homework

Educational Achievement In Schools
There are many different explanations for differing levels of educational achievement in schools.
Functionalism considers the functions performed in society by institutions. They believe that if an institution exists, there must be a reason for it. Parsons believes that the educational system ensures that children are committed to society's values – playing a vital part of the socialisation process – and prepares people for their location in the social hierarchy. This idea of differentiation – derived from Durkheim – matches skills to societal needs. Durkheim believes that more complex societies require an enhanced division of labour. People fill occupational positions on the basis of achievement. Functionalists believe that educational achievement is based on a system of meritocracy.
Interactionists consider individuals and how they behave within society and how they interact with each other. They believe that each individual has different values and attitudes so society cannot be generalised about. Becker interviewed 60 school teachers in Chicago about the “ideal pupil”, finding that this ideal consisted of somebody highly motivated, intelligent and well behaved, usually from a middle class background. Rosenthal and Jacobson experimented in a predominantly lower class elementary school in America, giving students an IQ test called “The Harvard Test of Inflected Acquisition”. They told the teachers which students had scored the highest and then repeated the test at the end of the school year, to find that these students' scores had significantly increased. They concluded that this was due to self-fulfilling prophecy, because the teachers were warmer and more enthusiastic about teaching them, causing the students to believe that they were more intelligent. Ball discovered that self-fulfilling prophecy worked on a larger scale, and that middle class students were in higher sets because it had been expected that they would do better than their lower class peers. Labelling theory believes that how an individual is labelled influences their behaviour. The halo effect describes an observer bias in which previous characteristics influences how other aspects of a person's personality is viewed. These can all influence how a teacher views and treats a student, therefore affecting their progress.
Material deprivation is given as a reason for low educational achievement. High prices of essential items such as school uniform and equipment can result in poorer children being sent home or otherwise punished for having incorrect equipment because they can't afford it. Living conditions can make a child's life difficult, for example, overcrowding leads to a lack of private space, making it difficult to do homework properly, negatively affecting their educational achievement. Working class children are not offered the same opportunities as middle class children.
Cultural deprivation is also given as a reason for low educational achievement. Working class children from ethnic minority groups can be affected by this. Middle class white children dominate schools, similarly middle class white values dominate the social constructs of the educational system. Middle class children gain more opportunities and as a result have a higher level of educational success.
It is theorised that ethnicity, particularly membership of an ethnic minority group, can negatively affect a child's academic success. Studies have shown that members of certain ethnic groups do significantly worse in terms of educational achievement. Heinstein and Murray believed that this was due to genetics. Some sociologists believe that language differences have an impact of academic success. If English is not a students' first language communication between teacher and pupil can be difficult. Also, their results in exams can be disadvantaged by language difficulties because exam success can largely depend on a students' ability with language, particularly in essay-type questions. Family life can have a significant effect. The West Indian population has a high number of lone parent families which may mean that children are left without adult supervision in their younger years. Driver and Ballard found that South Asian parents have high aspirations for their children which could lead to high academic success. The idea of material deprivation also comes into effect, as many people from ethnic minority groups are also lower class. Cultural deprivation equally comes into effect. Afro-Caribbean underachievement has been explained in terms of lone mothers failing to provide the support and stability a child needs to for academic success. Ethnic minority culture can be different to mainstream culture. Educational achievement has also been explained in terms of racism. Courel believes that black children feel inferior in school, as West Indian students are told that their accent is inferior. Attitudes are carried from the classroom to the playground and this leads to bullying. Wright found that Asian children receieved less attention from teachers and that their culture was disapproved of. Black children are considered to be “trouble makers”, and white teachers can see “black youth as undermining their authority and even threatening to them personally” (Bourne). Afro-Caribbeans are more likely to experience the frustrations of racism and poverty, so express this through bad behaviour in the classroom.
However, criticisms can be made of each of these viewpoints.
Criticisms of functionalism say that factors such as social class, gender and ethnicity are important “indirect determinants” affecting a person's educational achievement. The concept of meritocracy can lead functionalists into the area of genetics rather than culture. It is said that the functionalist viewpoint is idealised, depending solely on the idea that educational achievement is based on merit.
The interactionist viewpoint also has problems. For example, interactionist studies are typically micro, meaning that ideas concluded cannot be generalised to the whole of society.
Pilkington argued against the concept of genetic differences between the intelligence of people from ethnic minority groups. He does not believe that race is a “biologically meaningful concept”. Driver and Ballad found that Asian children with a first language other than English were at least as competent as their peers by age 16. The 1985 Swann report also found that language was not a significant factor in educational achievement. Pilkington believes that explaining educational achievement in terms of cultural explanations has problems in that there are not clear boundaries between ethnic groups, and there is a danger of ethnocentrism. Mizra studied two comprehensive schools in South London and found that black girls did better in education than black boys and white pupils.
It is difficult to determine exactly which theory is “correct” and the main reason for different levels of educational achievement. In my personal opinion, no one theory is completely to blame for differing levels of educational achievement. Each different theory plays its own part in affecting how a person does in school.




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Record rise in UK undergraduates
[Frame1] A record number of students started university courses in the UK in 2007, according to latest figures.
The statistics have been described as "encouraging" by Ucas, which collated the data.
The higher education body found that 22,540 more undergraduates were accepted in 2007 than 2006.
The number of applicants rose by 5.6% from 506,304 in 2006 to 534,495 in 2007 and both applications and acceptances beat the previous record in 2005.
The total number of students starting university in 2007 was 413,430 - up from 390,890 in 2006.
Ucas chief executive Anthony McClaran said: "These figures are encouraging news for the higher education sector and demonstrate that students' desire for a university education in the UK has not diminished.
[Frame2] "There were many predictions that the new fee system would deter students from progressing to higher education, but today's statistics portray an impressive recovery in application numbers, a pattern that was also evident following the introduction of fees in the 1990s."
There was a rise of 5.9% in the number of applicants aged under 20; a rise of 6.9% for those aged 21 to 24 and a 3.3% rise in those aged 25 and over.
The proportion of places awarded to women grew from 53.8% to 54.1%, continuing the long-term trend of more women going to university than men.
The year-on-year growth in the number of women accepted on courses rose by 6.4% and men by 5.1%.
Overseas students
Nationally, the percentage of students accepted from lower socio-economic groups increased by 6.9% from 82,245 in 2006 to 87,946 in 2007.
Other social groups experienced a 5.5% rise.
There was a 7.9% increase in overseas students - Norway (17.5%), Malaysia (14.4%), China (12.4%), Sri Lanka (8.6%), Hong Kong (7.9%) and Canada (7.5%) saw the largest rises outside the EU.
The National Union of Students (NUS) is not wholly encouraged by the findings.
NUS president Gemma Tumelty said: "These figures are extremely worrying.
"Although the overall number of accepted applicants has risen since 2005, there are now fewer students from poorer backgrounds and fewer students over the age of 25 - exactly the students the sector is trying to attract.
"In 2005, before variable top-up fees were introduced, there were 89,050 successful applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds - this has now decreased by 1.24% to 87,946.
"And the number of successful applicants over the age of 25 has also decreased over the same period - from 42,471 to 42,261.
"Top-up fees could be seriously hampering the government's agenda to widen participation in higher education.
"This must be acknowledged in the 2009 fees review. Unless a fairer system is implemented, university will only be accessible to those who can afford it."
Higher education minister Bill Rammell said: “I am extremely pleased to see that acceptances from England are at an all time high, with a continuation in the positive trend in the take up in sciences and languages.
"The increase of 7.7% in the number of students from England from the bottom four socio economic groups entering HE is very encouraging and shows that our policies are having a real impact






What is the new school appeals code?
[Frame3] Schools and councils in England have been given a new code to govern appeals against their decisions on school places.
The mandatory code is aimed at balancing the right of parents to a fair hearing against the right of schools to not admit so many pupils that children's education suffers.
From Thursday, all admission authorities, governing bodies and appeals panels have to follow the code - previously they only had to have "regard" to it.
An admissions authority might be a local council, or in the case of faith schools - a diocese.
Schools minister Jim Knight said: “Today's new mandatory appeals code makes the existing system even more fair, robust and independent – and every local authority and school has to comply with it.
“I want every child to have a fair and equal chance to get into a school of their own choice.
"And it is absolutely right that parents have a statutory power to appeal against admission decisions, before a completely impartial appeals panel."
The Code says:
Anyone who has a connection with the school or who could be seen as partial must not sit on an appeal panel or act as clerk
Members of appeal panels must be trained on the admissions code and related law including the Sex Discrimination Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Race Relations Act.
There have to be specific timescales within which an appeal must be held
All parents must have appropriate guidance and information from admission authorities, to help prepare their case for appeal
All panels must have regard to the impact of additional admissions on the quality of education and use school resources
local authorities and diocesan bodies should consider centralising the recruiting and training of panel members and clerks, and take responsibility for administering the appeals process - leading to greater independence and consistency