Explain the influence of social class and gender on educational achievement

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Explain the influence of social class and gender on educational achievement

'Sexual equality' and 'Classlessness' all echo from recent UK academic and media debates concerning education, and perhaps rightly so: according to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (August 2000 results) girls' have now surpassed boys' achievement at G.C.S.E and A level examinations in some subjects and, yes Britain has moved a long way from the tripartite system which was said to mirror the three traditions of male labour (brain, non-manual, manual). However more recent studies suggest that these results 'mask both the strengthening grip that the British middle-classes have on educational advantage and privilege, and the continued exclusion of women from areas of education and employment' (Gaby Weiner, 1997).

Education is important. It takes up a significant proportion of our lives, and to some degree it affects the rest of our lives. Its expense must not be forgotten as in 1992 government expenditure on education in the UK was 32.3 billion pounds, 12.7% of all public expenditure (social trends, 1994).

A strict definition of what social class actually means is debatable; as Mahony and Zmroczek point out 'Class experience is deeply rooted, retained and carried through life