Another aspect of working-class mothers that Reay discovered was that they tended to give praise and support, even when the teachers believed that the child was under performing. Middle-class mother will tend to keep trying to push their children to better the present academic achievements, not believing that a child could be performing at their full academic capacity; the idea that ‘you can always do better.’
One major difference Reay found between the class groups was the freedom given to the children. She found that, generally, middle-class children had very little free time and they did not have much independence compared to their working-class counterparts. There is the idea that academic homework is ‘not open to negotiation’, and that freedom is a ‘consequence of self actualisation’ (Reay 2000). Middle-class children also have to deal with the lack of freedom concerning extra-curricular activities like playing a musical instrument. The idea of out-of-school activities has constantly been used to argue the advantages the middle-class children have over working-class children. But to not have the choice whether to participate or not, works against the child and, while maybe resulting in enhancing the child’s cultural capital, can also lead to a depreciation of their emotional capital (Morrow 1998). This ‘lack of freedom’ also carries through to secondary school choices with some children being signed up to go to certain schools when were only 3 years old, obviously having no personal input themselves. Reay also found that, while working-class mothers could have a tendency to become too emotionally involved in their child’s well being, middle-class mothers did not seem to acknowledge the possibility that these pressures could have costs for their children. This was apparent even though many of the middle-class children that Reay spoke to talked about academic pressure and the pressure of school selection exams. Having said that, one major advantage that middle-class mother have, over their working-class counterparts, is that they generally have more time to spend with their children. This is due to the fact that they have the economic capital that enables them to afford cleaners and au pairs, whereas working-class mothers are forced to undertake these chores themselves and often, having to work extra jobs as well. This leaves working-class mothers with very little time to spend with their children and involve themselves in their education.
This, however, does not always work to the advantage of the middle-class children. More important than the amount of time being spent with the child is how this time is used and the beliefs of mothers as to what is best for their children. Working class mothers tend to be more concerned with their child’s present happiness at school, whereas middle-class mothers look to their children’s future happiness and success, which they see as dependant on educational success. This is why middle-class mothers tend to put more pressure on the child to perform at school, over their enjoyment of school life, than working-class mothers. This can have its advantages; the child progresses faster and better through school and gains good qualifications that lead to ‘better’ employment. But there can also be negative effects of this upbringing in later life for the child.
“ One paradoxical consequence of sacrificing current for future happiness was that there were emotional cost for middle-class children.” Reay (2000) cites the work of Lareau, A (1989) Home advantage social class and parental intervention in elementary education.
This anxiety for their children to excel is brought about by the increasing competitiveness of secondary schools. This re-enforces the idea that, although this added pressure to succeed is linked to greater success at school, leading onto success in adulthood, it also carries with it damaging consequences, such as a lack of confidence in one’s ability.
“A number of the high achieving middle-class girls were both very anxious about school work and negative about their own academic ability.” Reay (2000) cites the work of Walkerdine and Lucey (1989) Democracy in the kitchen regulating mothers and socialising daughters.
Children also experience pressures when transferring from primary schools to secondary schools, and the changes that they face can cause distress and unhappy times at school. This is apparent in both classes, but children from middle-class backgrounds seem to come under greater pressure during this transformation. In a study carried out by Power, S et al. (2003), they found that most of their students ‘transferred from state primary schools’. For the pupils transferring to selective private schools, they were confronted with very different school culture concerning academic abilities of other students and increased levels of discipline.
A major change from their state primary schools is the introduction of new subjects. One boy that Power (2003) interviewed was introduced to Latin, which he had never studied before, and he was surprised that, having been top in his previous school, he was already behind some students. These students, as he mentions, had come from prep schools, as opposed to state primary school, where Latin is a commonly studied subject. One of the major issues involving these pressures that children, especially middle-class, experience is due to when they move to private, especially selective schools they have to deal with the fact that although they may have been top students at their previous school, receiving attention from teachers, most of them will not be in the same situation in their new school. Power (2003) includes examples of this in her interviews with students. This is one that clearly shows that the change from being top of the class, to suddenly becoming average has a negative effect on students.
“I feel quite sad when I look back, because in my primary school I was always at the top, and I did very well in these entrance exams, and I had always been told that I was very bright, and I knew I was. I always did very well and I found work very very easy. I had no problems. Then I came to Dame Margaret’s High School, I was talking about this to this girl that I’m still very friendly with, and just foundered at Dame Margaret’s High School, because there were so many bright people, I became just average.” (Power, 2003, p55)
This adds to the problems that Walkerdine and Lucey (1989) talked about when they talked about girls developing a negative opinion of their own academic ability. Students moving to comprehensive schools also experience a lot of these problems, but they generally move to these schools with friends, so the transition is made more comfortable.
There is also an opposing pressure that is prominent in private schools and especially ‘public’ schools. This is the idea that being an academic can be ‘detrimental to the development of appropriately masculine identities’ (Power 2003). This commonly leads to some sort of bullying for being too clever, or a ‘geek’. This is punishment, from peers, for working hard and getting good grades, which is exactly what is expected of these students, so they must battle with trying to fit in with their peers, and also please their parents, and teachers, with academic success. Students accomplished this by doing ‘well’ without appearing to be doing any work, but you couldn’t do too well otherwise you would stand out. This places these students in a dilemma of trying to be as successful as possible, while appearing to be doing no, or very little work at the same time. For the very clever students this was possible, but some students needed to work to gain ‘good’ grades. These students discovered ways to conceal their efforts from friends and peers, but this must have some sort of consequence in a students learning, and overall educational experience. Sport was another important factor into ‘fitting in’ at these private schools. Some of the boys Power talked of how certain clever, hard working boys could ‘fit in’ due to the fact that they played sport. This then creates even more of a divide between peer groups. These divides make life at these schools very uncomfortable if you are seen to be in the ‘wrong’ group. The pressure to play sport also introduces another extra-curricular activity, which takes up time and adds to already overloaded workload that students suffer at private secondary education, especially at private schools where they are competing with other ‘able’ students. There is also an example used by Power of a boy who wished not to play in a cricket match as it was being played the day before one of his GCSEs. He was sent to the headmaster who forced him to play. This re-enforces what was mentioned earlier about middle-class students having very little control over their lives whether it is from their parents, or from the schools they are attending.
We have seen that both working-class and middle-class children suffer pressures during their education, some of them overlap both classes and some are presented to individual classes alone. The major pressure that is suffered by middle-class children, especially those at private schools, is knowing that their parents have ‘invested’ money into their future and so there is pressure to ‘pay back’ their parents by attaining good grades and later, ‘good’ jobs. This pressure continues through schooling and into university, where middle-class attendance still outnumbers that of working-class. The academic pressures, along with added discipline, at private and ‘public’ schools also add to the pressure that these students are under. The consequences of these pressures are numerous, for both classes. Too much emotional capital, from working-class mothers can result in distance from their children and a lack of communication, which is damaging to a child’s development into adulthood. The belief of middle class-parents that children should work for future happiness, as opposed to present happiness, can lead to emotional costs. This pressure is present amongst middle-class children due to the parental fear of increased competitiveness in university places and ‘good’ jobs. Then there are the pressures of ‘peer pressure’ to appear not to be working, but still having to maintain academic prowess. This is the ‘age-old’ battle that middle-class children must go through; working hard for later life while at the same time ‘fitting in’, making friends and being popular. The latter of which is seen to be very important in middle-class life in general, not just school life. There is no right and wrong way to be brought, and the major similarity amongst the class groups is that all parents simply want ‘the best’ for their children. The difference is what they perceive to be ‘the best’.
Bibliography
Reay, D. (2000) A useful extension of Bourdieu’s conceptual framework?: emotional capital as a way of understanding mothers’ involvement in their children’s education. Sociological Review. 48(4), 568-585
Power, S. et al. (2003) Education and the Middle Class, Buckingham: Open University Press
Morrow, V. (1998) Understanding Families: Children’s Perceptions, London: National Children’s Bureau
Walkerdine, V et al. (2001) Growing up girl, Basingstoke: Palgrave
Curtis, P. (2003) Middle Class Children Suffer Under Pressure [online]. Available from: [Accessed 2 November 2007]
