Examining Class Differences in Achievement

Examining Class Differences in Achievement.

(d)Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that working-class children under-achieve because they are cultrually deprived.

Cultural deprivation is a theory that clams that members of the working class cannot easily acquire cultural capital, hampering their access to education and upward social mobility. Examples of cultural deprivation include; no visists to muesuems, lack of reading with parents and little or no emphasis being placed on education.

Some sociologists believe that coming from a working-class background can effect the intellectual development of of a child. This refers to the development of thinking and reasoning skills, for example; the ability to solve problems or use ideas and concepts. Cultrual deprivation theorists argue that working class homes lack books, activities and educational toys which are important for stimulating a childs intelectual delevopment. Children from these homes start school at a disadvantage without having developed the intellectual skills needed to progress. As mentioned in Item A, J.W.B Dougas(1964) found that the working-class pupils scored lower on tests of ability than middle class students. He argues that this is because working-class parents are less likely to support their childrens interlectual development. Basil Bernstein and Douglas Young (1967) had similar conclusions. They found that the way mothers think and choose toys influenced the intellectual development of the child, and that middle-class mothers where more likely to choose educational toys which encourage thinking and prepared their children for school.

Carl Bereiter and Siefried Engelmann (1966) highlighted the importance of language for educational achievement. They claim that the language used in lower-class families was defficient and they communicate through gestures, single phrases or disjointed phrases. This results in their children failing to develop necessary language...