Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Class Differences in Education- External Factors - Coggle Diagram

- - - - M/c parents use language that challenges their children, requiring them to explain and evaluate, improving cognitive ability. This means m/c pupils have more cultural capital and perform better in school.
      - W/c parents do not communicate with their children like this so they don't develop the necessary language skills to think abstractly or explain, describe and evaluate their ideas.
    - - Restricted code: speech used by the w/c, has a limited vocabulary, uses short, often unfinished, grammatically simple sentences, may involve one single word or gesture.
      - Elaborated code: used by the m/c, uses wider vocabulary, longer, grammatically more complex sentences, communicates less abstract ideas and is context-free. It is considered the correct and superior way to speak and write- more effective for essential skills in education like analysing and reasoning.
      - Elaborate code is used in school by teachers, textbooks, exams so m/c children have an advantage since they are socialised into using elaborate code from early on= fluent users of the code when they start school. They're likely to feel more at “home” in school, more likely to succeed.
        
        W/c pupils are likely to feel excluded as they find difficulty adapting to and using the elaborated code= less successful.
  - - - M/c parents are more likely to have been to university
        
        Educated= more aware of how best to help their children in their education e.g. reading with their children, help with homework, more likely to be actively involved with school- contacting teachers, parents evenings, sending their children to trips and after school clubs that increase cultural capital.
    - - Parenting style: Educated (m/c) parents use consistent, “fair” discipline and have high expectations of their children. Similar to the “warning” systems used in school= less likely to get in trouble.
      - Less educated w/c parental style includes harsher or inconsistent discipline which prevents children from learning independence and self control, causing disruption in school.
      - W/c parents place less importance on education so they are less ambitious for their children academically, give them less encouragement to try hard and do well at school.
    - - Educated parents make better use of income- m/c mothers more likely to buy educational toys and books and healthier, more nutritious foods as they are more informed and educated, whereas w/c mothers did not buy such resources. (linked to knowledge of what is best for their child, not how much money they have)
    - - Sullivan (2001): Survey of 456 pupils in 4 schools, found that pupil's cultural capital was strongly correlated with parental education, which was in turn closely linked to social class. Graduate parents in higher professions had children with the most cultural capital who were more successful at GCSE.