Middle Class Sociology

Differences in educational attainment in relation to social class is a widely studied topic within sociology. It is relevant as it reveals the problems that the education system may have and influences change. Although the 1870 Forster Act was put in place to ensure that all children were entitled to free education, there was still a disadvantage to working class children as middle class children were able to afford private education that ensured that they got a wider academic experience that those attending public schools. Working class children who attended school were taught to pursue careers that their parents were in whereas middle class children who were privately educated got a more advanced education where they were taught to guarantee
A common sense view on why middle class children do better in school than working class children would be that working class children aren't as intelligent as middle class children. These views are generally stereotypical with little or no evidence to support them.
Sociologist views are based on extensive research with supporting evidence. A sociologist would study certain aspects of middle and working class children's lives and compare them to determine reasons on why working class children do poorer in school. Sociologists would use various research methods to attain their findings and develop studies.
An example that shows the difference between common sense and sociological views is that people get married because they love each other vs. People get married because it is socially expected of
Another strength would be that there is some evidence to back up Bernstein's claims. Joan Tough (1976) and Martin Hughes (1984) both conducted studies which supported Bernstein's findings. A weakness of this study however is according to Harold Rosen(1974) is that he groups together all non manual working parents into the middle social class and implies that they all know and use an elaborated code of language. This overlooks the possibility of a variety within these social classes. Rosen also argues that there is insufficient evidence that restricted codes and elaborated codes exist except from a couple of brief examples. Chris Gaine and Rosalyn George (1999) also criticised Bernstein's study. They agreed with Rosen that there is not enough evidence to support it and that Bernstein used simplistic differences between working and middle class. Gaine and George believed that his study is although possibly accurate at the time, is not applicable due to the changes in culture therefore it is outdated. They also argued that Bernstein only assumes that the working class have only one speech pattern which is