Discussion on the Social Psychological Influences on Academic Achievement, Based on a Classroom Learning Experience

One of the major causes of underachievement is the lack of economic capital, proposed by Pierre Bourdieu (1984), that a working class family possess. As item A states, ‘sociologists claim that factors outside the school, such as parental attitudes and parental income, are the main causes of working class underachievement.’ Children who belong to a working class background may not be able to afford the necessary equipment or meet the

This essay will aim to outline and evaluate the explanations of working class underachievement. This will be through examining the home and school factors that affect these individuals and then reaching a conclusion that highlights the most influential factors while finding connections between them. A person is considered working class if they are typically employed in manual or industrial work in order to achieve a wage.

Kevin was very smart and brave. Kevin interacted with other character the same way he wanted to be treated normal. Kevin treated people that way because he want to be treated that way but people treated him different.

In “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” Jean Anyon theorizes about the role education plays in society. Anyon’s central thesis is that public schools in complex societies like our own make available different types of education experience and curriculum knowledge to students in different social classes. Jean Anyon performs a study on different elementary schools’ where the children come from different backgrounds, the parents had different incomes, occupations, and other relevant social characteristics. The method’s Anyon used to prove her point was gathering data in classroom observations, interviewing students, teachers, principals, and district administrative staff; and assessment of curriculum and other materials in each classroom and school. After careful analysis of Anyon’s model and my personal experiences in Windham High School I can confirm that I attend a school Anyon would identify as the working class. Anyon’s model about the working class is valid. For example on the demographics, Windham High School classifys’ as working class society and most families make less than $12,000 and face financial struggles. Anyon characterizes the working class as 85% white however the majority of the working class in my community are composed of Puerto Rican, Asian or African American groups.

The article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” by Jean Anyon is about research conducted in five different schools of four different social classes; the Working Class, the Middle Class, the Professional Class, and the Executive Class. In the data collected, Anyon discovered the various ways that these five schools teach the children. First, the two Working Class Schools taught the children really poorly, often telling the children to follow steps to get the right answer, and always yelling at them when they’re out of line. The Middle Class School teaches the kids a little better, by making the children actually work to get the right answer. The Professional School sought to get the children to be more creative with their work. And finally, the Executive Class school will tell the children that they are fully responsible for their work, and they will not keep up with children if they miss assignments.

This would help explain why Kevin becomes anxious and overly emotional in relatively benign situations. During one scene, he proceeds to cry out into hysterics upon noticing that he has lost his retainer and seems unable to regulate his emotions and effectively problem solve. After the outburst Kevin’s father questions why Kevin “seems to blow everything out of proportion.” Along with the intensity of the reaction, an additional clinically significant characteristic associated with an anxiety disorder includes spontaneity; in other words, the reaction seems beyond the control of the child. Kevin, during a number of scenes, immediately bursts into tears and appears inconsolable. Kevin’s intense, emotional reactions may be in part caused by dysfunctional thought processes (Schroeder, 2002).

In most if not all cases, the class you are born into will determine how you will be raised, and who you will grow up to become. Whether you can speak up for yourself, if you are humble with what you have or you have a more hectic schedule or not, it all plays into what class you are from. No two childhoods are equal and Annette Lareau in her book, Unequal Childhoods explains why this is the case. I will be examining chapters four, five, and seven. These chapters examine poor and working children and teenagers and how their childhoods differ and relate to each other based on the class they were born in whether that be lower class to the poor. What can be learned from examining these three kids, Harold McAllister, Katie Brindle, and Tyrec Taylor is the advantages and disadvantages of having a childhood in the class of the poor or working class.

The two theories discussed here will be the Psychodynamic Theory and the Social Learning Theory. Psychodynamic theories include the wisdom of Freud and Jung. Freud discusses, defense mechanisms, understanding the ego as it relates to rational thinking and the superego in regard to mortality. Whereas the Social Learning Theory includes those works from Bandura, Watson, and Piaget among others. This theory will focus on imitation, observation and modeling another’s behavior to achieve a certain desired outcome. Although their conceptual theories differ, they both reflect, shape, and interpret the very essence of the human psyche and how we have evolved and developed over the years.

According to Bynner and Joshi (1999) class differences have persisted since the late 1950’s. It can be seen that all studies carried out by various theorist came to the same conclusion that middle class pupils tend to do a lot better than working class in terms of educational achievement. Pupils from middle class backgrounds tend to pass more exams, stay on at school for longer and are five times more likely to go to university. This gap in achievement widens with age as right from nursery school to university, processes like labelling or the self fulfilling prophecy take

From reading “True Notebooks”, I chose to write about Kevin Jackson, while reading I was able to observe his personality. He is calm, likeable, and easy going once he opens up. At juvenile hall he minds his own business and is a messenger. Also he wants become a chef once he is out and likes to help out in the kitchen at juvenile hall. Kevin is well liked by authority figures such as Mark, Janet, and Mr. Sill. Growing up, Kevin did not have a positive childhood. In fact, his childhood was shocking and most likely this has affected his behavior. When Kevin was nine years old he experienced traumatizing event, both of his parents dying in a car accident. When he was in elementary school he had a hard time coping with his event. After experiencing

In Paul Willis’ Learning to Labor, his study focused on several working class boys and their view on the academics. During the interview, most of the lads(or non-academic working class boys) considered themselves fairly successful in terms of having a blue collar jobs. Having a basic career was enough for them, and their aspire for education was significantly low. With opposition and resistance towards School authority and academic pursuit, lads exercised dislikes and feelings of supremacy both in and out of school to present themselves as an “independent” being. Boys rejecting schooling placed themselves into a working class category, and this surely mirrors the hidden purpose of education system in sorting individuals into certain place in

Tracing the life of a child, he shows how an initial slow start can cause the child to lag further behind as time goes on. What struck me the most about this was how early children’s life courses are set – even before birth. Barry lists poor nutrition during pregnancy, lack of paid parental leave, and low-quality medical care in childbirth as factors that can permanently impact the child’s future learning abilities. And when students carry their environmental disadvantages into schools, Barry ways schools become places where these hindrances are “compounded and not corrected for.” These early life experiences often disqualify students from even reaching college and getting a degree, which is becoming necessary for obtain a well-paying job. In this way, education seems to become a trap – education is a way out of poverty, but poverty is a hindrance to education. The ways in which inequality compounds in schools challenges how I think about the role schools play in society as educational institutions. By looking at how disadvantages and advantages accumulate through the course of schooling, I can better understand how schools contribute to wider social

Schemas are detailed cognitive networks stored in long term memory. They organise and relate information from past experiences to represent an individual’s construal of different objects and events (Eysenck & Keane, 2015). Similar cognitive networks about oneself are self-schemas. According to Markus (1977) these guide self-related actions and behaviour, and form self-concept. This knowledge is important for improving oneself, building self-esteem, and striving for success (Suls & Wheeler, 2011). The initial development of schemas and self-awareness is thought to occur in childhood; detailed in Piaget’s Stage Theory (Piaget, 1976). Rather than exploring child cognitive development, this essay will discuss some of the theories of individual self-schema development and some ways they are maintained under threat.

All these personalities are drastically different from each other, some being more controlling and others being more docile. Kevin is also able to alter his body every time a different personality takes over, different personalities needs glasses while another personality’s need to have insulin shots.

I would try to get Kevin connected with something he enjoys doing such as sports or music. This ties in with having someone to look up to, since he would then have someone to aspire to be like. A fourth problem in this case is that Kevin doesn’t have communication with his mother. Hopefully, the goal would be to get him to have a good relationship with her and his three younger brothers. To do this I would have both Kevin and his mom discuss their feelings and thoughts with each other, get it all out in the open. It would also be beneficial if they attended therapy together to work through any problems they may have. I would also find things that Kevin can do with each of his younger siblings that can get them to bond. Maybe once he realizes that he does care for his younger siblings, he’ll want to be and do better for them. It’s extremely important for a sixteen year old to have family support.