Differences in educational achievement

Last time

Before we start: last time, in Types of family and the role of the family, you learned these points. Here they are again on one card. Keep them in mind, because today builds on them.

Why some do better

On average, children from richer families get better results, and girls now outperform boys in many subjects. Why? Sociologists look at factors outside school, such as home background, and inside school, such as labelling and subcultures.

Material deprivation

Material deprivation means lacking the money and resources needed for success: books, a computer, a quiet room to study, or good food. Poorer students may need to work part-time, or leave school early to earn. They also cannot afford private tuition or fees.

Cultural factors

Cultural deprivation theory argues some working-class homes lack the attitudes, language and values that help at school. Bourdieu argued middle-class children have more cultural capital: the knowledge, tastes and language valued by schools. Parents' own education and interest also matter.

Labelling

Teachers may label students as bright or troublesome, often based on class, gender or ethnicity. A self-fulfilling prophecy happens when a student lives up, or down, to the label. Rosenthal and Jacobson found pupils labelled as bright made more progress, though they were chosen at random.

Setting and streaming

Setting groups students by ability in a subject; streaming groups them for all subjects. Lower sets may get less demanding work and lower expectations, so their results fall further. Working-class students are more often placed in lower sets.

Pupil subcultures

Pro-school subcultures value education and work hard. Students join them for success, parental pressure, or to please teachers. Anti-school subcultures reject school values, often among those labelled as failures. Willis found working-class lads who rejected school. Subcultures give status to students who feel they cannot succeed in school terms.

Gender

Girls now outperform boys in many subjects. Reasons: feminism raised girls' ambitions, and more jobs for women. Girls may spend more time on homework and coursework, while some boys see studying as uncool. But girls still make different subject choices, with fewer in physics and engineering.

Ethnicity

Some ethnic groups achieve above average, others below. Factors include family income, language at home, and parental expectations. Inside school, racism, labelling and a curriculum that ignores some cultures can play a part.

Factors at a glance

The main factors, grouped.

Mistakes that lose marks

Mistake one: giving only home factors, or only school factors. Mistake two: describing labelling without the self-fulfilling prophecy. Mistake three: mixing up material and cultural deprivation. The fix: both sides, with studies.

The full-marks tip

The full-marks tip: explain achievement with factors both outside and inside school. Name a study for each: Bourdieu, Rosenthal and Jacobson, Willis.

On one card

So, on one card: educational achievement. Keep it for revision.