From the other side of the tracks - TES (30 October 09)

This article could be used to facilitate a discussion about the relevance of a teacher's own social class position and about the impact of social class on educational outcomes more generally. In this article Hannah Frankel argues that social class differences between teachers and working class pupils are less important than teachers' attitudes and expectations. However, she begins by asking if graduate teachers from more affluent backgrounds can have sufficient understanding of the life experiences of pupils in economically deprived areas. During the course of the article Frankel refers to a number of important issues including the smaller proportion of working class pupils gaining places at leading universities and entering the teaching profession, the practice of entering working class pupils for lower level qualifications and the tendency for schools where only a minority of pupils obtain 5 A*-C passes at GCSE including English and Mathematics to be located in the poorest communities. One of the many questions raised by this article is how much weight should be given to arguments that emphasise differences in working class culture, values and aspirations.  Other questions that teacher trainees could be asked to discuss are:

• How important is the social class position of the teacher?
• Is there such a thing as a working class or a middle class culture?
• Is it necessary to be aware of social class to be an effective teacher?

Louise Gazeley