1. Internal explanations for social class differences in education Flashcards
1
Q
What are internal factors?
A
- External assumes factors are beyond the school, criticised by Interactionists
-.social action approach roots in interpretative sociology, derive social process from social interaction
-attempt to understand interaction and how individuals define situations
2
Q
What is a self-concept?
A
- Interaction with others shapes how people define themselves
3
Q
What is labelling?
A
Specific expectations of certain people, can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy
4
Q
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
A
When a label is applied to someone and they start to conform to it
5
Q
How does labelling impact achievement?
A
- (Hargreaves et al) used interviews and observations to examine how teachers “got to know their pupils”
- Speculation: teachers made guesses on types of pupils based on ability, appearance, conformity 2. Elaboration: teachers hypotheses tested 3. Stabilisation: teachers now feel they know pupils (evaluated on label)
6
Q
What did (Becker) call a standard ideal pupil?
A
- Observations in a Chicago high school found classifications, judgements and evaluations were made in terms of a standard ideal pupil
-middle class non manual backgrounds
-conformity to discipline, polite, good attendance, high grades, good attitude
7
Q
How do teachers affect pupils progress?
A
- (Cicourel and kitsuse) examined tutors decisions in an American highschool, they helped determine students access colleg e
- instead or evaluating on ability: middle class origins were seen as natural prospective college students
- influenced by a whole range of non-academic factors
8
Q
How does a self-fulfilling prophecy impact achievement?
A
-( rosenthal and Jacobson) study in Californian elementary school, standard intelligence test selected random pupils of who would make the most progress→ later tested and all was based on teacher expectations (positive labels)
9
Q
How have interactionists been criticised? (Sfp)
A
- Generalise the effects of labelling, making pupils seem passive and unable to resist labels
-ative labels can motivate students to prove teachers wrong - e.g. Year 11 black working classlgirls wereaware of low expectations → anti schoolbutpro education so proved them wrong (fuller)
10
Q
What is setting and streaming?
A
- Ways of grouping pupils according
to ability - setting: whole classes put into different groups/sets for particular subjects
- streaming: grouping students for all subjects
11
Q
How does setting and streaming impact achievement?
A
- Being placed in lower sets may undermine pupils confidence with lower expectations and less ambition
12
Q
What did (keddie) find on setting and streaming?
A
- Higher sets were expected to behave better and do more work with more knowledge and greater opportunities
- WC pupils may underachieve as they have not been given access to the knowledge required for educational success
- disadvantaged label may make students less ambitious
13
Q
What did (ball) find on setting and streaming?
A
- Research at beachside comprehensive school with top stream students “warmed up” by encouragement for high’ academic results
- lower stream students were “cooled out” and encouraged to follow lower status vocational and practical courses → leave school at earliest opportunity
- contribute to underachievement of WC pupils
14
Q
How do pupil subcultures impact achievement?
A
- (Hargreaves) bottom stream pupils often rebel against the school and develop an alternative set of values, attitudes and behaviour opposing academic aims
- provides a means for improving self-esteem, through success and status within a peer group→ further contributes to underachievement
15
Q
What did (Lacey) find on pupil subcultures?
A
- Study of a boys grammar school found streaming polarised boys into pro and anti school subcultures
- either achieved status through approved academic route or anti school peer group
16
Q
Why may anti-school subcultures develop?
A
- Only way to gain self esteem
- wc may feel inadequate academically and can only gain status in peer group
-streaming splits people into pro and anti school subcultures → further contribute to underachievement
17
Q
What is habitus?
A
- (Bourdieu) the taken for granted ways of thinking, being and acting based on social class
- claim middle class can define habitus as superior and impose it on the education system → therefore these preferences gain symbolic capital
18
Q
What is symbolic violence?
A
- The withholding of symbolic capital
- (archer) found WC students felt to be educationally successful they had to change how they talked and presented themselves
- felt university and professional careers were “not for the likes of us” with society looking down on them
- this led to me creation of alternative ways of creating self worth, status and value → earn symbolic capital through meaningful class identities
19
Q
What is a Nike identity?
A
- Conforming to the standards of peer groups, all wearing strictly Nike branded clothing to gain social acceptance
- schools middle class habitus clash with WC pupil identity leading to stigmatisation
20
Q
How are pupils class identities a barriers to success?
A
- Although many progress to university, there is a clash between WC identity and the habitus of university
- partly due to self exclusion as many feel university is “not for the likes of us”
- pattern of a mc education system which devalues wc experiences and choices as worthless
- forced to choose between WC identity or conforming to mc standards to succeed
21
Q
How does the school impact educational achievement?
A
- (Rutter et al) study “fifteen thousand hours” argues good schools make students more likely to succeed
- WC less likely to be in good schools due to the location
22
Q
What is marketisation?
A
- Schools exist in a culture where they have to market themselves like a business in order to improve and gain highly achieving students
- eg. Open evenings, leaflets, websites, league tables, of stead reports
23
Q
A
