Middle-Class Secondary School Pupils Achieve More Academically Than Lower Class Students - Research Proposal Example

Assignment Table of Contents 3 ment of the Problem 3 Aim and Significance 4 Summary of Literature 5 Factors of Academic Achievement 5 Social Class Defined 6 Academic Achievement and Social Class 7 Research Plan and Methods 12 Research Questions 12 Research Approach 12 Research Design 13 Data Collection 14 Sampling Method 15 Data Analysis 16 Timetable 17 Ethical Issues 17 Problems and Limitations 18 Conclusion 18 References 19 Title “An Examination about Middle Class Secondary School Pupils Achieve More Academically Than Lower Class Students.” Statement of the Problem In the area of education, social class remains the strong predictor of academic accomplishment. At every age group in the education system, most frequently, it is apparently observed that lower class pupils accomplish low level of academic success in comparison with others belonging to middle class. It is often argued that the education system seems to be quite biased and designed for high and middle class students by ignoring the requirements of lower class pupils. However, several researchers strongly believe that every student has similar ability irrespective of the class, which signify that differences in academic achievement are subjected towards other factors of society such as low expectations, low ambitions and lack of deferred indulgence among others that are quite apparent amid lower class students (Ford, 2013). Cushner & et al. (2009) declared that prior to 21st century, the idea of delivering meaningful educational experience for every student including middle class and low class was non-existent. In the year 2001, the US has established ‘No Child Left behind Act’ and dictated that several schools acted for reducing academic interclass differences. As request for responsibility and examination score amplified under the facility of ‘No Child Left behind Act’, instructors continued to search for methods for enhancing academic performance of students. Nevertheless, there still exists certain academic performance gap between dominant class and minority class (Ford, 2013). It is being assumed that pupils of lower class tend to experience financial adversity more than middle class ones, which is associated with material deprivation. Material deprivation has been closely associated with academic underachievement of low class pupils. Since 1960s, various sociologists claimed that academic performance is related with deficiency, which can be deficiency of money. Basically, lack of money combined with absence of skill and good attitude contributes to the academic performance of pupils (Barry, 2005). Barry (2005) stated that the academic performance of pupils is greatly influenced by the type of educational institutions that they attend. School factors such as school structure, school arrangement and school setting has great influence on academic achievement. These factors set the parameters of the learning experience of students (Barry, 2005). On the other hand, Shah & et. al. (2012) found that the socio-economic status plays an imperative role in developing the learning experiences of the pupils. The general perception, in this context is that pupils who belong to high and middle class family have better chances to interact with positive learning environment, which lead towards high academic performance in contrast to pupils who belong to low socioeconomic status. Thus, it is quite vital to understand the underpinning aspect of social class and to measure if middle class students really have great academic performance than lower class students. Aim and Significance Academic accomplishment is one of the core elements of educational policies in a particular nation. Good educational policies are symptoms that educators desire to address the concern of academic accomplishment in economically disadvantaged students and lower social class students. The problems with educational accomplishment in lower class students have deep root in the history of the UK. These issues are required to address to secure a successful academic future for the students who belong to different social class. Therefore, the study aims to shed a light on underlying evidence of academic accomplishment in middle as well as lower social class pupils. Thus, it would assist the policymakers and other educational practitioners to make education system better. The research is significant because it will evaluate the relationship of social class and academic achievement and deliver valuable insight to students, parents and teachers. The outcome of the research will be useful to the teachers and educational policy makers for managing professional practice and will support the education of socially diverse students. The research will also help the policymakers and the teachers to consider and implement effective methods to serve students who belong to lower social class and achieve low educational performance. Furthermore, determining the relationship between social class and educational achievement will certainly assist teachers to develop effective teaching strategies for diverse students. Summary of Literature Factors of Academic Achievement Theories of academic accomplishment encompass various dimensions of educational performance of students. At the individual level, both biological and cognitive aspects determine the aspects of learning. On the other hand, at the home level, parental socioeconomic status, family size, family structure, parent-children relationship, parental expectations and parental support determines the learning approach of students. Then again, at the school level, school spending, physical infrastructure quality along with human resources, size of class and association between school, family, society and government determines the academic achievement of students. At the community level, contextual aspects such as neighbourhood, community participation, public administration, community socio-economic status, residential constancy and cultural variety have been apparently noted to be related with academic accomplishment. On the other hand, at the larger aggregate level, nation’s economic rank, gender specialism, relationship structure and other cultural aspects possibly elucidate the changes of academic accomplishment (Kodzi & et. al., n.d.). The study of Nickerson & et. al. (2006) on Asian American students determines that parental contribution, time expended on different activities (such as reading book, involving in extra curriculum activities or viewing television) and study behaviours broadly influence academic performance. On the other hand, studies conducted by Fraser & Killen (2003) reveal that certain relevant aspects that influence student’s academic performance include interest in the course, motivation, self-discipline and effort. Furthermore, Fraser & Killen (2003) also found that persistence and active study was the most common grounds for academic accomplishment. On the other hand, academic failure was attributed primarily to low level of study, weak management of time and insufficient goal setting (Fraser & Killen, 2003). However, in this research, only social factors have been considered for determining the academic achievement of students. Social Class Defined The idea of social class was developed by Marx and Engels (1848), who identified the persistence of three particular social classes. The first one is capitalist class, which includes owners and regulators of production, dissemination and exchange. The second one is middle class, which comprises managers, owners of small as well as mid-sized businesses and professionals and the third one is working class, which entails people who sell their labour power in return for obtaining wages or salaries. On the other hand, Glass (1954) defined seven social class categories namely high-level executives, managers, high-grade supervisors, low-grade supervisors, qualified non-manual staffs, semi-qualified non-manual staffs and non-qualified manual workers. Then again, Kotler (1996) also distinguishes seven social classes as higher upper class, lower upper class, higher middle class, middle class, lower class, higher inferior class and lower inferior class. Academic Achievement and Social Class Academic accomplishment is viewed to be a vital determinant of social class. According to Ferjan & et. al. (2007), different social backgrounds have certain influence on the motivational aspect and also in the capability to learn. In this context, Ferjan & et. al. (2007) stated that parents of middle class family have been found to expect more from their children and care more about better academic performance. Additionally, in middle class background, children are generally motivated to make better utilisation of school resources (Ferjan & et. al., 2007). Bowles & Gintin (2001) affirmed that social status of parents is passed on to the children by the way of unsatisfactory educational chance. Diverse social class results in making major differences in the educational level and it also determines the duration of availing education. In this context, Bowles & Gintin (2001) stated that those who originate from higher and middle class families are usually more educated in terms of gaining higher qualification and better working position, irrespective of their low capabilities than lower class students. Rogers (2006) proclaimed that in present day scenario, there are three key forms of socially transformative education namely the deficit model, the disadvantaged model and the diversity model. The deficit model represents that the reason of inequality persisting within academic accomplishment is that certain individuals lack the resources that others possesses. The disadvantaged model articulates that the reason why certain individuals stay outside the dominant class is not due to lack of education, rather they are being omitted by elite class or by the oppression of the social system. On the other hand, the diversity model evaluates educational variance with respect to differences (Rogers, 2006). Hyman (1953) conjectured that individuals belonging to lower class usually do not appreciate education. Moreover, education after elementary school does not possess much value for them. They also do not put value to high level of professional reputation, rather they value employment stability and the assurance of early employment. In addition, they seem to evade taking risks of attaining high occupational status. In comparison with middle class students, they believe that their possibility for advancement is quite low (Ferjan & et. al., 2007). Niles (1981) agreed that social class is a rudimentary variable for illuminating the differences in academic achievement. Its influences can result in discrepancy in academic accomplishment indirectly by other interventions of society such as school. There also exists a greater association between social class and academic accomplishment in the education system. Niles (1981) believed that the education system process children in different ways, depending on the perspective of social class. The social class factors operate significantly on educational resources, expenditure and motivation of children that certainly have influences on academic accomplishment at large (Niles, 1981). In relation with the issue of social class variability, the findings of Rist (1970) suggest that academic accomplishment is highly related with social class, rather than variation in school facilities, curriculum and teachers’ abilities. School aspects bring little effect on children’s academic achievement i.e. independent of their social background and general social status. The lack of independence signifies that the disparities in education are levied on children by their families, neighbourhood and peer environment. Such disparities in child life are carried on to the adult life at the end of the school (Rist, 1970). Caro (2009) argued that non-school influences such as social status are regarded as key gateway for making inequality in educational achievement. Students make their educational choices by calculating the expenses, expected advantages, likelihood of success and desirability of substitute options. As pupils of lower social status grow and begin to adapt serious thoughts regarding future career, they regard exerting greater effort in education as not much valuable, given the anticipation of paying high tuition fees for university while lacking resources to afford them. Similarly, Guo (1998) argued that throughout early adolescent stage, students start to understand about how societal opportunity system performs for them. They become quite aware concerning the fact that society rewards students of varying social classes differently. Students belonging to lower social class realise that they are most probably excluded from desirable employments and consequently, they undergo through a procedure of disappointment. Due to this reason, most of the time lower class pupils become less motivated and put less effort on academic accomplishment (Caro, 2009). Rothstein (2004) stated that parents in different social classes often possess diverse ways of parenting, different methods of discipline and dissimilar ways of communicating expectations. The parents of middle-class families are expected to cooperate with the fellow associates, create solutions to any academic related problem or enhance the contribution made towards their children’s academic performance. They are most probably to talk with their children in ways that differ from parents of lower-class families. Children who are raised by the middle-class parents possess more intrusive attitudes towards materials represented by the teachers than the children who are raised by lower-class parents. Hence, irrespective of the competency of teachers, the academic accomplishment of lower-class children will almost inevitably become less than middle-class children (Rothstein, 2004). Downing (2008) argued that family’s economic status determine the academic performance, irrespective of race, society, gender and other demographic variables. This view asserts that while lower class pupils perform at low level, it is basically the family’s income level rather than the social class, which prologues such occurrence. Also relevant in reaction to the family’s economic background or socio-economic status, it is the student and teacher relationship, which also determines the academic performance. Studies have demonstrated that the willingness of teachers to assist in helping a student is frequently determined by the mental and emotional character of students. Overall, the study of Downing (2008) demonstrate that social class shape the educational opportunities of students and the possibility of availing better education. For instance, statistics of Perry & Francis (2010) underlined that British children’s educational accomplishment is overwhelmingly related with parental profession, income and qualification. The report of University of Oxford (2013) revealed that although social class is found to have strong effect on student’s academic achievement, the education of parent is more important in comparison with social class in determining education attainment. The study of Rothstein (1999) insisted that children of every social background demonstrate similar ability towards academic accomplishment. In this similar context, Rothstein (1999) stated that demography facets of children are not destiny. With appropriate efforts, existence of natural capability and good schooling, lower class students can achieve more academic performance than the middle class students. Specially mentioning, ‘Rags to riches’ stories demonstrate that there are several disadvantaged children who shined in education segment and became top business leaders. However, these stories are not universal in nature. On average, with similar education quality and with proper academic support from parents, children can obtain high educational achievement irrespective of social class. The influence of social class on education in this context depends on imagination of the individuals (Rothstein, 1999). On the other hand, study undertaken by the researchers of Oxford University demonstrates that children having similar aptitude have diverse educational accomplishment, depending on social status. The study found that bright pupils from advantaged social class were two times more likely to accomplish high-level educational achievement than pupils from disadvantaged social class. The researchers pointed two important implications in their research. The first implication is that children’s family environment and educational resources are key aspects for determining how well they perform academically and the second implication is children having high aptitude but belong from disadvantaged social class are unable to comprehend their complete academic potentials in school (University of Oxford, 2013). The research of Williams (2010) states that middle class pupils demonstrate better academic performance because the parents as well as the schools provide much effort in developing their respective academic performance. Williams (2010) affirmed that parents’ attitudes are highly important is making alterations in academic accomplishment. On the other hand, schools also provide much effort on pupils of middle class because of the pressure exercised by assertive middle class parents. The study of Niles (1981) demonstrated that family atmosphere and level of support that the children obtain from parents eventually influence their respective academic performance. The level to which the family provide educational materials and ideas is directly related to learning abilities. Apart from that the aspiration of parents, parents’ interest, encouragement for education, physical situation of home and family size also determines the educational accomplishment (Niles, 1981). Research Plan and Methods Research Questions Based on the above stated aims of the research, the following research question will guide the entire study. Do middle class secondary school pupils accomplish better academic performance than lower class secondary school students? The sub questions that will be investigated in the research are: Does social class diversity make any difference in academic accomplishment of students? And What are the social factors that contribute to the academic attainment of secondary school students? Research Approach There lay three sorts of approaches that are often executed in any research study namely qualitative as well as quantitative and mixed. Qualitative approach is based on discovering and understanding the significance individuals or groups attribute to a specific social issue. This approach is used to uncover the deeper significance of human behaviour and experience. On the other hand, quantitative approach is based on examining the relationship among variables. It basically comprises collection and conversion of information into quantitative form in order to conduct statistical interpretation. Then again, mixed research approach is based on use of both qualitative along with quantitative approaches in order to gain more comprehensive understanding of the research issue (Sagepub, n.d.). In this research, quantitative approach of research methodology will be followed. The reason for using quantitative approach is that the study can better be understood by using numerical information. Furthermore, with quantitative approach, a statistical relationship can be established. There will be one hypothesis comprising predictions about possible relationships between two different variables that will be investigated. Furthermore, several instruments will also be used in order to undertake the study (Sagepub, n.d.). Research Design There are several quantitative research designs that can be used in order to undertake a study such as exploratory, descriptive and causal. In exploratory design, the key objective is to discover thoughts and understandings regarding a social issue. On the other hand, descriptive design is basically related with defining a population concerning certain variables. This type of design determines the frequency with which certain incidents arise or the level to which two variables cover. Then again, causal design is followed in order to establish cause-and-effect relationship between two variables (Bell, 2005). In this research, causal design will be followed. The reason for following causal design is that it will help to determine the relationship prevalent between two variables namely social class and academic accomplishment. There are two types of causal design namely comparative design and correlational design. Comparative design is based on comparing two or more dependent variables against independent variables. On the other hand, correlational design is based on evaluating correlational statistics in order to define and measure the relationship persisting between two or more variables. In this research, correlational statistics design will be followed. The research will establish if social status has perfect positive relationship or negative relationship with academic performance i.e. if low social status can result in low academic performance and vice versa (Bell, 2005). Data Collection Research data can be of two kinds namely primary as well as secondary data. Primary data is concerned with the collection of information by a researcher himself/herself and secondary data signify information, which is already been collected by other researchers. In this particular research, both primary as well as secondary data will be used. Using both primary along with secondary data will certainly help to create multifaceted picture of the research subject being studied (David & Sutton, 2011). Concerning the collection of primary data, it can be apparently observed that there are various ways through which this sort of data can be collected. In this regard, the ways include observation, interview and questionnaire. Observation method involves methodical recording of events and matters in a specific social background. It is frequently mentioned as the notion of field examination. On the other hand, interview method comprises conversation with the sample respondents. In quantitative approach, interviews are quite structured in nature. The interview can be face-to-face interview or telephonic interview. On the other hand, questionnaire method comprises formulation of various questions in order to gather the reaction of the respondents. Questionnaire can be paper, questionnaire or web based (David & Sutton, 2011). Concerning the basic characteristics of data collection methods, questionnaire method will be used in this research. The reason for using questionnaire method is that it would help to gather large amount of information from huge figure of respondents in a cost-effective manner. The data gathered from questionnaire can quickly and simply be quantified. Furthermore, the data collected from questionnaire can be evaluated by logical and unbiased manner. The secondary information for the research will be collected from various journals, articles, books and other online sources. These sources will provide background information and will help to form a basic understanding about the research subject and issues (David & Sutton, 2011). Sampling Method There are basically two ways of collecting sample in order to undertake primary information that include probability sampling and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling follows random selection of respondents relating to a particular study. In this method, every participant possesses equal opportunity of being selected in the sample. On the other hand, non-probability sampling method follows certain strategies in order to select a sample. Thus, in non-probability sampling, every respondent do not possess equal chance of being selected in sample, rather only those who met certain criteria can be selected in the sample. In this research, non-probability sampling method will be followed. The reason for using non-probability sampling is that it is not practicable to select random respondents for this particular study as they might unable to provide proper picture about the identified research problems. Non-probability sampling is again classified into two types i.e. convenience sampling and purposive sampling. In convenience sampling, only those samples are chosen that can be accessed easily and expediently. On the other hand, in purposive sampling, samples are gathered based on certain decisions or purposes. The underlying assumption of purposive sampling is that only those samples will be selected that are distinctive to the population (Blaxter & et. al., 2010). The purposive sampling method will be used in order to collect sample for the research. Only middle-class and lower-class sample from secondary school of the UK will be selected for the purpose of conducting questionnaire survey. The sample size will be 100 from each sample i.e. 50 sample from middle class pupils and the remaining 50 from lower class pupils. The reason for selecting the above stated sample size i.e. 100 is that this will not only help to obtain sufficient information, but will also help in arranging the gathered data easily, thereby reducing the complexity of the research. Data Analysis Quantitative data can be analysed through several methods such as measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, data presentation, statistical tests and correlational studies. In this particular research, data presentation, statistical tests and correlation method will be used in order to analyse the data. Concerning data presentation, various charts and graphs will be used in order to interpret the questionnaire findings. On the other hand, statistical significance will be used by examining hypothesis. The following hypothesis will be tested in the research. Null hypothesis (H0): “Middle class secondary students do not achieve more academic performance than lower class secondary students” Alternate hypothesis (H1): “Middle class secondary students achieve high academic performance than lower class secondary students” The above hypothesis will be tested by using correlation coefficient method. The association prevailing between dependent and independent variables will be measured in order to evaluate the hypothesis. In relation to this particular research, the dependent variable will be the academic achievement score, which will be determined by scores achieved in different subjects. On the other hand, the independent variable will be lower social status, which will be determined by students who have low income level. Timetable The timetable for the entire research plan has been demonstrated below. Ethical Issues There exist various ethical issues that are required to be considered while undertaking a research. These issues can be measures in terms of voluntary involvement, informed consent, confidentiality and communication of findings. In this particular research, the aforementioned ethical issues will be considered. For example, the participation of respondents in the questionnaire survey will be voluntary in nature. They will be allowed to withdraw from the survey at any time without having any proper reason. Furthermore, an information sheet will be provided to the respondents who want to participate, specifying the objectives of the research. On the other hand, proper level of confidentiality will also be maintained in the study i.e. information, which can reveal the personal identity of the respondents. Furthermore, while representing the results, the issues of plagiarism and data misrepresentation will be avoided. Proper citations will also be used whenever works of other authors have been mentioned in the research (Polonsky & Waller, 2010). Problems and Limitations There are certain limitations that can be found in the research. The first limitation is that the research will only consider samples from secondary school students. The second limitation is that only students will be considered as the respondents. Parents and teachers are excluded from being involved in the sample. However, opinions of parents and students would be much valuable for the research. Conclusion To conclude, it is to be affirmed that the research will be based on understanding the relationship existing between social class and academic accomplishment of students. It will provide valuable understanding to the educators and educational policymakers about how different social factors influence educational performance of the pupils. It is often stated that low social class pupils have low academic performance than middle class ones. However, an evaluation required to be made in order to justify this proposition. Based on this aspect, quantitative approach of research will be taken wherein questionnaire survey method will be used to analyse the research subject broadly. References Barry, J., 2005. The Effect of Socio-Economic Status on Academic Achievement. Wichita State University. [Online] Available at: http://soar.wichita.edu/bitstream/handle/10057/616/grasp0609.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed May 17, 2014]. Blaxter, L. & et. al., 2010. How to Research. OUPress. 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University of Oxford, 2013. Report Shows Extent To Which Social Background Matters For Academic Success. Media. [Online] Available at: http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_releases_for_journalists/131017.html [Accessed May 17, 2014]. Williams, R., 2010. Middle-Class Children Do Better At School Because Of Parents. Guardian News and Media Limited. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/oct/29/middle-class-children-better-school [Accessed May 17, 2014]. Read More