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Unlock This CourseHave you ever wondered why some students seem to do better at school than others? Social class is one of the most significant factors affecting how well students perform in education. In the UK, there's a clear pattern: students from middle and upper-class backgrounds tend to achieve higher grades and stay in education longer than those from working-class backgrounds.
Key Definitions:
The statistics tell a clear story: in the UK, children from higher social classes consistently outperform those from lower social classes. For example, in 2019, 75% of students from higher-income families achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (or 9-4), compared to only 43% of students from lower-income families.
These are the physical and financial resources that affect learning:
These are the attitudes, values and behaviours that affect learning:
Sociologists have different views on why class affects educational achievement. Let's look at the main perspectives:
Functionalists believe education should select the most talented students for the most important jobs in society, regardless of their background. They see education as a meritocracy - a system where people succeed based on their abilities and efforts rather than their social background.
Davis and Moore argued that education acts as a 'sifting and sorting' mechanism that identifies the most able individuals for the most functionally important positions in society. They believed class differences in achievement reflect genuine differences in ability and motivation.
Marxists argue that education reproduces class inequality by preparing working-class children for working-class jobs and middle-class children for middle-class jobs. They see the education system as serving the interests of the ruling class and capitalism.
Bowles and Gintis developed the 'correspondence principle', arguing that schools mirror the workplace by teaching different classes different skills and attitudes. Working-class students learn to follow orders and accept routine, while middle-class students learn leadership and creativity.
Interactionists focus on what happens inside schools and classrooms. They look at how teachers' expectations and interactions with students from different social classes affect achievement.
Teachers may label working-class students as less able or troublesome based on their appearance, speech, or behaviour.
When teachers expect less from working-class students, these students may perform worse as they internalise these low expectations.
Placing students in ability groups often results in working-class students being placed in lower sets, limiting their potential achievement.
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu developed the concept of 'cultural capital' to explain class differences in educational achievement. Cultural capital refers to the knowledge, language, skills and cultural experiences that are valued by the education system.
Middle-class children arrive at school with cultural capital that matches what schools value. They understand the 'hidden curriculum' - the unwritten rules and expectations of school. Working-class children may feel like 'fish out of water' in an education system that reflects middle-class values.
In the UK, eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is often used as an indicator of socioeconomic disadvantage. Research consistently shows that FSM-eligible students achieve lower grades than their non-FSM peers. In 2019, only 44.5% of FSM students achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of primary school, compared to 71.1% of non-FSM students. This gap of 26.6 percentage points highlights the persistent impact of social class on educational outcomes.
The Sutton Trust, a UK educational charity, found that students from the richest 20% of families are seven times more likely to attend a top university than those from the poorest 40%. Their research also showed that even when working-class students achieve the same grades as their middle-class peers, they are less likely to apply to prestigious universities due to factors like confidence, expectations and knowledge about the application process.
Various policies have been introduced to try to reduce the impact of social class on educational achievement:
Programmes like Sure Start and Pupil Premium provide extra resources to schools in disadvantaged areas to help 'level the playing field'.
Universities are encouraged to accept more students from working-class backgrounds through outreach programmes and contextual admissions.
Financial support to encourage working-class students to stay in education after 16 (though this was replaced by the 16-19 Bursary Fund in England).
While social class clearly affects educational achievement, it's important to remember that:
Consider this: If the education system truly operated as a meritocracy, would we still see such strong patterns of achievement based on social class? What would a truly fair education system look like?
Social class remains one of the strongest predictors of educational achievement in the UK. The combination of material advantages (like better housing and resources) and cultural advantages (like language skills and educational values) gives middle-class children a significant head start. Sociological theories help us understand these patterns, from functionalist views of meritocracy to Marxist critiques of reproduction and Bourdieu's analysis of cultural capital. While policies have attempted to address class inequality, significant gaps in achievement persist, highlighting the deep-rooted nature of social class divisions in education.