1

Research and the Education Select Committee Inquiry into the

educational achievement of white working class children

Conference on the achievement of White Working Class children, Redcar & Cleveland LA

4 July 2014

Professor Steve StrandUniversity of Oxford, Department of Education

steve.strand@education.ox.ac.uk01865 611071

2

Summary of presentation

• Overview of the Select Committee Inquiry into the educational achievement of white working class (WWC) children

1. Clarifying terms and measures

2. The extent of the WWC gap

3. Drivers of the WWC gap

4. Addressing the issue: Schools and the Pupil Premium

• Coda - The limits of school effectiveness?

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Select Committee report• Instigated following OfSTED ‘Unseen Children

Access & achievement 20 years on’ (June 2013)

• 40+ written submissions, seven evidence panels with 28 witnesses incl. schools minister David Laws, visit to Peterborough LA & schools

• All written evidence and transcripts / videos of witness sessions plus final report from: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmeduc/142/142.pdf

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The core issue: FSM gap age 16

Whit

e Brit

ish-F

SM

Mixe

d W

hite

& Car

ibbea

n-FSM

Black

Caribb

ean-

FSM

Black

othe

r gro

ups-

FSM

Whit

e ot

her g

roup

s-FSM

Pakist

ani-F

SM

Mixe

d W

hite

& Asia

n-FSM

Mixe

d W

hite

& Afri

can-

FSM

Black

Africa

n-FSM

Any o

ther

Asia

n-FSM

Black

Caribb

ean-

NOT F

SM

Whit

e ot

her g

roup

s-NO

T FSM

Pakist

ani-N

OT F

SM

Ban

glade

shi-F

SM

Black

othe

r gro

ups-

NOT F

SM

Mixe

d W

hite

& Car

ibbea

n-NO

T FSM

India

n-FSM

Whit

e Brit

ish-N

OT F

SM

Black

Africa

n-NO

T FSM

Any o

ther

Asia

n-NO

T FSM

Ban

glade

shi-N

OT F

SM

Mixe

d W

hite

& Afri

can-

NOT F

SM

Mixe

d W

hite

& Asia

n-NO

T FSM

Chines

e-FSM

India

n-NO

T FSM

Chines

e-NO

T FSM

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

32%

38%

42% 43% 44%

47% 48% 49%

51%52%

57% 58%59% 59% 60%

61% 61%

65%66% 67% 67% 68%

74%

77% 77%78%

5+A*-C EM by ethnic group and entitlement to FSM: England 2013

% 5

+ A

*-C

gra

des

in

clu

din

g E

ng

& M

ath

s

Source: NPD 2013 (own analysis)

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1. Clarifying terms: Who are the WWC?• ‘White British’ is the focus group

– Roma / Irish Traveller groups extremely low achievement, but also very small numbers (0.1%) and complex needs

– White Other groups-FSM overall higher achieving than White British but extremely varied, reflecting recency of arrival in UK & language fluency (Strand, in preparation)

• Debate around “working class” term– Phenomena robust across other SES indices as such as

NS-SEC, parental education qualifications, IDACI etc.

– FSM employed for pragmatic reasons (available to schools & verifiable) so focus is more on poverty, but Ever 6 widens the base (15% -> 25%)

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NS-SEC (socio-economic classification)

Source: LSYPE (Strand, 2008)

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Parent’s educational qualifications

Source: LSYPE (Strand, 2008)

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Neighbourhood deprivation (IDACI)

Source: NPD 2013 (own analysis)

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Combined SES and attainment age 16

-1 SD 0 +1SD-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

White BritishMixed heritageIndianPakistaniBangladeshiBlack Caribbean

Socio-economic Status (SES) normal score

Me

an

to

tal p

oin

ts s

core

(n

orm

alis

ed

)

Note: SES from Principal Components Analysis of: Household Social class (NS-SEC), parents educational qualifications, home ownership, FSM and neighbourhood deprivation (IDACI).

Source: LSYPE (Strand, 2014)

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2/3. Drivers of the WWC Gap• LSYPE identifies a wide range of factors:

• Pupil SEN, truancy, exclusion, service involvement (Police, EWS, SS) attitude to school, planning for future;

• Parental education, family structure, resources (computer & tuition), monitoring, family discord;

• School selective status, %FSM etc.

• But the four largest influences were:• Students’ academic self concept (ASC);• Frequency of completing homework;• Students’ educational aspirations;• Parents’ educational aspirations for the young person.

= Indicators of engagement / disengagement

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Educational aspirations

Source: LSYPE (Strand, 2014)

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BME resilience to disadvantage• Most BME groups low SES: strong ASC, effort and high

educational aspirations in the home + high attendance - Immigrant paradigm (Kao & Tienda, 2003). Cycle of disadvantage can be broken.

• White British and Black Caribbean low SES: − Careful not to overgeneralise, but less likely to see school

as instrumental in achieving their aspirations

− Different drivers for White British & Black Caribbean (Strand & Winston, 2008)

− Can be a reaction to inter-generational unemployment & loss of hope, but unlike era of full employment high cost to an ‘oppositional culture’ in new knowledge economy

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SES and progress age 11-16Bottom SES Quintile Top SES quintile

Source: LSYPE (Strand, 2014)

• Low SES: White British decline, most BME improve particularly during KS4. High SES: gaps close but WBRI stay ahead.

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Implications for schools• Resilience. Remember talking about differences in

mean scores between ethnic & SES groups – tremendous individual variation. But overall resilience of BME WC students shows that the cycle of disadvantage can be broken.

• Curriculum: must be seen as relevant and engaging by White British & Black Caribbean WC students in particular. Work-related learning and quality vocational education, but qualifications must be of value (cf Wolf Review)

• But to understanding the origins have to look much, much earlier than secondary school

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Key Stage 2 (age 11): England 2013

White

Other-

FSM

White

British

-FSM

White

Irish

-FSM

Black C

aribbea

n-FSM

Mixed W

hite &

Caribbea

n-FSM

Black o

ther-

FSM

Mixed W

hite &

Asian-FS

M

Pakist

ani-F

SM

Any Oth

er gro

up-FSM

Mixed W

hite &

Africa

n-FSM

Asian oth

er-FS

M

Mixed Oth

er heri

tage-F

SM

Black A

frica

n-FSM

White

Other-

Non FSM

Indian-FS

M

Bangla

deshi-F

SM

Pakist

ani-N

on FSM

Any Oth

er gro

up-Non FS

M

Black C

aribbea

n-Non FS

M

Black o

ther-

Non FSM

Mixed W

hite &

Caribbea

n-Non FS

M

Mixed W

hite &

Africa

n-Non FS

M

Bangla

deshi-N

on FSM

Black A

frica

n-Non FS

M

White

British

-Non FS

M

Asian oth

er-Non FS

M

Mixed Oth

er heri

tage-N

on FSM

Mixed W

hite &

Asian-N

on FSM

Indian-N

on FSM

Chinese-N

on FSM

White

Irish

-Non FS

M

Chinese-FS

M

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

% L

evel

4+

in R

eadi

ng, W

riting

& M

aths

(RW

M)

Source: DFE SFR 51/2013

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Foundation Stage (age 5): England 2013

White

other

groups-F

SM

Pakist

ani-F

SM

White

British

-FSM

Chinese-FS

M

Asian oth

er gro

ups-FSM

Mixed W

hite &

Caribbea

n-FSM

Bangla

deshi-F

SM

Mixed W

hite &

Africa

n-FSM

Mixed W

hite &

Asian-FS

M

Indian-FS

M

Mixed an

y oth

er bac

kgro

und-FSM

Pakist

ani-N

ot FSM

Black C

aribbea

n-FSM

Black o

ther

groups-F

SM

Black A

frica

n-FSM

Bangla

deshi-N

ot FSM

Asian oth

er gro

ups-Not F

SM

Mixed W

hite &

Caribbea

n-Not F

SM

Black A

frica

n-Not F

SM

Black o

ther

groups-N

ot FSM

Chinese-N

ot FSM

White

other

groups-N

ot FSM

Black C

aribbea

n-Not F

SM

Mixed W

hite &

Africa

n-Not F

SM

White

British

-Not F

SM

Mixed an

y oth

er bac

kgro

und-Not F

SM

Mixed W

hite &

Asian-N

ot FSM

Indian-N

ot FSM

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

% w

ith

a 'g

ood

leve

l of d

evel

opm

ent'

Source: DFE SFR 47/2013

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Longitudinal surveys at age 3• By age 3 high SES childrens’ vocabulary 50% larger than

‘working class’ children & 100% higher than those on welfare (Hart & Risley, 1995) – key for subsequent success

• Home Learning Environment (HLE) - dyadic book reading, writing shopping lists, refrigerator letters, books in home, direction to environmental print, visits to libraries – key predictor & uneven across SES– Mothers with higher educational qualifications 4 times more

likely to read with their children several times a week (MCS)– HLE explains at least half and sometimes all of the SES

difference at school entry (EPPE project; Farkas & Beron, 2004; Phillips et al, 1998)

• Key implication for early intervention and high quality pre-school experience (See EPPE)

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4. Addressing the issue• Report focusses on transformational capacity of schools

– OfSTED (2013): Only 66% of schools in bottom IDACI quintile rated good/outstanding compared to 86% in top quintile – room for improvement in school quality

– London Effect:• Big improvement relative to other regions 2007-12• Students on FSM much more successful than elsewhere

(5AC-EM 52% vs. 37%)• Biggest gaps now more frequently in towns & coastal

areas (OfSTED 2013, p59)– EEF evidence: “In 2012, there were 428 secondary schools,

nearly 1:7, where pupils eligible for FSM performed above the national average for all pupils in terms of Best 8 points scores” (Written evidence 0034).

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School success against the odds• DfE Extra Mile Project – visited 45 primary & 50

secondary schools that had raised attainment in some of the most deprived wards in England.

• 12 key practices identified: High participatory/active learning in lessons Value local people & culture, high levels of engagement Broaden pupils horizons Offer a more relevant curriculum Build pupils’ language repertoire Track pupil progress and intervene Effective reward and sanctions schemes Develop SEAL, etc.

• See case studies:• http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/search/?y=0&where=text&x=0&query=extra+mile+case+studies&x=0&y=0

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FSM gap by OFSTED rating

Source: Ofsted (2013). Unseen Children: Access and achievement 20 years on (P53). Breakdown by school overall effectiveness judgement.

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The mechanisma) Funding Pupil Premium Grant (PPG)

b) School’s decide on the intervention/s– http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/– OfSTED best practice WWC updated & PPG annual report

c) Accountable through performance tables / OfSTED / school website– Progress 8 to remove perverse incentives of 5+ A*-C EM– Publication of PPG gap, including 3-year averages

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The limits of School Effectiveness?• Risk that FSM gap is equated with ‘failing’ schools,

or simply a ‘technical’ issue for schools to solve

– London Effect: if restrict analysis to White British only much smaller FSM differential (5AC-EM 40% v. 34%)

– EEF: 1:7 is only 15%, includes 164 grammar schools, two-thirds very low concentration FSM (<10%) (see Wrigley, 2012)

– Within-school gaps: FSM gap does not appear to vary significantly between outstanding and inadequate secondary schools (Ofsted, 2013) or by school CVA scores (e.g. Strand, 2010, 2014)

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FSM gap by OFSTED rating

Source: Ofsted (2013). Unseen Children: Access and achievement 20 years on (P53). Breakdown by school overall effectiveness judgement.

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Same conclusion from CVA analyses

Source: Strand, S. (2014b).. School effects and ethnic, gender and socio-economic gaps in educational achievement at age 11. Oxford Review of Education, 40, (2), 223-245.

Effectiveness judged on CVA model of progress age 7-11. FSM pupils in more effective schools achieve higher than non-FSM at less effective

schools, but still a large gap.

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Implications for policy/practice• FSM gap does not result from a small no. ‘failing schools’

– Floor targets, new academies/free schools overemphasised– ‘Success against the odds’ exceptions & not easily replicable

• Beyond the school gates– Home / parental factors, access to social & economic capital,

poor health, peer groups, crime or neighbourhood deprivation– Cumulative impact of early Home Learning Environment (HLE)

age 0-3 and ”Matthews’ effect”

• Pupil premium positive influence by focussing schools attention on the FSM gap within their schools – Evaluate setting allocation / flexibility (e.g. Oakes, 2005)– Distribution of teachers across classrooms within schools (e.g.

Clotfelter et al, 2005)– Working with parents (e.g. Parent Support Advisor pilot, 2009)– Early intervention (PPG weighting revised)

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Overall conclusions• Focus on low attainment of White British Working Class

(WC) pupils is valid – but (i) also Black Caribbean WC, and (ii) Black Caribbean underachieve from middle/high SES homes.

• Key resilience factors are sometimes individual/family, but schools can and do make a difference (though there are limits to what schools alone can achieve).

• Pupil Premium Grant offers substantial redistributive funding, real chance to make a difference, need to focus on within-school resource deployment, parental involvement etc.

• Further research needed to focus on root causes of social class gap in early years (age 0-5), family and neighbourhood factors, role of curriculum and school composition.

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ReferencesEvans, G. (2006). Educational failure and white working class children in Britain. Basingstoke: Palgrave

Macmillan.

Lambeth (2010). White working class achievement: A study of barriers to learning in schools. Lambeth: Lambeth Children & Young People’s Service.

Lindsay, G., Davis, H., Strand, S., Cullen, M.A,, Band, S., Cullen, S., Davis, L., Hasluck, C., Evans, R. & Stewart-Brown, S. (2009). Parent Support Adviser Pilot Evaluation: Final Report. London: DCSF. https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-RR151.pdf .

Strand, S. (2010). Do some schools narrow the gap? Differential school effectiveness by ethnicity, gender, poverty and prior attainment. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 21(3), 289-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09243451003732651

Strand, S. (2011). The limits of social class in explaining ethnic gaps in educational attainment. British Educational Research Journal, 37(2),197-229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411920903540664

Strand, S. (2012). The White British-Black Caribbean achievement gap: Tests, tiers and teacher expectations. British Educational Research Journal, 38(1),75-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2010.526702

Strand, S. (2014a). Ethnicity, gender, social class and achievement gaps at age 16: Intersectionality and ‘Getting it’ for the white working class. Research Papers in Education, 29, (2), 131-171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2013.767370

Strand, S. (2014b). School effects and ethnic, gender and socio-economic gaps in educational achievement at age 11. Oxford Review of Education, 40, (2), 223-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.891980

Strand, S. & Winston, J. (2008). Educational aspirations in inner city schools. Educational Studies, 34(4), 249-267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055690802034021