Inequality Essay 2500 words PDF

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Education studies: Assessment Report Form Part 1: To be completed by the student and submitted with each piece of assessed work. Student Number

310611

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ED6012

Short Title of Assignment Discuss the Relationship Between Educational Achievement and Social Class and Consider the Social, Economic and Cultural Factors that Help Account for These Patterns.

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31.05.2019

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Programme Level: Level 4: Knowledge of - Level 5 Critical Understanding - Level 6 Systematic Understanding Knowledge, understanding and interpretation of key concepts (for the essay this includes key concepts and theories relating to inequality and educational outcomes) 2. Reading and evaluation of relevant literature (for the essay, this includes the most relevant academic literature, where available, that informs your chosen essay question) 3. Ethical awareness and behaviour (for the essay, this includes appropriate referencing giving credit to all extracts you use)

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Discuss the Relationship Between Educational Achievement and Social Class and Consider the Social, Economic and Cultural Factors that Help Account for These Patterns. This essay aims to discuss the relationship between educational achievement and social class. Social class plays a sizable role in educational attainment, with children from a lower social class background, achieving less than those from the upper-classes. The difference in

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attainment can be explained using social, cultural and economic factors which surround the child and their family. After looking at some of these explanations and discussing why they may lead to low attainment for disadvantaged children, the essay will briefly look at some of the policies in place to help these children and their families to close this attainment gap and ultimately aid social mobility.

Firstly, it is important to understand the definitions of social class before discussing the impact this may have on a child’s educational achievement. The National Statistics SocioEconomic Classification have defined class using the occupational model. This model assumes that an individuals’ socio-economic status and their occupation determine what social class they are in (NS-SEC, 2017). However, Pierre Bourdieu, a French Sociologist, believed that class was more complex than this and that it could not just be based on income and occupation. Bourdieu argued that an individuals’ social class also had elements of social and cultural factors as well as economic elements (Bourdieu, 1997). In more recent years, Mike Savage et al worked with the BBC to create a survey to determine social class in the United Kingdom. The findings from the survey led to a new 7-point class system being created. Whilst Savage wanted to keep the three categories of capital Bourdieu had determined, Savage believed that this ideology was out-dated and social class had evolved and was now more complex. The new 7-point class system, starting at the bottom, consisted of the: Precariat, traditional working class, emergent service workers, new affluent workers, technical middle class, established middle class and the elite (Savage et al, 2013). Social class plays a huge role in a child’s attainment at school. If a child is from a socially disadvantaged background, then they are likely to underachieve at school compared to if they are from a higher social class and this will be looked at in more detail next.

Bourdieus ideology of the three categories of capital an individual may hold, social, cultural and economic capital can be used to understand how children may be disadvantaged and therefore underachieve at school. Social capital refers to the social network in which an individual may be a part of. If a child’s parent sit within an upper-class, then it is likely for their friends and work colleagues to also be within the same class. This can an advantage to children as they will already have a social network in place which could help with future career prospects, employment and social events. Cultural capital refers to items that a child has inherited due to their upbringing. This can vary between the experiences a child has had, such as visiting museums or holidaying abroad to simply how they speak. If a child has had more cultural experiences and speak articulately then it is likely that they will have more of a chance when it comes to getting into top universities and their performance and desirability for future job interviews. Finally, if a child’s parents have economic capital then

they may use their money to send their children to private schools. Children from private schools often have a higher level of academic attainment due to the opportunities and ethos of hard work provided by the school. Furthermore, they will also socialise with children from the same social class and therefore open up their social networking and often open doors for cultural experiences (Bourdieu, 1997). The higher level of education can be shown with the example of Eton College. In 2010, David Cameron became the 19th Prime Minister to have been educated at Eton College. Moss, writing for the BBC, argues that this is due to the ethos of the college and the values that they hold rather than the education received, and the exam results achieved. The college provides the pupils with a sense of worth and ambition and assists any pupil if they want a career in leadership. This is also shown in Dorling 2018 where members of the ‘elite’ believe that they deserve to be where they are as they are the brightest and the best members of society (Dorling, 2018). Eton college runs a number of societies which the pupils set up and run themselves which gives them a great start for a career in politics (Moss, 2010). This shows that due to the economic capital of their parents, the boys can open social and cultural doors and therefore go on to top universities or exceed within upper-class jobs once they leave the school. Statistics from the Social Mobility Commission show that social class plays a large role in the academic attainment of children from an early age. A study showed that children from an upper social class are more likely to perform better in cognitive tests at the age of five years old compared to children from a lower social class (Social Mobility Commission, 2016). The performance of the child is related to the parenting and early life experiences in which they have received. It was also found that if a child’s parents are educated to a high level then they are likely to spend 110 minutes a day on educational activities with their children compared to just 71 minutes a day if a parent has a lower level of education (Social Mobility Commission, 2016). These findings show the effect parental income and levels of education have on their children’s educational attainment. Furthermore, the National Audit office stated, ‘as poor academic performance is associated with lower wages and higher unemployment in adulthood, this ‘attainment gap’ is a key mechanism for transmitting poverty from one generation to the next’ (NAO, 2015). Therefore, the home learning environment plays a large role in the educational achievement of children when they go to school. If they start from a socially disadvantaged background, then this is likely to continue throughout their schooling.

Furthermore, Richard Riddell explains some of the reasons that socially disadvantaged children may underachieve at school due to the socio-economic status of their parents. Firstly, children may struggle to access the resources needed to achieve well in school. For example, their parents may not have enough money to afford a computer or even access to

the internet in order for them to complete any homework or additional learning tasks at home. If they are not able to complete these tasks at home then they will not be able to further their understanding in key subject areas and therefore may achieve lower grades on exams compared to children who have these resources available at home (Riddell, 2016). Secondly, children from low income families may feel pressured by their peers at school to dress a certain way or to own certain items such as the newest smartphone or laptop. However, some parents are unable to even buy the simplest uniform for their children which is a requirement of the school. This pressure could lead to the child not socialising with their peers or even being bullied (Riddell, 2016). If the child from a low-income family isolates themselves from their peers, then they are also excluding themselves of gaining social and cultural capital and therefore limiting their chances of social mobility. Finally, Riddell suggests that ‘children may voluntarily withdraw from certain activities such as school trips’ due to the embarrassment of having extra funding to cover this. If a child misses out on a school trip then they are again limiting the cultural capital in which they could have gained from the school trip (Riddell, 2016). All three of these factors can lead a child from a lowerclass background in having a lower attainment at schools compared to their peers from higher classes.

In addition, Crompton (2008) believes that it is the cultural and economic factors Bourdieu describes as being the most important, when explaining differences in educational attainment between the different social classes (Bourdieu, 1997; Crompton, 2008). Crompton acknowledges that there has been a dramatic change to family structure over the years. Marriage rates are declining, and divorce rates are rising as well as the number of women who are going back to work after starting a family. These factors could lead to a family receiving a lower income and therefore not being able to provide the correct resources for children during their school years. Furthermore, due to the change in family structure, children may not feel supported to achieve well or they may be facing issues within the family home which limits their ability to achieve at school (Crompton, 2008). Crompton also notes that family structures often reproduce the class system as parents will teach their children their own norms and values. Therefore, if a child’s parents left school at a young age and did not access any higher education but left for a lower-class job; they are more likely to follow in these footsteps as it is what they perceive as being normal. Whilst schools can try to compensate for the lack of social capital by trying to influence children to adopt middle class ideologies, they cannot compensate for the economic difference between social classes. Therefore, this lowers the chance of the child to achieve academically and therefore limits their social mobility (Crompton, 2008).

As the attainment gap between the social classes is such a big problem within society, the government have several policies and provide extra funding for the most disadvantaged children of society to help close the gap and increase social mobility. The two main areas of funding are those of Free School Meals (FSM) and Pupil Premium (PP). Both of these are given to children who fit into certain criteria, such as if their parents are on a low income of if their parents are in receipt of any benefit money from the government.

Free school meals ensure that children from a disadvantaged background are entitled to a healthy hot meal at lunch time. This ensures that the child has eaten and ready to learn and allows the family to spend their money on resources for the child to use at home in order to increase their educational achievements (GOV UK, 2017). However, evidence suggests that FSM are not working as intended. Gorard 2012 found that there was significant difference in exam results of pupils who were entitled to FSM and those who were not. This shows that whilst FSM is a good indicator of social disadvantage, it is not working as intended to close the attainment gap (Gorard, 2012). Furthermore, statistics produced by the Department for Education in 2011 show that 34% of pupils entitled to FSM achieved 5 good GCSE’s compared to 62% of pupils who are not (DfE, 2012).

Pupil premium is additional funding given to schools for every socially disadvantaged pupil in attendance to help them raise their academic attainment (DfE, 2017). The schools can use this extra funding at their own discretion although resources are provided by PP and the Education Endowment Foundation to help schools use this extra funding effectively to help their most disadvantaged pupils (EEF, 2011). However, PP does not seem to be closing the achievement gap as the Sutton Trust found that the gap only narrowed by 0.2% between 2011 and 2014 (Sutton Trust and EEF, 2015). Although schools are provided with extra funding through FSM and PP, evidence shows that this is not helping children from lower social classes to achieve the same as their peers from higher social classes.

Rasbash et al (2010) criticises studies into the effectiveness of finding such as PP and FSM as there are many factors that effect a child’s attainment due to the complex social environments in which they grow up in. Rasbash recognised that only 14% of a child’s time would have been spent in school by the time they reach 16. Therefore, a child’s family and geographical location have a large impact on how well children achieve at school (Rasbash et al, 2010). Rasbash notes that the way in which a family interact with a child and whether they support them through their education or not can have an effect on their attainment. This links to Bourdieus concept of cultural capital and how a child’s upbringing and what they have inherited can help them later on in life and throughout their education (Bourdieu, 1997).

Rasbash argues that the family and home learning environment have the biggest impact on a child’s educational attainment as this is where they spend the majority of their time (Rasbash et al, 2010). However, Goldthorpe argues that it is the economic capital that determines a child’s educational attainment. He argues that parents from the upper class can afford for their children to get a good education as they see it as a necessity compared to parents of a lower-class background where money is deemed more important from an early age compared to an education. Goldthorpe also suggests that high income parents can also afford to make further investments into their children if they fail their education the first time. Furthermore, families with a high income also have the ability to move to a new house in the catchment area of better graded ofsted schools to provide their children with the best chance of gaining a good education (Crompton, 2008). This suggests that economic capital is more influential in a child’s educational attainment compared to those of cultural and social capital.

In conclusion, children from a socially disadvantaged background have a lower attainment at school compared to their peers from higher class families. This can be explained using economic, cultural and social factors. Whilst schools try to compensate for the attainment gap by providing extra funding for disadvantaged pupils, evidence shows that it is not effective and more needs to be done to help these children. However, the economic, social and cultural elements of social class which the children gain from their families and home learning environment, play a sizeable role in their academic achievement as this is where they spend the majority of their time and therefore will influence them the most.

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References BBC News (2018). English hubs aim to boost child literacy. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42587007 [Accessed 31 May. 2019]. Bourdieu P (1997) ‘The Forms of Capital’, in A H Halsey, H Lauder, P Brown and Wells A S (Eds) Education: Culture, Economy, Society . Oxford: Oxford University Press (pp46-58). Crompton R (2008) Class and Stratification. 3rd edition. Cambridge: Polity Press. (Chapter 7: Families, Social Mobility and Educational Achievement).

DfE (2012), GCSE and Equivalent Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England, 2010/11 www.education.gov. uk/rsgateway/Db/SfR/S001057/sfr03-2012.pdf DfE (2017). Pupil premium: funding and accountability for schools - GOV.UK. [online] Gov.uk. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and-alternativeprovision-settings [Accessed 31 May. 2018]. Dorling, D (2018) Peak Inequality – Britains Ticking Time Bomb Bristol: Policy Press

EEF (2011). Teaching and Learning Toolkit. [online] Education Edowment Foundation. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit [Accessed 31 May. 2019]. Gorard, S. (2012). Who is eligible for free school meals? Characterising free school meals as a measure of disadvantage in England. British Educational Research Journal, 38(6), pp.1003-1017. GOV UK (2017). Apply for free school meals. [online] Gov.uk. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/applyfree-school-meals [Accessed 31 May. 2019]. Moss, P. (2010). BBC News - Why has Eton produced so many prime ministers?. [online] News.bbc.co.uk. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8622933.stm [Accessed 30 May 2019].

NAO (2015). Funding for disadvantaged pupils. [ebook] Available at: https://www.nao.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2015/06/Funding-for-disadvantaged-pupils-summary.pdf [Accessed 31 May. 2019]. NS-SEC (2017). The National Statistics Socio-economic classification (NS-SEC) - Office for National Statistics. [online] Ons.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/classificationsandstandards/otherclassifications/thenationalstatis ticssocioeconomicclassificationnssecrebasedonsoc2010 [Accessed 31 May. 2019]. Rasbash, J, Leckie, G. Pillinger, R. and Jenkins, J. (2010) Children’s Educational Progress: Positioning Family, School and Area Effects. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 28 (6) p847-863 Riddell, R. (2016). Equity, trust and the self-improving schools system. London. Savage M, Devine F, Cunningham N, Taylor M, Li Y, Hjellbrekke J, Le Roux B, Friedman M, Miles A (2013) ‘A New Model of Social Class? Findings from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey Experiment’, Sociology 47(2): 219-250. Social Mobility Commission (2016). State of the Nation 2016: Social Mobility in Great Britain. [ebook] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/569410/Social_Mobility _Commission_2016_REPORT_WEB__1__.pdf [Accessed 31 May. 2019]. Sutton Trust and EEF (2015). THE PUPIL PREMIUM Next Steps. [ebook] Available a...