Summarise and analyse the evidence on patterns of differential achievement for social class, ethnicity and gender. How strong is the evidence presented?

Education 1944 – 1999

Assignment Question 2:

Summary of changes in education post 1944 – the debate.

Summarise and analyse the evidence on ‘patterns of differential achievement for social class, ethnicity and gender. How strong is the evidence presented?

Social class:

Generally, middle and upper class tend to achieve higher than working class in length of education and level of qualifications.

‘Around 20,000 children leave British schools each year without any qualifications whatsoever’ Referring to working class children.

‘The proportion of those going to university from the lowest socio-economic groups had halved since fees were introduced in 1998.’

‘Mr Willis said: "Tackling inequality amongst our schools is the only way to provide our children with the quality education necessary for their individual success.” ’

Gender:

The issue about gender and education is that, up until very recently; educational departments were reluctant to push students in the direction of subjects that were studied by the opposite sex. Up until the 1980’s males were outperforming females according to statistics, but was said to have been difficult to pin point evidence to show that females were under achieving. Since 1990 statistics have shown clearly that females tend to over achieve compared to males in education.

“On the whole girls continue to

outperform boys at all levels of

education in the UK from Key Stage 1

to higher education.”

...

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“On the whole girls continue to

outperform boys at all levels of

education in the UK from Key Stage 1

to higher education.”

Ethnicity:

‘The overwhelming evidence is that the British education system, like that of many other countries, favours those who are already privileged, and puts further obstacles in the path of those who are disadvantaged.’

Chris Livesey:

I think that when revising this statement it shows that students that

come from a poorer social class and when English is not their first

language, it makes it difficult for them to show that they have an

understanding in the class environment, leading to a lack of

communication with teachers. Therefore creating a barrier for teachers

to help the disadvantaged.

This table shows the statistics of students from different ethnic

backgrounds gaining 5 GCSE’s, between 1996 and 2000.

Innate intelligence – Outline and analyse the arguments for ‘natural intelligence’ and discuss how and why the tests were used to select pupils on this basis.

Middle class students are seen as “Naturally” more intelligent compared to working class students.

Most exams are aimed at middle class students, as exams are mainly to do with memorisation and as most middle class students have tutors and different daily routines compared to working class students, it is definitely easier for them to study and memorise work in order for them to pass in their exams.

“When it comes to social class, the differences are even more striking. In 1998 only a fifth of those whose parents were in unskilled manual jobs achieved five GCSE passes at grades A to C. In contrast, more than two-thirds of children of the professional and managerial classes got five GCSEs at this standard.”

‘If intelligence was something innate and equally present, on average, in all races, then the tests could not be measuring it – they must, that is, be invalid, unfair, and biased when used with blacks, Hispanics, and so forth.’

Litigating intelligence: IQ tests, special education, and social science in the Courtroom by Rogers Elliot

Testing intelligence – discuss the issues around how intelligence may be measured. Is it possible to measure intelligence?

IQ tests for testing intelligence in order to place children in which category of education they should be in, was first established in 1944. The Educational system thought that they could measure intelligence through a student’s IQ scores. The question is: what is intelligence?

‘The problem with the term intelligence has never been defined adequately and therefore nobody knows what an IQ test is’

IQ testing and exams are mainly based on academic knowledge and memory, in order to help the majority of students in middle class to pass so that they could carry on their education in university, this relates back to education and social class.

Inheritance or environment? – discuss the evidence that ‘genetic inheritance’ does not account for differences in educational achievement.

Intelligence is accountable based on the way a person thinks, and their style of learning, that’s where the genetics intervenes with a person’s level of “intelligence’’. Genetics doesn’t help a person gain knowledge, but helps them learn in a certain way that helps them intake and maintain that knowledge.

“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant, chief, and yes, even beggar man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors. There is no such thing as an inheritance of capacity, talent, temperament, mental constitution, and behavioural characteristics.”

‘Watson, 1925 p.82’

Given this evidence, ‘genetic inheritance’ does not account for differences in educational achievement.