SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Introduction
Educational achievement refers to success in studies. This success is defined by the level of schooling that an individual has achieved. Educational achievement is argued to be a benchmark of proficiency in academia and an individual’s success and socioeconomic well-being. It is determined by an individual’s level of education. There is a wide range of factors within an individual’s social environment that influence educational achievement. In this paper, I discuss the patterns of educational achievement in relation to social class, ethnicity, and gender. I also explain the factors that influence educational achievement using sociological theories and concepts.
Patterns in Educational Achievement
According to Hobbs (2016), social class has the most significant impact on the educational achievement of children, adolescents, and young people. Khattab (2015) indicates that gaps in educational achievement affect children from working-class families more than those from middle and upper classes. Robinson and Harris (2013) present empirical evidence revealing that learners from different social classes do not have differences in academic ability. Therefore, gaps in educational achievement are not attributed to differences in intelligence among children from different social classes. Zajda (2001) explains that specific factors in society, such as low aspirations and low expectations are attributed to the notable gaps in educational achievement in society. Strand (2011) illustrates that economic challenges and deferred gratification of the working class contribute to gaps in educational achievement within social classes.
Bukodi, Erikson, and Goldthorpe (2014) relate low educational achievement among members of the working class with material deprivation. Notably, sociologists maintain that a lack of materials, such as computing devices, books, and internet access impacts negatively on educational achievement (Kettley, 2006). The cultural deprivation theory provides that there are specific social factors that inhibit access to educational opportunities and upward social mobility among members of lower class and ethnic minorities. For example, a self-perpetuating culture of the working class is argued to inhibit access to social capital (Zajda, 2001). It is therefore the lack of positive attitudes and values on education that contributes to the low academic achievement of members of the lower social classes.
Strand (2014) reveals that patterns in gender success in education have changed significantly in the past few decades. For example, underachievement in education was associated with girls in the 1980s. During this period, girls were considered less likely than boys to attain educational milestones, such as higher education (Mangino, 2014). However, in the 1990s, there was a reversal in gender success in education. It is during this time more girls started to achieve better educational milestones than boys (Strand, 2014). Sociologists explain gender diversion in educational achievement from feminist points of view. In accordance with feminists, the education systems of the 1980s were generally patriarchal (Eshelman and Rottinghaus, 2015). For example, specific courses, such as food technology, were considered to be feminine (Birkelund, 2013). In the 1990s, the traditional definitions and views on femininity and masculinity changed. This eliminated gender stereotyping in educational systems (Mangino, 2014). In addition, girls were socialized at an early age to believe that they are the future workforce. Therefore, girls and women became increasingly inspired to achieve better educational milestones (Eshelman and Rottinghaus, 2015).
Factors Affecting Levels of Educational Achievement
Sociologists maintain that there are three groups of factors that affect levels of educational achievement. They are cultural factors, material factors, and school factors (Bukodi, Erikson, and Goldthorpe, 2014). Cultural factors refer to the attitudes, values, and languages of a specific cultural or social group. Hobbs (2016) indicates that children who are deprived of positive cultural values on education often become underachievers. According to Strand (2011), parental interest is a cultural factor that plays a leading role in influencing educational achievement. According to Kettley (2006), uneducated parents from the working class and ethnic minority groups are unlikely to influence positive attitudes on education for their children. Hobbs (2016) explains that the inability of the uneducated to help with homework or to take their children to educational or cultural events impacts negatively on their future educational achievement.
Material factors refer to the economic and social circumstances of families that influence the development of a child. Eshelman and Rottinghaus (2015) explain that material factors, such as poor housing conditions influence educational achievement. For example, a lack of enough space would limit an individual’s focus on education, leading to subsequent low future achievement. Strand (2011) demonstrates that material factors, such as poor diet impact negatively on the cognitive development and wellbeing of children, which affects their academic performance and their achievement in high school, which is the gateway to college. Furthermore, material factors that challenge the ability of low-class families to afford higher education, including fees and travel costs, impact directly on the educational achievement of their children. Hobbs (2016) illustrates that poor families from minority ethnic groups or immigrants may be unable to send their children to primary education, which represents the initial opportunity for future educational achievement. Furthermore, children from poor households who are forced to work part-time jobs fail to focus on education, resulting in low achievement.
School factors are the circumstances within the learning environment that influence academic processes and views on educational achievement (Kettley, 2006). Teacher evaluations are argued to be the influential factors within the school environment that impact the academic outcomes and educational achievement of learners (Bukodi, Erikson and Goldthorpe, 2014). Robinson and Harris (2013) argue that stereotyping of students from minority ethnic groups or lower social classes by teachers impact negatively on their optimism and view on educational achievement. In accordance to Strand (2014), negative stereotypes or labeling of students due to their ethnicity or social class creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that inhibits the drive for success and attainment of the desired educational success. Mangino (2014) demonstrates that the creation of problematic schools and streaming-labeling impacts negatively on educational achievement. Mangino (2014) explains that students within problematic schools develop assumptions that they cannot achieve the desired level of educational achievement. These assumptions impact negatively their motivation for educational achievement.
Sociological Theory on Educational Achievement: Identification, Analysis and Evaluation
Emile Durkheim postulated the functionalist view of education with the goal of elucidating its important role in society. In accordance with Durkheim, education plays the role of teaching core values, teaching skills, promoting social solidarity, and allocating roles (Durkheim, 2012). However, Durkheim’s view on educational achievement is limited by the assumption that societies assume a single culture (Zajda, 2001). Therefore, Durkheim’s functionalist may not be applicable in determining how the cultural values of a specific ethnic group influence educational achievement. From the functionalist point of view, educational achievement is the assumption of roles, such as employment and leadership, which are defined by an individual’s level of education, skills, and knowledge. Functionalism also provides that upward mobility in society is attained through education (Durkheim, 2012). Therefore, educational achievement can be viewed as the ability of an individual to move up the social classes.
Marxists consider education as a system that divides society into classes, such as the ruling class and the working class (Hill, McLaren, Cole, and Rikowski, 2002). In accordance with the views of Marxists, the education system and its institutions serve the role of transmitting society’s dominant culture (Morrow and Torres, 1995). Therefore, educational achievement can be viewed as the ability of an individual to assume the society’s dominant culture in the context of academic excellence, employment, and overall success in life. The Marxist view of education was informed by social capitalism. In this sense, Marxists view educational systems as avenues for teaching future capitalist workers the skills that will make them effective in their work. However, Marxism is criticized for being too deterministic on matters related to educational achievement. For example, Zajda (2001) criticizes the Marxist view of education by illustrating that children of the working class, including those of immigrants and minority groups, are often not molded by capitalism or capitalistic systems.
Interactionism postulates that the behavior of individuals is defined by the manner in which they associate with others (Kaasila and Lauriala, 2010). It differs from Marxism, which provides that capitalism influences individual behavior and educational achievement. Studies informed by interactionism report concerns related to the manner in which teachers categorize students. These studies reveal that teachers view and group students in line with their conformity to discipline, defiant behaviors, personality and appearance (Zajda, 2001). This categorizing of students contributes to stereotypes, which impact their views on success and educational achievement. Therefore, it is argued that interactionism is more appropriate than Marxism and functionalist in explaining specific patterns of educational achievement, especially those that are defined by social class, gender, and ethnicity.
Conclusion
There are specific patterns in educational achievement distinct to an individual’s social class, ethnicity, and gender. Educational achievement is linked with the ability of an individual to attain a college education, employment, and general social and economic well-being. The upper class is viewed as a model of educational achievement. However, gendered patterns in educational achievement are changing as more women demonstrate academic and professional success than men. Cultural factors, material factors, and school factors influence educational achievement. Unlike functionalism and Marxism, which provide determinist views on education, interactionism provides a realistic view of educational achievement. Interactionism maintains that social associations within society and within the school environment influence people’s attitudes towards success and their educational achievement.
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