Bernstein’s Theory of Language Codes & Mac an Ghaill’s Study
Bernstein’s Explanation of Educational Inequality
Basil Bernstein was interested in how education reproduces class inequalities. He analyzed linguistic skills, arguing that children from different backgrounds develop different language codes.
Restricted and Elaborated Codes
Restricted Code: Bernstein argued that the speech of working-class children represents a restricted code tied to its cultural setting. In strong familial or neighborhood cultures, values and norms are often taken for granted and not explicitly expressed in language.
Elaborated Code: Middle-class children, according to Bernstein, develop an elaborated code. Their language use is less context-bound, enabling them to generalize and express abstract ideas more easily. Middle-class mothers often explain the reasoning behind their reactions to their children’s behavior. For example, while a working-class mother might simply say “No more sweets!” a middle-class mother might explain why eating too many sweets is unhealthy.
Educational Implications
Children who have acquired elaborated codes are better equipped to handle the demands of formal education than those limited to restricted codes. Bernstein’s thesis is supported by research like that of Tough, who found that working-class children had less experience with having their questions answered at home and were less adept at asking questions in the classroom.
Bernstein’s ideas help explain why individuals from certain socioeconomic backgrounds tend to underachieve in school. Working-class children may find the classroom environment challenging, especially when compared to their middle-class peers who seem more comfortable. They may also struggle with conceptual learning that involves generalization and abstraction, while excelling in rote learning.
Critical Points of Bernstein’s Theory
Some critics consider Bernstein’s theory a “deficit hypothesis,” viewing working-class culture as lacking the essential elaborated language code that allows middle-class children to express themselves more fully. They argue that Bernstein implicitly considers the middle-class code superior. Furthermore, critics contend that the theory lacks sufficient empirical support and doesn’t adequately address what happens within schools.
Contemporary Significance of Bernstein’s Work
Bernstein’s theory of language codes has significantly influenced the sociology of education, inspiring numerous research studies. He aimed to find ways to prevent the educational potential of working-class children from being wasted and provided valuable insights into the social processes that contribute to educational inequalities.
Mac an Ghaill’s Study: Learning Not to Labour?
Mac an Ghaill studied the experiences of young working-class men at Parnell School in the West Midlands, focusing on how they developed specific forms of masculinity within the school environment.
Fragmented Transition to Adulthood
Mac an Ghaill found that the transition to adulthood for these young men was more fragmented than what Willis observed in his study of “the lads” 25 years earlier. Many students were confused about the relevance of education to their futures, leading to diverse responses to schooling.
The Macho Lads
Mac an Ghaill identified a group called the “macho lads,” the most traditionally working-class group at Parnell School. They were typically placed in the bottom academic sets and shared a view of the school as an authoritarian system imposing meaningless demands. The school administration considered them the most disruptive anti-school peer group.
Masculinity and Resistance
For the macho lads, secondary school was an “apprenticeship” in toughness. Key values included loyalty and sticking together. They associated academic work with femininity and rejected it as unsuitable for men. They saw schoolwork as “girl’s work” and not “real work.”
Crisis of Masculinity
Mac an Ghaill’s work highlights how the macho lads, more than other male peer groups, experienced a “crisis of masculinity.” They clung to fantasies of the full-employment society their fathers and uncles had known, struggling to find their place in a changing world.