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Social Inequality By Graham Matheson

Decent Essays

Graham-Matheson (2015) defines poverty as more than just about income, it is the lack of opportunity, aspiration and stability. The philosophy of Kant as cited by Cahn (2009) is that children should be educated to do better than their parents so as they are able to develop an improved future. Brighouse (2006) concurs with Kant’s philosophy, believing all children should have the opportunities to an enriched future which will create more opportunities other than those with which their parents wish for them to follow. According to Graham-Matheson (2015) the government sees schools as the key to tackling social inequality as by educating all children it will help to eliminate poverty. The government’s aim is to break the cycle of disadvantage stating that where you start in life should not determine where you end up (HM Government, 2014). According to Graham-Matheson (2015) the government is using intervention such as the Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG) to provide extra funding for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The PDG is given to schools for every child who has received FSM within the last six years. Gorad (2012) states that eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is the measure the government uses as an indicator of potential disadvantage. Research has shown a link between low income families and low attainment (West and Pennell, 2004). However, the Guardian (2008) highlighted evidence that 14% of pupils in England received FSM yet 25% of families are living below the

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