Summary of Class Differences in Educational Achievement for AQA AS Sociology

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AQA AS Sociology – Education Summary: Class Differences in Achievement

Class differences in educational achievement are a central concern within British sociology, provoking ongoing debate about equality, opportunity, and meritocracy within the United Kingdom. In examining why pupils from different social classes achieve varying levels of academic success, sociologists consider both *external* and *internal* factors. Key concepts underpinning this discussion include *class differences* (systematic inequalities between social classes), *achievement* (measurable academic success in assessments and progression), *external factors* (influences originating outside the school, such as family and economic conditions), and *internal factors* (processes within the educational system itself, such as teacher expectations and peer cultures).

The aim of this essay is to summarise key sociological explanations for class inequalities in educational achievement, drawing on major studies and perspectives in the field. The essay will first examine external factors, including cultural deprivation, material deprivation, and the influence of cultural capital. It will then consider internal factors at play within schools, such as labelling, self-fulfilling prophecy, and the development of pupil subcultures. Throughout, the discussion will reference key theorists such as Bernstein, Bourdieu, Becker, Sugarman, and Gerwitz, utilising examples and concepts relevant to the British context.

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Part 1: External Factors in Class Differences in Achievement

1. Cultural Deprivation

Intellectual Development: Early intellectual development is crucial for shaping a child's later ability to succeed at school. Middle class families are often able to provide children with a rich variety of educational toys, books, and experiences that stimulate cognitive skills and curiosity. By contrast, working class families—due to lower incomes and differing priorities—may not provide as many such materials or educational play activities. Basil Bernstein’s theory builds on this, arguing that language is central to intellectual development; language both reflects and shapes the way individuals think.

Language: Bernstein put forward the influential idea of *restricted* and *elaborated codes*. The restricted code, prevalent in many working class homes, relies on context-dependent, simple sentences and limited vocabulary. Conversely, the elaborated code, typical of middle class families, is context-independent, uses a wider vocabulary, and more complex sentence structures. Critically, the education system in the UK privileges the elaborated code—teachers, textbooks, and exam papers all assume fluency in this style. As a result, working class pupils can find themselves at a disadvantage not because of lack of intelligence, but because of linguistic barriers. This ultimately manifests in poorer academic achievement.

Attitudes and Values: Barry Sugarman argued that differences in attitudes and values also contribute to disparities in achievement. He found that working class families are more likely to display attitude patterns such as *fatalism* (a belief that one’s fate cannot be changed), *present time orientation* (focusing on immediate, rather than future, rewards), and *immediate gratification* (preferring short-term pleasures over long-term goals). Middle class families, in contrast, tend to value *deferred gratification* and see education as a pathway to upward mobility. This cultural mismatch demotivates working class pupils and reduces engagement with the education system from an early age.

In summary, cultural deprivation theory highlights how differences in family socialisation, language, and value systems create educational disparities before children even enter the classroom.

2. Material Deprivation

Housing: Many working class pupils experience overcrowded living conditions, which limit access to quiet space necessary for homework and revision. Poor housing, characterised by damp, lack of adequate heating, and the risk of disease, can also harm physical health, leading to frequent school absences. These factors reduce the capacity for concentrated study and disrupt learning routines, cumulatively impairing achievement.

Diet and Health: Howard’s research into nutrition demonstrates that poorer families often cannot afford healthy, balanced diets for their children. Malnutrition leads to low energy, difficulty concentrating during lessons, and increased vulnerability to illnesses, all of which impair educational performance. Additionally, frequent absences due to ill health disrupt learning continuity, making it difficult for pupils to keep up with peers.

Financial Support: Financial constraints affect a child’s ability to fully participate in school. Even in state-maintained schools, there are costs associated with uniforms, books, educational materials, and participation in extra-curricular activities. School trips—often enriching and related to the curriculum—can be inaccessible to working class pupils due to cost. Flaherty’s research draws attention to the stigma surrounding free school meals, which can lead to social exclusion and a reluctance to claim entitlements, even when needed. The result is further disadvantage and a reduced sense of belonging within the school community.

Material deprivation not only affects immediate educational access but also shapes children’s aspirations and self-image, perpetuating class differences in achievement.

3. Cultural Capital

Socialisation and Intellectual Interests: Through family socialisation, the middle class is able to instil the cultural capital necessary for academic success—values such as appreciation of literature, the arts, and rational debate. Activities like visits to museums, art galleries, or theatres, and encouragement of critical thinking and independent inquiry foster intellectual curiosity and a familiarity with 'legitimate' knowledge. Bourdieu suggested that children from middle class backgrounds thus arrive at school already ‘culturally equipped’ to thrive.

Educational and Economic Capital: Leech and Campos’s study of ‘selection by mortgage’ illustrates a practical example of how middle class parents invest both cultural and economic capital in pursuit of educational advantage. By purchasing homes in desirable catchment areas, they ensure their children gain access to high-performing schools—opportunities often denied to poorer families. Furthermore, middle class parents are more able to pay for resources such as tutoring, music lessons, or private tuition, further widening the achievement gap.

Marketisation and Parental Choice: Sally Gerwitz’s research following the 1988 Education Reform Act, which introduced market principles to the British education system, explored how parental ability to exercise school choice is itself classed. She identified *privileged-skilled choosers* (predominantly middle class, using their knowledge and resources to navigate the admissions process), *disconnected local choosers* (mostly working class, restricted by lack of information and travel costs, largely accepting the local school), and *semi-skilled choosers* (ambitious but lacking necessary social or cultural capital, relying on informal advice). This demonstrates that market-based reforms have not levelled the playing field, but rather increased the advantages of those already privileged.

Cultural capital is thus both a consequence and a cause of class inequalities in education, reinforcing the cycle of advantage for some and disadvantage for others.

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Part 2: Internal Factors in Class Differences in Achievement

1. Labelling

Becker’s Ideal Pupil: Howard Becker’s classic study interviewed secondary school teachers and found that most held a concept of the ‘ideal pupil’—articulate, hardworking, well-dressed—characteristics associated with the middle class. As a consequence, working class children were frequently labelled as less able or less motivated, judged not solely on their abilities but also on their appearance, speech, and behaviour.

Rist’s Study: In his ethnographic study of a primary school, Rist observed that teachers grouped children according to their home backgrounds, placing supposedly more able (and more middle class) children closest to the teacher and providing them with more support. In contrast, working class children were seated further away, received less encouragement, and were given fewer learning resources. From a young age, such differential treatment cements educational disadvantage.

Curriculum Access and Knowledge: Keddie further noted that although the curriculum is officially the same for all, teachers often provide more complex, abstract knowledge to positively labelled students, who are predominantly middle class. Those in lower sets, often working class, receive more basic or restricted content, further entrenching achievement gaps.

Marxist Critique and Limitations: Marxist sociologists argue that labelling is not accidental but a mechanism through which schools replicate capitalist class structures, maintaining social order. However, labelling theory has limitations. Mary Fuller’s study of black girls in a London comprehensive school revealed that some pupils can reject negative labels and achieve highly regardless, indicating agency within the system.

Labelling theory illuminates the powerful but often hidden impact of teacher perceptions on student outcomes, often reinforcing the very inequalities schools claim to address.

2. Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Rosenthal and Jacobson’s Experiment: Although conducted in America, this experiment informed British research by demonstrating that when teachers are told certain pupils are likely to ‘spurt’ academically (regardless of actual ability), those pupils make greater progress, largely as a result of increased attention, encouragement, and challenge from teachers.

Becker and Streaming: Streaming is a practice common to many British schools, grouping pupils by perceived ability. Becker argued that teachers’ labels heavily influence who is placed in higher or lower streams, with working class pupils disproportionately allocated to lower sets. Such placement reduces self-esteem, encourages disinterest, and widens achievement gaps—a process that Douglas showed has lasting effects, with early streaming resulting in lower measured IQ later in life.

The process of labelling and the self-fulfilling prophecy highlight the extent to which doctrine and practice within schools, rather than innate ability, shape class differences in success.

3. Pupil Subcultures

Lacey’s Differentiation and Polarisation: Colin Lacey identified two key processes. *Differentiation* refers to how teachers categorise pupils by ability or behaviour; *polarisation* describes how, in response, pupils move towards opposite ‘poles’. Those placed in higher streams often form *pro-school* subcultures, which value hard work, conformity, and achievement. These students, frequently from middle class backgrounds, reap the benefit of positive reinforcement.

Conversely, lower streamed pupils, disproportionately working class, may form *anti-school* subcultures. Here, school norms are rejected, mockery of authority becomes a common coping mechanism, and members gain status through non-conformity. This disengagement negatively affects achievement, further reinforcing class inequality.

These subcultures are both a reaction to and a perpetuation of the stratifications that exist within the school system, and by extension, society as a whole.

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Conclusion

It is clear that the gap in achievement is not simply the result of individual failings or lack of effort, but the outcome of complex, interlinked systemic factors. Policy implications arising from this understanding include the need for teachers and schools to be conscious of the effects of labelling, to provide targeted support to those facing deprivation, and to recognise and value the diverse backgrounds pupils bring to school. Only through such awareness and intervention can the enduring problem of class inequalities in education be meaningfully addressed in the context of contemporary Britain.