Post on 01-Apr-2015
Discussion Question:
How do you define your social class?
Do you feel that your social class matters?
There is a relationship between parental occupation and education and children’s success or failure in
school
Sociological Targets
To understand that class can have an influence on school attainment.
To recognise that traditional patterns of class attainment are resistant to change.
To identify some of the factors that may contribute to the class patterns of attainment.
Personal targets
To think critically about social class
To undertake personal research
To write a paragraph with both AO1 and AO2 skills in evidence.
SOCIAL CLASS TYPICAL EMPLOYMENTHigher Managerial occupations 1.1 Company directors, Police Inspectors, Bank Managers, Senior Civil Servants,
Military Officers
1.2 Doctor, Barrister, Solicitor, Clergy, Librarian, Teacher
Lower Managerial 2 Nurses and midwives, Journalists, Actors, Prison Officers, Police and Soldiers (below NCO)
Intermediate 3 Clerks, Secretaries, Driving Instructors, Computer Operator
Small employers 4 Publicans, Farmers, Play group leader, Window cleaner, Painter and Decorator
Lower supervisory and craft 5 Printers, Plumbers, Butchers, Bus Inspectors, TV engineers, Train drivers
Semi-routine occupations 6 Shop assistant, Traffic Warden, Cook, Bus drivers, Hairdressers, Postal workers
Routine occupations 7 Waiters, road sweepers, Cleaners, Couriers, Building labourers, Refuse collectors
Never worked 8 Long term unemployed and non-workers
Typical occupations or jobs
top management, surgeons, top doctors, university lecturers, chemists,
teachers, executives, journalists
secretaries, sales executives, officials
skilled crafts people and hairdressers
semi-skilled people such as bus drivers and machine operators
unskilled people, labourers and cleaners
Letter
A
B
C1
C2
D
E
Number
1
2
3a
3b
4
5
Attainment of top GCSE grades by parental occupation
Is this a problem?
There is a persistent gap in the achievement levels of working-class and middle-class pupils.
There is close correlation between a child's postcode and education achievement.
Although working-class achievement has improved in absolute terms, the relative difference between the social classes has remained largely unchanged.
Access to private schools offers extra opportunities to wealthier children.
Discussion questions
Why does the government need to tackle issues of working class underachievement?
Discussion questions
What are the causes of working class underachievement?
Home School
Culture The culture of the
working class leads to school failure
The culture of schools disadvantages the
working class
Deprivation
Working class children do not have the material possessions that they
need for success
Schools in working class areas are underfunded and under-resourced
• Is working class culture very different from middle class culture?
• What social skills are required for success in school?
Summary of key pointsDespite the efforts of government policy for
60 years, class differences in educational attainment remain persistent
Middle class children benefit more from investment in education.
There are a variety of explanations for this pattern.
The causes are probably multifactored
Summary of key pointsDespite the efforts of government policy for
60 years, class differences in educational attainment remain persistent
Middle class children benefit more from investment in education.
There are a variety of explanations for this pattern.
The causes are probably multifactored
Assessment
Outline and explain the relationship between social class and educational attainment in the UK.
Recent stories in the media
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/nov/11/class-education-school-success
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/social-class-determines-childs-success-934240.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/education-audit-schools-success-comes-down-to-class-says-headteacher-in-debt-578262.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/default.stm