Social Class & Education
Sociology: AQA GCSE, topic 3.3.2
Social Class and Educational Achievement
According to studies, socio-economic class (one's position in a society’s hierarchy based on financial status), is one of the main predictors of educational attainment.
Marx and Weber
- Marx claimed that people are divided into:
- Those who own the means of production (bourgeoisie).
- Those who don’t and are the labour force for the bourgeoisie (proletariat).
- Weber argued that owning capital is an indication of your class, but other factors like education and status also contribute to class.
Socioeconomic class and education
- Working class pupils tend to do worse in relation to their middle-class counterparts.
- Sociologists use pupils who are entitled to free school meals (FSM) as a measure of social class.
FSM
- Research indicates that pupils who are eligible for FSM:
- Don’t reach the expected level at Key Stage 2.
- Are usually put in lower bands and sets.
- Do less well in exams (SATs, GCSEs).
- Are less likely to attend further and higher education.
Government and FSM
- The government tries to support these FSM pupils through an educational policy called pupil premium.
- This provides extra funding to state schools to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.
Halsey et al. (1980)
Halsey et al. found clear class inequalities in education.
Halsey et al.
- Halsey et al. based their research on a sample of over 8,000 males born between 1913 and 1952.
- They found there were clear class inequalities in education.
The sample
- The sample was divided into three main groups (based on the father’s occupation):
- The service class (professionals, administrators and managers.)
- The intermediate class (clerical or sales workers, the self-employed, and lower grade technicians and foremen.)
- The working class (including manual workers in industry and agriculture.)
Findings
- The authors found that an individual from the service class, as compared to one from the working class, had four times as great a chance of being at school at 16, eight times the chance at 17 and ten times the chance at 18.
Findings cont.
- The chance of an individual from the service class attending university was eleven times greater than one from the working class.
Criticisms
- They have been criticised because it was only males who took part in the research meaning that the sample isn’t representative of the population.
Test yourself on Social Class & Education
What does research tell us about pupils who are eligible for FSM (free school meals)?
The government tries to support FSM (free school meal) pupils via an educational policy. What is this policy called?
Why was the study conducted by Halsey et al. criticised as not being representative of the population?