Educational success is closely related to social class origins. Assess the various explanations that have been put forward to account for this.

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Educational success is closely related to social class origins. Assess the various explanations that have been put forward to account for this.

In this essay, the statement that educational success is closely related to social class origins will be discussed. There have been various explanations that have been forward to account for this; many educationalists have put forward their thoughts and they will be looked at. Firstly, this essay will be discussing how educational success is related to social class origins and what reasons are there for why those from a lower social class background achieve less than those from a higher social class background. Secondly, theories and statements from educationalists will be given and assessed at in order to answer how educational success is closely related to social class origins.

The first step when beginning to look at the above question, in particular the statement ‘Educational success is closely related to social class origins’; is to start to understand what is meant by social class origins. There are many definitions to this as one is never fully agreed upon. Taken from the Harvard online dictionary, social class is defined as:

“Refers to social groups arising from interdependent economic relationships among people”

When we refer to education in the 21st century, schools are the first thought that springs to mind. In this day and age it is fair to assume that virtually the whole population experiences school at some point, a much larger proportion than is involved in any other sort of area of life, for example family, marriage, religion, work, politics etc. By law, in most western countries, school is compulsory for at least eleven years of your life (most likely it will be sixteen) and is a very significant part of people’s lives, if because of nothing else the enormous amount of time spent there. It is because of this significance that it comes to hold a lot of power. From our experiences at school, our views, attitudes and behaviour are affected over a range of aspects of adult learning. School has both a very blatant and importance social role, along with the family and other elements.

        

There have been many explanations over times that have contributed to educational success and failure. Social origins and background have been one of the foremost reasons to educational success despite individuals living in a meritocratic society. This essay will assess the various explanations as to how educational success is related to social class origins. Many educationalists will put forward their thoughts and perspectives including views from a Marxist and Functionalist perspective.

The education system is supposed to be part of the social apparatus that ensures equality of opportunity, enabling those with ability and application to get good qualifications that give them entry into the best jobs. School education, in particular, serves as a selection mechanism, a filter by which children are funnelled into ‘appropriate’ occupational streams.

In the past history of education, social class was a huge factor in even considering education. There was a time where social class actually determined whether or not you had any schooling whatsoever. In the 19th Century many children of the lower and working class barely received any education, if there was any education it would only be at the elementary level. Therefore, it was never really the case that anyone had any success in education from the lower working classes.

Fifteen years after John Major promised to turn modern Britain into a 'classless society', research commissioned by an educational charity, the Sutton Trust, concluded with the experts at the London School of Economics, revealing the barriers holding back children who start at the bottom. According to the experts, people born in the Fifties were more likely to escape their parents' class than those born in the Seventies, says the report, which compares parents' and children's incomes over time, and finds that equality of opportunity in Britain has declined, which is holding back children.

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A report released on the 25th March 2005 reveals that Britain continues to have one of the biggest class divides in education in the industrialised world. The Child Poverty and Education report reveals that far from being a classless society, Britain has one of the highest levels of child poverty in all industrialised countries. The report highlights the strong correlation between poverty, social class and poor educational attainment among children in the UK, as well as the true disparity between rich and poor in 21st century Britain.

        

Working class underachievement has been studied for decades in terms of social class. During ...

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