In the aftermath of the Minister of Education’s pregnant statement on educational achievement and social class, an academic debate is expected. I feel I should take up the cudgels, as a former teacher and head teacher, to initiate a discussion.
The minister, in his genuine attempt to improve the self-esteem and educational development of the working class, points an accusing finger at the present school system, implying that it caters for the middle class, pushing children on the fringe of society into exclusion.
The stark facts of the influence of social class on school achievement are so evident they hardly need repeating. As all teachers know, children who produce the best work, who are easier to control and stimulate, stay at school longer, take part in extra-curriculum activities, finish their educational career with the highest qualifications and grasp the best jobs, tend to come from the middle class.
The key, fundamental factor is that in middle-class families, education is highly valued. Unlike children who are culturally disadvantaged or from low occupational zones, middle-class children find a stimulating educational environment at home. While parents with low educational esteem generally opt for ‘instant gratification’ by sending their children to work on reaching the final stages of compulsory education, the middle classes go on the side of “delayed gratification” and expect their children to scale the highest ladders of tertiary education. Their children are also encouraged by the generous stimulus of free university education and other benefits that were mainly meant for the poorer classes.
Consequently the root factor for the high percentage of dropouts is not the system, but the home environment. A child unwittingly tunes into the implicit culture of his/her family life without too much interference from the manifest attitudes of parents towards knowledge.
The bearing of parental attitudes on the academic performance of schoolchildren was amply demonstrated in a detailed report on early education prepared by the Central Advisory Council of Education for England and Wales in 1954. The ripple effect of this important document resulted in the identification of Educational Priority Areas (EPAs).
In the mid-1990s there was an outcry about certain zones in Malta with a high percentage of school refusal, in the form of truancy and dismal results in our 11+ examination, and a very low percentage of university students. It was recommended then, in a pamphlet issued by the Guze Ellul Mercer (GEM) Foundation that focused on a particular zone, to introduce EPAs, a policy of positive discrimination to be adopted in depressed or culturally disadvantaged communities.
The reaction in favour of EPA identification was immediate, positive and widespread but after a few feeble attempts the idea fizzled out.
The root factor for the high percentage of dropouts is not the system but the home environment
In most European countries, teachers and head teachers in EPAs receive tools to find ways of improving the education level of children in poor areas enabling them to keep pace with their peers in more culturally and economically favoured zones. EPA schools have a lower percentage of children in the class than the national average and have specially trained teachers and head teachers who receive an incentive bonus. In these areas, EPAs establish strong family communications with parents.
It should be stressed that fathers are parents too and their input in a child’s intellectual development should be more evident. Apparently the amount of interest taken by fathers in the early stages of a child’s education varies with social class.
In my long experience in primary schools, the mother is the one who makes most contact with the school, either because she is more available or because she feels that is her role. Consequently, mothers are more inclined to create an educational environment.
As the number of working mothers is on the increase, fathers have also a role to play in the education of their children. The parents’ involvement should not wane or decline in importance in secondary school.
Ideally, parents should remain “reference” persons in a child’s life. In my course of study within the London Education Authority, students in most grammar schools were far more concerned at acquitting themselves creditably with their parents than with their peers.
Sadly, in Malta, peer pressure affects gifted children very negatively, as these children often prefer to get a low mark than be labelled nerds. This disgusting form of bullying should be addressed immediately, with the help of guidance teachers and parents’ cooperation.
The classical clarion call ‘Catch them young’ does not only apply to sporting excellence but more emphatically to educational achievement. The ‘School in the Community’, with the declared aim of reaching out to all the families, should be one of the key aims of an EPA school bringing in social workers, women’s movements and the ecclesiastical institutions. That is the way forward.
Lino Bugeja is Associate of the Institute of Education, University of Malta.