5. Using information from the items and elsewhere, discuss the view that social class differences in educational achievement are the result of cultural factors.
There is no question that achievement in education depends on various factors. Sociologists argue over which factors are more important, the upbringing of the child, the cultural capital which it possesses, the social group it belongs to, the input of the school, the expectations of the teachers and many more.
The picture of the working class subculture is not an attractive one. It is portrayed as a substandard version of mainstream middle class culture. Its standard deteriorates towards the lower levels of the working class, and at rock bottom it becomes the culture of poverty. From this portrayal the theory of cultural deprivation was developed, stating that the subculture of low-income groups is deprived or deficient in certain important respects and this accounts for the low educational attainment of members of these groups. This theory places the blame for educational failure on the children and their family, their neighbourhood and the subculture of their social group. Them so-called culturally deprived child is deficient or lacking in important sills, attitudes and values which are essential to high educational attainment. Bordieu suggests that each Childs individual educational success depends on the amount of cultural capital it possesses. If a child is from a white, middle class, family background, it is likely to have been taught norms and values of society, which are acceptable and desirable. Therefore the child understands the necessity of authority and education, and is more likely to achieve a higher grade at school. This would suggest that the main responsibility for the Childs attainment would lie with the parents in giving correct primary socialisation, also depending on which social class the child belongs to. Bordieu calls the middle/upper class the ‘dominant’ class, as indeed it dominates many aspects of society. If a child has therefore not been brought up in this ‘dominant’ society, the child may be deviant therefore not understanding or respecting the principles that are taught in school resulting in less achievement. Bordieu stresses that the fault lies with the education system, not the working class culture. He argues that the education system is systematically biased towards the culture of dominant social classes; it devalues the knowledge of the working class.
