Influence of poverty on the quality of education Case Study

Influence of poverty on the quality of education - Case Study Example Bourdieu relied on the French structuralist movements. According to the book, his most important contribution was about what is called "cultural capital". He defines this as "the general cultural background, knowledge, disposition and skills that are passed from one generation to the next" (13). In his theory the upper-class kids inherit substantially different cultural capital than working class kids. Schools reward the dominant classes and "systematically" devalue the lower classes. There are 4 main points in this theory: 4. the school legitimates the process 'by making social hierarchies and the reproduction of the hierarchies appear to be based upon the hierarchy of 'gifts', merits or skills established and ratified by its sanctions'by converting social hierarchies into academic hierarchies (14). These two looked at linguistic patterns and continued past the work of Bordieu. Bernstein says that class membership is generated by distinctive forms of speech patterns and it happens through family socialization (16). He says working class children use elaborate codes and talk to their parents more often (17). The codes are built on family roles and relationship within the family structure. Brice Heath looked at linguistic patterns and race. ... He says working class children use elaborate codes and talk to their parents more often (17). The codes are built on family roles and relationship within the family structure. Brice Heath looked at linguistic patterns and race. She said that white children had more interaction with their parents and were taught to do things like label and name objects as children; while black children had less interaction (this was in a specific population and school setting). White children are allowed to ask more questions of their parents and black children don't usually get questioned by their parents so there is no interaction of this type. The result is that black working class children aren't socialized to cope with the language patterns that most schools use and therefore fall behind academically. White working class children develop many cognitive and linguistic patterns required for school but they don't develop integrated skills that are necessary to continue to be successful throughout their school life. Paul Willis--The Lads and the Ear'oles Willis also looked at the linguistic patterns of children but he later saw that there was a direct correlation between the class background, geographical location, job market and level of education that the boys achieved and the jobs that they eventually chose. He said that these choices come from the dominant cultures challenges to these boys' culture. He noticed that the majority of students in the school he chose were "ear'oles or those who conformed to the rules and the norms of the schools. There was a counter school culture of lads who that rejected the school's need for academic success and thwarted