Family and educational attainment

Introduction:

Study the effect of the family in the educational attainment.

Based on several studies through the last decades.

Family and educational attainment

Theorical Support: Differential Educational attainment different groups (different class, ethnic, gender groups) have different levels of educational

attainment. As research shows, that higher a person’s social class, the higher their

educational attainment.

Family and educational attainment

Differential Educational attainment II Statistical data

Family and educational attainment

Differential Educational attainment III Statistical data

Family and educational attainment

Cyril Burst’s view(1944)

educational psychologist

his research appeared to show that intelligence was

largely inherited and could be measured by the use of

a test (The eleven-test).

strong correlation between results and social class, with middle-

class children getting higher average scores

Family and educational attainment

J.W.B. Douglas (1964)

Made an influential longitudinal study with 5.362 british

children born on 1946 and through primary and

secundary up to 16 years old.

Divided students into groups according to their ability

Students with “High ability” who left secondary school

in their fifth year

SOCIAL CLASS PERCENTAGE

lower-working 50 %

upper-working class 33 %

lower-middle class 22 %

Family and educational attainment

J.W.B. Douglas (1964) part II

Douglas related educational attainment to a variety of

factors, including the student’s health, the size of the

family and the quality of the school but the most

important factor he remarked:

the degree of parents’ interest in their

children’s education

also emphasized the importance of the child’s

early school years

Family and educational attainment

Barry Sugarman (1970)

British Sociologist

Argues that middle and working-class subcultures

contain different attitudes and orientations towards

educational attainment

Fatalism

Inmediate gratification

Present time orientation

Collectivism

Family and educational attainment

Arthur Jensen(1973)/Otto Klineberg(1971)

Arthur Jensen

IQ (intelligence quotient)

Largely inherited from the parents

And partly environment

Otto Klineberg

argues that differences in IQ between social

groups are due to largely to environmental

factors

Family and educational attainment

David Gilborn/Deborah Youdell (2001)

The IQ (intelligence quotient) term has become ABILITY

In general, working-class students are seem to have

less ability than middle-class students

and blacks less ability than whites

As a result education system discriminates against

working class and black students

Family and educational attainment

SUMMARY

social class is crucial to measure educational

attainment.

Parents' positive attitude is also very important

to get a better educational attainement.