SOCIAL CLASS:
INEQUALITIES 2
Why do working class children
fail?

Is it because:
 Genetically,
working class children are not as
clever as children from higher classes (Heredity)
 The system & structure of education does not
support the working class as well as middle
class?
 Parents don’t support them mentally or
financially, and don’t value education?
 Education is a middle-class institution Teachers
are Middle class/syllabus is designed by Middle
class etc.)?
Heredity


View that ability is related to genetics – passed on by
parents (e.g. inherited traits)
Educational psychologists such as Cyril Burt believed
that by testing children you would see their ability





= 11+ exams & ‘streaming’ through Tripartite system
Problems with this idea
Mostly middle-class/white dominated tests =
discriminates against other classes/ethnic groups
Not consider external influences on I.Q (parents/health
etc.)
Surveys (1950’s) showed w.class children
underachieving – was the education system failing?
System of Education
‘There is a strong direct association between social class
background and success in education: put simply, the
higher a child’s social class, the greater are their
attainments on average. According to DfEE figures, in
1997 children from the most advantaged backgrounds ..
were more than three times as likely to attain five or more
higher grade GCSEs than their peers at the other end of
the class spectrum … This is one of the longestestablished trends in British education … there is evidence
that the inequality of attainment between social classes
has grown since the late 1980s. (www.Ofsted.gov.uk)
http://www.thetruthaboutourschools.com/2011/06/18/beware-ofattempts-to-undermine-feinsteins-graph/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/apr/13/educationinequality-election-figures-misled

System of Education-Has Reform
helped?
Ball et al (1991-94)Found that mostly Middle
class children where benefiting from the
‘parental choice’ opportunities because:
 Schools were trying to get the brightest pupils
 M.class parents are more likely to work the
system to get children into better schools
because:

 Own
transport or can afford transport for child
 Can afford to move into catchment areas
 Can afford extra teaching
 Know how to get round middle class head
teachers.
Reasons for
Inequality:Upbringing

Parents (Douglas:1964)





Attitudes influence school performance
Middle-class visit schools more often
Housing/Health influences Educational Achievement
CRIT: Maybe W/class parents can’t visit schools (e.g.work
commitments) or feel uneasy in school environment
Different value systems (Hyman)





W/class don’t value Education so much
Not about improving social standing but maintaining it for
W.Class
Work/trade is more important boys
CRIT: (Boudon) Not about values or ambition but structure of
society –working class start at a disadvantage to middle class
kids (backed up by Willis’ study of working class)
SS2000_04education.pdf (Sociology Since 2000)
Reasons for Inequality:
Upbringing

Home environment
 Coats



& Silburn – St Annes, Nottingham
Poor housing, low self esteem
More illness, more absence
Poor vocabulary etc. when starting school=slow start
 Halsey



Found higher income = better support for education at home
Believed that staying on at school (6th form/FE) is down to
financial circumstances & not ability
However, noted that grants for sixth-form students may
support working-class ability
Education is a middle-class
institution?

Teachers are generally middle-class
 Values
– they generally impose these in the classroom.
 Behaviour is judged on middle-class standards.

The curriculum is designed by the middle-class.
 Secretary
of State for Education decides the
curriculum/subjects to be studied.
 Text books are written by teachers etc. and generally
use middle-class examples.
Influence of Teachers

Language – teachers reaction to speech

Bernstein (1950’s) was a teacher in east London &
noticed the importance of ‘speech codes’


Restricted (short, no detail) – w.class- children respond
quickly without question
Elaborated (long, detailed explanation) m.class- children
take part in conversation through questions etc.


W.class disadvantaged because teachers speak in
elaborate code
Behaviour – more ability = better behaviour?

Hargreaves (1975) ‘Deviance in Classrooms’


Teachers give children labels according to characteristics,
where they live & how they dress
Whether the label sticks depends on how often they are
labelled, whether they value the opinion of the teacher, if
others support the label & where the labelling takes place
Influence of Teachers

Labelling & the ‘Self-fulfilling prophecy’

What ever label you are given (e.g. bright, naughty, stupid)
by your teacher may influence the person you become (if you
accept the label)

Tested by Rosenthal & Jacobsen (1968)
 They
persuaded teachers that a random group were really
smart to see if would have an effect on:
 It

How they were treated & consequently..

How well they did at school
worked – the children’s IQ got higher (more esteem from
teachers =work harder)
Present underachievement



Edinburgh University Study (2006): Key findings
Inequalities in attainment at age 16 were similar in England
and Scotland.
Inequalities in attainment at age 18 improved slightly
between the 1980s and the 1990s in England but not in
Scotland. Within each Scottish cohort the class gap was
wider at 18 than at 16 years. By the late 1990s
inequalities at age 18 were substantially wider in Scotland
than in England.
In both countries social-class differences in entry to HE could
largely be attributed to class differences in achieving the
qualifications for entry to HE. Inequalities in entry to degree
courses were wider than for HE as a whole.
Sources & Suggested Reading
Brown. K, (1992) An Introduction to Sociology Cambridge. Polity
Press
Haralambos & Holborn, (2000) Sociology; Themes and
Perspectives. Fifth Edition London. HarperCollins Publishers.
Taylor, D (1988) Mastering Social & Economic History Hamshire.
Macmillan Education Ltd
Taylor, Richardson, Yeo, Marsh, Trobe & Pilkington, (1993)
Sociology in Focus Ormskirk. Causeway Press Ltd
www.inthenews.co.uk
Next Weeks Lesson
Functionalism and Marx