class difference. Basil Bernstein (1975) identified a language difference between the middle-class and working-class. He said the working-class are more likely to use the ‘restricted code’ which include limited vocabulary and is based on the use of short and unfinished, grammatically simple sentences, whereas the middle-class are more likely to use the ‘elaborated code’ which includes a wider range of vocabulary and is based on longer and grammatically more complex sentences.
Public school allows more interaction and socializing with other children, while home schooling concentrates on the how child progresses educationally, as the needs of the child are met. It is the goal of the parent home schooling to see their child succeed. Many parents would want to home school the child because of a hundred percent involvement in the child’s education, this is a major decision for any parent, but I know most parents wants to know how much their child is progressing on a daily basis, what are they learning and knowing they are a part of their child’s education. Most parents think it might be expensive to home school but it is not, most learning material can easily be found online for free. There is a famous quote by John F. Kennedy “The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.” As a parent, people around us might view home schooling as better especially those that home schooled as a child growing up.
Many EMGs are classed as working class families meaning social deprivation can often happen. The lack of money can often mean that families cannot afford the extra things which may aid their child in education. These are things could be as simple as books or stationary or not owning a computer, therefore having no access to the internet. As working class EMG families are on low incomes, children may not have the same experiences as working class children, missing out on holidays and trips to places such as museums and galleries. Many EMG children also do not have that initial push of how important education is for them.
Outline some of the ways cultural capital affects academic achievement (12) Cultural capital is the knowledge, attitudes, values and language that the middle class transmit to their children. For example middle class children have more cultural experiences than working class children, such as visiting museums, which means they are more likely to succeed in the education system. Firstly, Gewirtz identified three different types of approaches parents take when choosing their child’s school – privileged-skilled choosers, disconnected-local choosers and semi-skilled choosers. Privileged-skilled choosers are mainly professional middle-class parents who have cultural capital and use it to gain educational capital for their children. They are able to manipulate the education system to their advantage which means their children have a better chance at doing well in school.
Just as some Hispanic students have difficulty getting help with their homework because there is not an English speaker at home to offer assistance. Minority students are more likely to come from low income households and poorer living areas resulting in the minority student to be more likely to attend poorly funded schools based on the districting patterns within the school system. Schools in lower income districts tend to employ less qualified 2 teachers and have fewer educational resources compared to students coming from middle and upper class families and homes. Many states have initiated several strategies to close the achievement gaps among children. Achievement gaps are being closely
Delfinio I. Velasquez Professor: Tami Comstock Eng- 80-32544 3/26/2013 How Autonomy should be used with Parenting Parents want what is best for their kids, but what they think is best for their kids depends on what parents think an ideal adult looks like as a whole. Daniel H. Pink in Drive analyzes how authentic motivation and autonomy are required for children potential to be preserved. Parents should use more autonomy as much as they can to let their children feel that they are controlling their own life. This will increase their motivation in many areas and gain more confidence to achieve better grades in school. Allowing children to be able to think independently and create their own behavior can be an effective way to allow for more autonomy, improving their motivation in many areas and get the confidence to achieve better grades in school.