Explanations of Social Class Differences in Educational Achievement Essay

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As shown in item A, Cultural deprivation theorists believe that the most important factors causing social class differences in education are class differences,the difference between working class and middle class students. They believe there are deep-rooted differences between the middle and the lower class. An example they give is the lower class’ need for fatalism and collectivism. Fatalism is the belief that all events are predetermined and ‘whatever happens will happen’. This can lead to them not trying as hard in education, as they have been brought up to believe their efforts wont effect the outcome. Collectivism is the idea that it is better to be part of a group then to succeed as an individual. Both these views contrast the middle class views, as the middle class try and teach their children that you should be trying to achieve all the time('achievement oriented'). Also, the middle class believe that you should be strong and individual to prepare you for later life.

Pupils in education from a working class background (a pupil whose background includes a far more manual job) have a tendency to underachieve in education compared to pupils in education from a middle class background (one from a non-manual background). Hence tend to gain lower GCSE results and don't go on to further and higher education for example statistics show . Factors outside the school such as material deprivation and cultural deprivation can affect achievement, and are all linked in with social class.

Cultural deprivation is a theory that claims some young people fail in education due to their 'culture' (or way of life), for instance if the family places in a high value on the placement of education then it is more likely that their children will achieve higher in education than that of one who's family feels that education is a waste of time. For example parents reading to their children at night or trying to teach their children numbers and letters when they are young, and displaying children's work at home would all be considered a factor of cultural deprivation. This caused working class pupils to underachieve
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