Discrete and Obvious Education Deficiency in Children and Teenagers from High Social Risk Families

Abstract

The article relates to the current of sociology of educational problems. It concerns the issue of education deficiency in children and teenagers from high social risk groups. The main
research problem of the paper is the individual context of structural social inequalities in education.
The text is based on empirical research from the Greater Poland region. A number of research techniques were used during the investigation: in-depth interview, focus group interview,
computer-assisted web interview, interviews with experts and auditorium questionnaire.
The survey sample included both members of high social risk group (children and adults) and representatives of their environment (other pupils, teachers, NGO members), as well as
experts.
The article describes factors which have influence on education inequalities. The research shows that they are usually connected with individual parents’ or children’s attitude, and rarely with structural environment. It focuses more on the importance of personal skills, rather than the macro-social factors concerning inequalities. The paper uses the categories of “discrete” and “obvious” deficiency to describe the phenomenon.