Learning one’s place and position through play: social class and educational opportunity in Early Years Education

Abstract

This paper focuses on how learning is structured and organised through play in three Early Years Education settings in England, UK. Drawing on the theoretical work of the British sociologist Basil Bernstein and with reference to the structure and organisation of learning, it is argued that the multiple forms of play evident in the three settings are afforded very different status and value in each, influenced by the assumptions practitioners make about children and their families' knowledge and resources for learning. The effect of such processes is the reproduction, rather than erosion, of social hierarchies inside EYE settings, reflecting those longstanding in wider UK society.

A Collaborative Journey Toward Understanding the Role of Social Class in Teaching and Learning

“…Social class can relate to education in important ways throughout schooling. This association is evident from the pre-kindergarten years in which educators have been shown to subtly guide students from higher-income families toward more academic play that promotes school readiness more so than for students from lower-income backgrounds (Stirrup, Evans, & Davies, 2017) to the college years where students from lower-income backgrounds take significantly longer than their counterparts to complete an undergraduate degree (Zarifa, Kim, Seward, & Walters, 2018). Research with students age 14 in England shows that students from lower-income families take less rigorous coursework in school (Henderson, Sullivan, Anders, & Moulton, 2018).…”

“…Practicing teachers have been found to make class-based assumptions that can influence their practice to the detriment of students from lower-income backgrounds. For example, they might perceive these students as having lower ability, interpret assessments of their work accordingly, and interact with and teach them differently (Hunt & Seiver, 2018;Stirrup, Evans, & Davies, 2017).…”

“…For one thing, they tend to have a limited conception of the meaning of diversity, often equating it mainly with race and ethnicity (e.g., Sharma et al, 2016). This constrictive view of diversity means that social class is not adequately addressed in the field of education (e.g., Stirrup et al, 2017). Indeed, a study of teacher educators, the very individuals who prepare P-12 teachers, reported not feeling comfortable or equipped to teach about social class (Jett & Cross, 2016).…”

“…We wanted to explore our own beliefs and attitudes and how our instructional approaches might help students understand the relationship of social class and education. Our decision to focus on social class was based on the fact that this was the course topic, one new to both of us, and that prospective and practicing teachers have been shown to possess stereotypic and constrictive perspectives toward students based on social class (Kumar & Hamer, 2012;Stirrup et al, 2017), while teacher educators feel unprepared to teach this topic (Jett & Cross, 2016). Despite the fact that "education…is subtly but profoundly classed" (Stirrup et al, 2017, p. 356), social class tends to be relegated to a backseat position among identity groups studied in teacher education (Glodjo, 2017;Hunt & Seiver, 2018).…”

“…The latter involves fewer topics but encourages deeper, more foundational learning. In any case, our foundational learning about the relationship of social class to education needs greater refinement by exploring intersections of other identities with social class, intra-class differences, and how social class manifests in different contexts (Glodjo, 2017;Hunt & Seiver, 2018;Stirrup et al, 2017). Two additional areas of research that can help create a more nuanced look at social class in relation to education are studies of students from middle-and upper-class families, as well as students from lower-class families in suburban settings (Hunt & Seiver, 2018).…”