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Unlock This CourseA child's education depends a lot on where in the world they are born. In some countries almost every child finishes secondary school and many go on to study further. In others, many children never start school or leave after a few years. Sociologists describe these gaps as global differences in educational achievement and experience. Achievement means results and qualifications. Experience means what going to school is actually like: how far you travel, who teaches you and what resources you have.
The lesson Patterns in Educational Achievement showed the broad pattern. This lesson asks why countries differ. The spec gives six reasons, and you need to be able to explain each one.
Key terms:
You cannot be educated at a school that does not exist. In some countries, especially in remote or rural areas, the nearest school may be many kilometres away. Children may have to walk for hours, cross rivers or travel on unsafe roads. Heavy rain or floods can close the route for weeks.
Where schools are few, a school may also only teach the first years of education. To carry on, pupils must move away or stop. Building schools and employing teachers costs money, so poorer governments often struggle to provide enough of them.
In wealthier countries, schools are usually close by, with buildings, teachers and equipment. Almost every child can attend, so more children achieve qualifications.
Poverty works at two levels.
A poorer country has less money to spend on education. It may have fewer schools, fewer trained teachers, old buildings and few books. A wealthier country can pay for all of these, and can afford to keep young people in education for longer.
In poorer families, even "free" schooling has costs: uniform, books, meals and transport. Children may also be needed to work, for example on a farm or in a market, so that the family can earn money. Education then loses out to survival.
This means poverty can create a cycle. A child who misses school may find it harder to earn a good wage later, so their own children may also be poor. The lesson NGOs and Global Inequality explained how some organisations try to break this cycle.
In many countries girls and boys now attend school in equal numbers. In some societies, however, girls still have less access to education than boys. Reasons can include:
Where fewer girls attend, the country has lower overall achievement and the gap between girls and boys is wider. Feminists argue that this is a clear example of patriarchy shaping education. The lesson Gender and Educational Achievement looked at gender differences within one society. Here the focus is on how access differs between countries.
In some countries one teacher may have to teach a very large class, sometimes with several children sharing one desk or book. This makes it hard for the teacher to give each pupil attention, check their progress or manage behaviour. Pupils who fall behind can easily be missed.
Smaller classes can allow more individual help and a calmer atmosphere. Wealthier countries can usually afford more teachers and so smaller classes. Large classes are one reason pupils in poorer countries may have a very different experience of school even when they are inside the classroom.
You met norms and values in the lesson Culture, Norms, Values and Customs. A society's culture affects how education is seen.
In some societies a long education is seen as the way to a better life and families make big sacrifices for it. In others, learning a family trade or working young may be seen as more useful or more respectable.
Cultural norms can decide whether girls and boys are expected to go to school, what they should study, and how long they should stay. They can also affect which language lessons are taught in and what the curriculum includes.
Be careful here. Cultures are different, not better or worse, and it is never right to say that a whole society "does not care" about education. Many poorer societies value education highly but cannot afford it. Use words such as "in some societies".
Digital resources are now a big part of education. Online lessons, search engines, educational apps and e-books can give pupils access to knowledge far beyond their own school. The lesson Alternative Approaches to Education explained online learning. This lesson is about who has access to it.
In wealthier countries many pupils have a device and a stable internet connection at home and at school. In some poorer countries, schools may have no electricity, let alone computers. Mobile internet can be expensive or unavailable in remote areas. This widens the digital divide, which you met in the lesson Social Class and Achievement: Home and Material Factors, but now between countries: pupils with access can learn more, faster, and gain skills that employers want, while others fall further behind.
These reasons are linked. A poor country has fewer schools, bigger classes and fewer digital resources. A poor family may keep a daughter at home. Cultural norms can then decide who goes without. In an essay, show these links instead of listing the reasons one by one.
Saying that people in poorer countries "do not value education". Writing about only one country instead of comparing countries. Listing reasons without explaining the link to achievement. Describing what the gaps are, as in the lesson Patterns in Educational Achievement, when the question asks why they exist.
(a) Define the term class size. [2 marks]
(b) Give two examples of digital resources used in education. [2 marks]
(c) Explain three reasons why educational achievement differs between countries. [6 marks]
(a) Class size is the number of pupils (1) taught by one teacher in one classroom (1).
(b) Any two from: computers, tablets, phones, educational software, online lessons (1 each).
(c) Reason 1: Poverty. A poorer country has less money for schools and teachers (1), so fewer children can attend and achieve qualifications (1). Reason 2: Availability of schools. In remote areas the nearest school may be very far away (1), so children may never attend or may leave early (1). Reason 3: Class sizes. Where one teacher has a very large class, pupils get little individual attention (1), so those who fall behind may not catch up (1). (Any other developed reason from the lesson is also creditable.)
For "explain three reasons", give three clearly separate reasons and develop each with "so" or "because". Make sure each one links to achievement, not just to a description of schools.