Exploring failure in language and education: a comparative study

Abstract

This thesis is a result of a five year study into "Language and Education failure". The study was comparative in nature and examined the two main theories of explanation; namely the traditional explanation of DEFICIT and the alternative one of DIFFERENCE, and came to the conclusion that neither of the two theories were adequate in the explanation of why children of working class background con­tinue to fail educationally.
The study concentrated its efforts mainly (though not
exclusively) on 13+ to 16 year old boys and girls of working class background in inner city schools, taking London as the main area with Amsterdam for comparison. The study dealt with Cockney and Creole speakers in relation to Standard English, the language through which Education is transmitted in British schools. In Amsterdam the study took Sranan and Plat-Nederlands speakers in relation to standard Dutch which is the language through which Education is transmitted in Dutch schools.
The thesis is organised in three distinct parts as follows:
Vol. 1 is itself divided into two parts. Part ONE is a swnmary of the DEFICIT and the DIFFERENCE theories and reviews some of the main theorists in each case. Part TWO exemplifies, with empirical evidence, the DIFFERENCE model.
Vol. 2 proposes a SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL model, in so far as is inter­relates with sociolinguistics, as a replacement for both the Deficit and Difference models.
Vol. 3 lists general appendices including detail of the Dutch/British comparison, which reinforces the argument of Vol. 2 that it is not the language in itself, for example, the speech pattern, but the response to the language based on the perception held of the speakers of the language, which seems to be the cause of educational failure.