Evaluate the View That Working Class Failure in Education Is Caused by Cultural Deprivation

Evaluate the view that working class failure in education is caused by cultural deprivation.

Class is the most important influence on educational failure.

Herbert Hyman argued that the system of values of the lower classes created an obstacle to their improvement. Hyman outlined the following differences between the system of values of the working and middle classes. The working class; place less value on education, place less value on attaining a higher occupational status and believe that there is less opportunity for personal advancement - the belief itself further reduces the opportunity as it creates a self fulfilling prophecy.

Therefore, according to Hyman, the motivation to succeed and do well in school is generally lower for members of the working class.

In addition, Sugarman states that many middle-class occupations encourage planning for the future: investing time, energy and money in training, to meet the requirements of higher status posts. In comparison, working class jobs reach the maximum income fairly quickly, but provide fewer opportunities for promotion.

Sugarman argues that differentiating in the nature of jobs tends to generate differences in attitude and outlook. As they have less control over the future, less opportunity to improve their status and less income to invest, working class people tend to be concerned about direct immediate satisfaction.

Cultural deprivation theory states that those who are at the bottom of the class system are being deprived of some values, attitudes and special skills that are essential for educational success. This theory puts the blame for educational failure on children and their families, their neighbourhood and the subculture of their social group. The child who has been culturally deprived is lacking in skills, attitudes and important values that are essential to high educational success. Their environment could be said to be culturally as well as economically poor.

There are class differences in language patterns and these could be partly responsible for class differences in educational attainment. Basil Bernstein (1990) stated that there are two language patterns - the limited code and the extended code. The limited code is found in the everyday spoken language used by people who know each other well. Short simple sentences are used and often details and explanations are omitted. The extended code explains things in greater detail and uses long, complex sentences. According to Bernstein both languages are familiar to the middle class but only the limited code is used by the working class. Teachers in school use the extended code and therefore working class children are at a disadvantage from the outset.

Parental interest is another key factor in explaining the class differences in educational attainment In general; middle class parents show a greater interest in their children's education, by visiting the school more frequently to discuss their children's progress.

Blackstone and Mortimore point out that the parents of working class children do have an interest in the education of their children. They do not feel comfortable or at ease visiting the school because of the attitude of some of the teachers and being in a middle class establishment.. Blackstone and Mortimore state that the teachers represent authority and perhaps because of the parents' childhood experiences, they do not feel comfortable meeting them. They also point out that working class parents do not have as much time to visit the school because of the demands of their jobs, e.g. flexible working salary of the fathers who are in non-manual posts.

The idea of 'cultural capital' was developed by Pierre Bourdieu (1977). He refers to the way the middle and upper classes have cultural capital as well as financial capital. They have an advantage over the working class because their parents give them support in terms of books and reading, literature, art, classical music, visits to museums, theatres and art galleries. This culture is closer to the culture of the school, and therefore they are more likely to be successful. This success then manifests itself through high qualifications, senior posts, high salaries and a high standard of living.