Social Class and DEA Key Concepts

Social Class and DEA Key Concepts

Important key terms relating to social class differences in educational achievement

Open Ended

What do you already know about social class differences in educational achievement? Write your ideas here.

So far we have looked at...

• Labelling

• Self-fulfilling prophecy

• Material deprivation

• Subcultures

• Hidden curriculum

Multiple Choice

Which of these concepts refers to the ways in which working class children are lacking in finances and resources to succeed in education?

• Cultural deprivation

• Labelling

• Material deprivation

• Subcultures

Multiple Select

Which of these factors are considered to be examples of material deprivation? Tick all that apply

• Lack of study space at home

• Disinterest in education

• Unable to buy uniform, pay for trips and school equipment

• Poor diet and health

• Parents do not value education

Open Ended

List as many internal factors affecting class differences in education as you can

New concepts

• Cultural deprivation

• Cultural capital

• Restricted code

• Elaborated code

• Marketisation and selection policies

• Selection policies

• Compensatory education

Cultural Deprivation vs. Cultural Capital

• Cultural deprivation - lacking the norms, values and attitudes required to succeed in education

• Cultural capital - having the norms, values and attitudes required to succeed in education

Multiple Select

Which of these factors are examples of cultural deprivation?

• Lacking the money needed to be able to pay for a tutor

• Lacking the understanding of the education system needed to ensure your child gets into the best school

• Having a good grasp of academic and sophisticated language

• Lacking desire to take educational trips and visits e.g. museums

• Parents lacking the educational skill required to help their child with homework

Multiple Select

Which of these are examples of cultural capital?

• Parents being able to "play the system" by understanding the league tables and knowing which schools are better and worse

• Being able to live in a house in the catchment area for a good school

• Having basic language skills and lacking the ability to articulate your point

• Parents feeling that they fit in at school and can "hold their own" at parents' evening

• Having the resources to be able to send a child to private school

Elaborated and Restricted Speech Codes

• Elaborated speech code - used by the middle class, complex sentences, greater vocabulary, correct grammar, formal

• Restricted speech code - used by working class, simple sentences, limited vocabulary, grammar mistakes, informal

• Watch: "Social Interactionist Theory of Language Development" on YouTube up to 5 minutes

Open Ended

How do speech codes affect social class differences in educational achievement?

Marketisation

• Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz found that by increasing competition between schools the government also created inequalities between opportunities given to students

• The 1988 Education Reform Act led to the creation of league tables and Ofsted reports which gave parents an insight into how "good" schools are

• This act also introduced parental choice - for the first time, parents could choose which school to send their children to

• Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz argued that middle class parents had a better understanding of the system (cultural capital) that meant they were better prepared to get their children into the best schools

Open Ended

How might marketisation have affected class differences in educational achievement?

Compensatory Education

• In order to tackle the problem of class inequality in educational achievement, governments have tried to implement policy solutions

• Pupil Premium - schools get more money for pupils from disadvantages backgrounds

• SureStart centres - funding allocated to set up centres for pre-school children in disadvantaged areas

• Educational Maintenance Allowance - further education students paid up to £30 per week for attending education or training

Open Ended

How could compensatory education make up for material deprivation? Give an example

Open Ended

How could compensatory education make up for cultural deprivation? Give an example

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• Knowledge organiser