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Cultural deprivation and class differences in achievement

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﻿Sociology Homework ?Elaborated speech code? is when a wide vocabulary and complex sentence structure is used in the place of colloquial short language. Free school meals were introduced for materially deprived children to help the parents with school costs. ?Sure start? is a government policy to tackle poverty and social exclusion by providing integrated education, care, family support, health services and support with parental employment. Operation Head Start (in the United States) is a multi-billion dollar scheme of preschool education in poorer areas. Its aim was ?planned enrichment? of the deprived child?s environment to develop learning skills and instil achievement motivation. It included improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes, home visits by health visitors and educational psychologists, and the creation of intensive learning programmes for deprived children Material deprivation is a lack of basic necessities such as a healthy diet, housing, clothing or the money to buy these things. In education, material deprivation explains working class under achievement as the result of the lack of resources because they cannot afford them. Many sociologists see material deprivation as the main cause of under achievement. ...read more.


The pair reached similar evaluations as they investigated the way mothers think about selecting and buying toys to aid their childs intellectual development. During their study they found that middle class mothers are more likely to select toys that encourage and aid thinking/reasoning skills which will give their children a head start when starting school and furthermore will help them in later life. However although a childs intellectual development may be viewed as a important skill which will determine a child?s intelligence it could be argued that it would only affect the beginning of their ?educational journey? rather than their whole educational experience. Another aspect which is seen to determine cultural deprivation is language. Bernstein 1975 identified the various language differences between both working class and middle class language which could determine achievement levels, he came to the conclusion that working class families are more likely to use the ?restricted code? and the middle class the ?elaborated code? The restricted code consists and is seen to use little, unelaborated and often unfinished vocabulary/sentences while assuming that the listener understands the same experiences hence tend to be less descriptive than analytical. ...read more.


Immediate gratification, the hedonistic idea of enjoying pleasure/freedom now rather than sacrificing life in order to progress in life rather than the middle class view of sacrificing for greater rewards later in life, and lastly present time orientation in which the working class see the present more important than the for coming future hence do not have goals for life rather than the middle class view of planning for success. As the division in educational achievement is becoming increasingly wider the social policy of compensatory education was introduced, they are government education policies such as operation Head Start in the USA (which made the programme Sesame Street) that seek to tackle the problem if under achievement by providing extra support sand funding to schools and families in deprived areas, with the hope of captivating young children installing them with attitudes and values needed for success in education. Overall although cultural deprivation can have a serious effect on a child?s educational success we must not just accept that some social groups and ethnicities will be the result of a general stereotype, instead we must enforce various ways of reaching out to individuals to ensure that education is fair and undivided to all by such programmes such as Head Start in order to decrease educational underachievement ...read more.

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