Social class and educational achievement Cambridge IGCSE Sociology revision
Not started
Learn it
In plain words
In nearly every country that keeps the figures, children from better-off families get better exam results, on average, than children from poorer ones. The gap opens before school starts and is still there at university. This unit is about why.
9 things to know
- The pattern: on average, middle-class pupils get better results, stay in education longer and are more likely to go to university than working-class pupils.
- Material factors: low income means overcrowded housing, no quiet place to study, a poorer diet, and no money for books, trips, tutors or digital technology.
- Cultural and social factors: parents who did well at school themselves are more able to help, and may expect more. Some sociologists claim that poorer families place less value on education. Others reply that they value it and lack the means.
- Cultural capital: middle-class families pass on the knowledge, language and confidence that schools reward.
- Home and community factors: the area a child grows up in affects the quality of local schools, the role models around them and what seems possible.
- Linguistic factors: schools, textbooks and exams use a formal, detailed style of language. Children who hear and use this style at home are at an advantage.
- Compensatory education is extra help for disadvantaged children, meant to make up for what is lacking at home, such as free pre-school places and extra funding for their schools.
- In-school factors: teachers may label working-class pupils as less able, which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pupils respond by forming pro-school sub-cultures, which accept the school's values, or anti-school sub-cultures, which reject them.
- Selective and private education favours those who can pay for fees or coaching. Marxists argue that the whole system is built to make sure that working-class pupils fail.
Worked example
A working-class boy is put in the bottom set in his first year. By his third year he is truanting with friends who mock anyone who does homework. Explain the process.
- The bottom set is a label: the school has defined him as low ability.
- Less is expected of him, and he is taught less, so he falls behind. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- School offers him no status, so he finds it among friends who reject school.
- That group is an anti-school sub-culture, and belonging to it lowers his achievement further.
Tips and tricks
- Sort the explanations into two groups: outside school (material, cultural, home, language) and inside school (labelling, setting, sub-cultures). A strong answer uses both.
- Material is about money. Cultural is about values, knowledge and language. Name which one you are using.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Social class and educational achievement: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
Which is a material factor in achievement?
It is about money and resources.
What is an anti-school sub-culture?
Its members gain status by breaking school rules.
What is compensatory education?
It tries to make up for disadvantage.
Which is an in-school factor?
It happens inside the school.
Why might a pupil's use of language affect achievement?Stretch
Children at home in the school's style of language start ahead.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Social class and educational achievement
Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What is meant by the term "compensatory education"?[2]
Show answerHide answer
Extra educational help or resources given to disadvantaged children to make up for disadvantages at home.
Explain how material factors can affect educational achievement.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Low income can mean overcrowded housing with no quiet place to study. Families may be unable to afford books, tutors, trips or a computer and internet access. Poor diet and health can lead to missed school. All of these make it harder to do well.
Explain how in-school factors can lead to working-class underachievement.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Teachers may label working-class pupils as less able and place them in lower sets. Less is expected of them, which can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some respond by joining anti-school sub-cultures that reject school values, which lowers their results further.
Answers: Social class and educational achievement
- 1. Extra educational help or resources given to disadvantaged children to make up for disadvantages at home.
- 2. Low income can mean overcrowded housing with no quiet place to study. Families may be unable to afford books, tutors, trips or a computer and internet access. Poor diet and health can lead to missed school. All of these make it harder to do well.
- 3. Teachers may label working-class pupils as less able and place them in lower sets. Less is expected of them, which can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some respond by joining anti-school sub-cultures that reject school values, which lowers their results further.