Describe and Explain Two Sociological Explanations to Class differences in Educational Achievement

The main two arguments to this question are cultural deprivation and material deprivation. Material deprivation is lacking material necessities required to complete an achievement, in this case, education. Some good examples would be overcrowded schools and housing (this leads to disturbed sleeping, less room to do homework etc.), damp and poor quality housing which may affect both physical health and result in absence from school and psychological well-being, and financial support, such as not being able to afford school trips, provide lunch for children or offer private tutoring. These are all characteristics of working class families that affect pupils education. Middle-class families do not suffer from these and so have a better chance at succeeding.
Cultural deprivation argues that there are deep-rooted cultural differences between working and middle class which affects educational success. According to Sugarman (1970), middle class parents and pupils have the right attitudes for success:Non-Fatalistic: your personal efforts will shape your future, not your backgroundFuture time orientated: focused on how present achievement will benefit your futureDeferred gratification: resists immediate reward in preference of a later one
In contrast, working class families have the wrong cultural attitudes:Fatalistic: believe a path is set for them and their efforts in education will not affect thisPresent time orientated: focused on living in the present Immediate gratification: seeks immediate reward due to poor living standards, and this affects their future aspirations.
A final point on cultural deprivation is Speech Patterns (Bernstein 1975), who argued that differentiation in vocabulary patterns affects educational success. The restricted code features a limited vocabulary, simple grammar, and can read basic texts. This is spoken by both working and middle class. Elaborated code is context free and uses a wider vocabulary. People with this code can understand more complex texts, write essays more effectively and fluently and thus succeed in education. This code is exclusively spoken by the middle class.