External Factors and Cultural Capital in Educational Achievement
This page delves into the external factors that contribute to working class underachievement in education, with a focus on material deprivation and cultural capital. It also explores how these factors interact with internal school processes to shape educational outcomes.
Material deprivation is a significant external factor affecting working class students' educational achievement. This concept refers to the lack of financial resources that can directly impact a student's ability to engage fully in their education.
Definition: Material deprivation in the context of education refers to the lack of essential resources and opportunities due to financial constraints.
Housing issues, such as overcrowding and frequent relocations, can severely hinder a working class student's ability to study effectively and maintain consistent school attendance. These challenges can lead to missed lessons and disrupted learning, contributing to underachievement.
Example: Working class families may experience temporary accommodation or frequent moves, resulting in students missing out on crucial lessons and falling behind their peers.
Cultural capital is another critical external factor that influences educational outcomes. Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital suggests that middle-class students enter the education system with advantages due to their exposure to certain cultural characteristics, knowledge, and intellectual interests.
Vocabulary: Cultural capital refers to non-financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means.
Middle-class students often have a better grasp of abstract ideas and are more adept at expressing intellectual concepts, which aligns with the expectations of the education system. This advantage can contribute to higher achievement levels among middle-class students.
Highlight: The concept of 'selection by mortgage,' as described by Leach and Campos, illustrates how material factors intersect with educational opportunities. Middle-class families can afford homes in catchment areas of high-performing schools, effectively excluding working class families from these educational advantages.
It's important to note that while cultural capital is significant, it's not the sole determinant of educational success. Sullivan's research found that even when comparing students with similar levels of cultural capital, middle-class students still outperformed their working class counterparts, suggesting that other factors such as family resources and aspirations also play a role.
The interplay between internal and external factors creates a complex landscape for addressing working class underachievement in education. While internal factors like teacher labelling and streaming have a direct impact within schools, external factors such as material deprivation and cultural capital set the stage for these inequalities before students even enter the classroom.
Quote: "Internal factors such as labelling and streaming have a greater affect on WC underachievement than external factors such as material deprivation or cultural capital- eventually it is up to the individual to work hard so that they can gain educational success regardless of external and material problems."
This conclusion emphasizes the importance of individual agency in overcoming educational barriers. However, it's crucial to recognize that systemic changes addressing both internal and external factors are necessary to create a more equitable educational environment for working class students.
