To What Extent Does Social Class Affect the Success and...

Social class has a major influence over the success and experience of young people in education; evidence suggests social class affects educational achievement, treatment by teachers and whether a young person is accepted into higher education. â€Å"34.6 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) achieved five or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs, compared to 62.0 per cent of all other pupils† (Attew, 2012). Pupils eligible for FSM are those whose families earn less than  £16,000 a year (Shepherd, J. Sedghi, A. and Evans, L. 2012). Thus working-class young people are less likely to obtain good GCSE grades than middle-class and upper-class young people. Bourdieu (1974) argues that the†¦show more content†¦They also have social capital; social networks, which help them in getting accepted into better schools. Therefore working-class young people are disadvantaged for many reasons; consequently educational achievement is a lot tougher for them than middle and upper-class young people. Brown (1997) argues that middle class families impose values onto their children regarding education from a young age; they place high importance on educational qualifications as they are aware that the job market is becoming increasingly competitive (cited Ball and Vincent, 2001). This suggests that middle-class pupils value school and try to get as much as they can out of it, thus have higher levels of attainment than working-class pupils. However social class is not the only factor influencing educational achievement; Girls achieve higher grades than boys in Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) and GCSE’s (Mitsos and Browne, 1998), in 2010 to 2011 54.3 per cent of black pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades at GCSE compared to 58 per cent of white pupils and 61.8 per cent of Asian pupils (Attew, 2012). Therefore educational achievement is also affected by gender and ethnicity. However Parsons (1961) argues that schools are equal, they are meritocratic, status is achieved on the basis of merit, and performance is measured with exams. All pupils are treated the same regardless ofShow MoreRelatedImpact Of Social Class On Education1457 Words   |  6 PagesThe impact of social class differences on education choices in higher education The challenges that students from a working class background face in higher education. This research will be designed to identify the inequalities that still exist in higher education and the barriers that broaden and reinforce social class divide. It will examine the origins of the barriers and also investigate what could be done to minimise these in order to promote social equality. 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