Evaluate sociological explanations for underachievement of the working class.

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Vicki Scarisbrick

Evaluate sociological explanations for

underachievement of the working class.

Working class underachievement has been studied for decades in terms of social class. During the 1960’s a popular view was that the working class were deficient and caused under achievement – this lead to the theory of CULTURAL DEPRIVATION.

One of the aspects of cultural deprivation, according to BASIL BERNSTIEN, was linguistic deprivation. He claimed that the middle class used the elaborate code. This type of code makes use of a large vocabulary, provides the details, the reasons and the explainations that are often left out by the restricted code. It also spells out many of the meanings taken for granted and left unspoken by the restricted code. Restricted code, or working class speech, is a kind of short hand speech. It uses a smaller vocabulary than elaborate code, and uses less adverbs and adjectives. As a result it is not as well suited for spelling out less obvious, more subtle meanings and developing ideas. Due to the use of these two different codes, Bernstein believed that the class differences in speech patterns proberbly partly explain the differences in educational attainment.

Firstly, lessons in school and mainly conducted in elaborate code. This leaves the working class child at a disadvantage, to the middle class children. Also the restricted code reduces the chances of the working class children learning some of the skills that are completely essential in the education system.

        Another person who researched in to linguistic deprivation was WILLIAM LABOV, a black teacher from New York City. He had a very different view of class differences in speech patterns. Labov claimed that the working class black children in Harlem, New York, had speech patterns just as elaborate as the middle class children. He said they were just as efficient at analysing and describing as any child in the middle class speaking the elaborate code. Labov believed that the working class children did not do as well; firstly, they speak a different dialect to the teacher. Secondly, the teacher would often criticise the children for not talking “proper English”. As a result of this continuous criticisms the children find the classroom as hostile and threatening and refuse to say much in a classroom environment. As another result the children are labelled by the teacher and fellow pupils as having the restricted code.

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        Some criticisms of linguistic deprivation are that the use of restricted code does not mean a lack of intelligence, just as Labov claimed. Another criticism of this is that, it is a generalisation that anyone who is working class and/ or uses restricted code has a lack of intelligence. This mass labelling would usually exercised by the middle class.

        Another aspect of Cultural Deprivation is that working class children are deprived of; ambition, motivation, stimulus, educational outings and parental interest. DOUGLAS found that the degree of a parent’s interest in their child’s education was the single most important factor affecting ...

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