1.2 Education - Social Class Differences In Achievement (Internal) Flashcards
What is labelling in the context of sociology?
Attaching meaning or definition to an individual/group.
What did Becker (1971) study?
Labelling in Chicago high schools.
What conclusion did Becker reach regarding teachers and the ‘ideal pupil’?
Middle-class pupils were closest to ‘ideal’.
What do teachers often base labels on?
Stereotypical assumptions
Who conducted a study on labelling in 1971?
Becker
How did teachers perceive middle-class pupils?
Ideal
How did teachers perceive working-class pupils?
Badly behaved
What did RIST (1970) study?
Labelling in primary school
What do interactionist sociologists study in relation to labelling?
Effects of labels on those labelled.
How many teachers did Becker interview in his 1971 study?
60 teachers.
According to Becker (1971), what factors influenced teachers’ labelling?
Work, conduct, and appearance.
Who conducted a study on labelling in primary schools?
Rist (1970).
In Rist’s study, how were children grouped?
By background and appearance.
Which sociologists study labeling in education?
Interactionist sociologists
What did Becker’s study focus on?
Teacher judgements
On what basis were children judged in a largely working-class school?
Behavior
What were the groups identified by RIST?
The Tigers, The Clowns, The Cardinals
Characteristics of The Tigers group?
Fast learners, middle-class
Characteristics of The Clowns and Cardinals groups?
Working-class, low level books
Name the groups identified in Rist’s (1970) study.
Tigers, Clowns, and Cardinals.
Describe the ‘Tigers’ group in Rist’s (1970) study.
Fast learners, seated near the teacher.
What characterized the ‘Clowns and Cardinals’ groups in Rist’s study?
Slower learners, seated away from teacher.
Examples of labels teachers may attach to pupils?
Bright, thick, troublemaker
What factors influenced teachers’ judgements in Becker’s study?
Work, appearance, conduct
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
A false prediction that comes true by virtue of it being made.
Who conducted an experiment related to self-fulfilling prophecies?
Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968)
What did Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s study involve?
New test for pupils
What do teachers’ beliefs about pupils impact?
Pupils’ achievement
Name the first step of the self-fulfilling prophecy process.
Labeling a pupil as intelligent.
Name the second step of the self-fulfilling prophecy process.
Treating the pupil accordingly.
Name the third step of the self-fulfilling prophecy process.
Pupil internalizes the label.
Who argues that labelling affects pupil achievement?
Interactionists
What was the outcome of the pupils gaining confidence?
Tries harder and succeeds
What can self-fulfilling prophecies produce?
Under-achievement
What did Rosenthal and Jacobson’s (1968) study involve?
Falsely predicting pupils’ IQ gains.
What was the outcome of Rosenthal and Jacobson’s experiment?
Significant IQ gains after a year.
Why is self-fulfilling prophecy theory criticized?
Being too deterministic.
What is a Marxist critique of labeling theory?
Ignoring wider social inequalities.
What question does A03 ask regarding external issues?
External issues affecting label internalization.
What is step one of the self-fulfilling prophecy process?
Teacher labels pupil
What happens in step two of the self-fulfilling prophecy process?
Teacher treats pupil accordingly
What occurs in step three of the self-fulfilling prophecy?
Pupil internalises expectation
What is a criticism of labeling theory?
Too deterministic
What is streaming?
Dividing students into groups by ability.
What did Becker find about teachers’ views on ideal pupils?
They favored middle-class children.
What is a major difficulty for children in lower streams?
Moving up to higher streams.
What did Gillborn and Youdell discover about the A - C economy?
Schools focus on pupils likely to get C or above.
What is ‘educational triage’ according to Gillborn and Youdell?
Sorting students like triage in hospitals.
How are pupils sorted in educational triage?
‘Hopeless cases,’ ‘C/D borderline,’ and ‘those who will pass.’
What did Becker find about teachers’ views on working-class pupils?
Low expectations
What do teachers think of working-class pupils?
Less likely to have ability
What do pupils in lower streams tend to align with according to the text?
Negative labels and lower expectations.
What happens to children in higher streams?
They stay there due to higher expectations.
How does streaming benefit teachers in terms of teaching?
Easier to teach due to uniform standards.
How do ‘A-to-C’ grades benefit schools?
Better league table positions.
What does streaming involve?
Ability groups
What effect do self-fulfilling prophecies have in streaming?
Children’s expectations
How do middle-class pupils benefit from streaming?
Higher expectations
What happens to students placed in lower streams?
Lower level GCSEs
What do schools with good league table positions attract?
More students
What is the consequence of schools attracting more students?
More funding
What happens to a child once they are streamed?
Difficult to move up
What improves for middle-class pupils in higher streams?
Confidence and grades
What do exam league tables rank schools by?
Performance
What is a pupil subculture?
Group sharing values/behaviour
What can cause the emergence of pupil subcultures?
Labelling and streaming
Who uses the concepts of differentiation and polarisation to explain the emergence of subcultures?
LACEY
What is differentiation?
Categorising pupils
What is polarisation?
Moving towards opposite poles
What is an example of differentiation in schools?
Streaming
What did LACEY’S study find about streaming?
Pro-school and anti-school subcultures
What was BALL’s finding about abolishing streaming?
Polarisation largely removed
What label did teachers apply more to middle-class pupils?
Ideal
What do middle-class pupils internalize?
Positive beliefs of teachers
What type of subcultures do high stream pupils form?
Pro-school subcultures
What type of subcultures do lower stream pupils form?
Anti-school subcultures
What leads to self-fulfilling prophecies in middle-class pupils?
Internalizing positive beliefs
How do lower stream pupils feel about their status?
Loss of self-esteem
What are alternative ways students gain status?
Inverting the rules
What are the four responses identified by WOODS?
Ingratiation, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellion
What is Ingratiation?
Being teachers’ pet
What is Ritualism?
Going through the motions
What is Retreatism?
Daydreaming and mucking about
What is Rebellion?
Outright rejection of school
What do students with similar HABITUS to teachers receive?
SYMBOLIC CAPITAL
What is SYMBOLIC VIOLENCE according to Bourdieu?
Withholding symbolic capital
How do working-class students view the educational world?
As alien
What do working-class pupils feel they must change to be successful?
Presentation and talk
What spaces do working-class students often feel are not for them?
Middle-class spaces
What leads to class differences in achievement?
Labelling
What does labelling lead to?
Streaming
What do streaming and labelling create?
Self-fulfilling prophecies
What can arise from self-fulfilling prophecies?
Subcultures
What do these studies suggest about schools?
Not fair institutions
What did many working-class pupils feel about society and school?
Looked down on them
What did working-class pupils create in response to symbolic violence?
Class identities
What term does ARCHER use for branded clothing identities?
Nike identities
What could not conforming to styles lead to?
Social suicide
What did the right appearance earn?
Symbolic capital
What is ARCHER ET AL.’s focus in their research?
Interactions between social groups and school
Who is the foundational theorist for ARCHER’S theory?
BOURDIEU
Define HABITUS.
Shared ways of thinking and acting
What does HABITUS respond to?
Class position
How does middle-class HABITUS influence education?
Values middle-class tastes
How is working-class culture perceived by schools?
Inferior
How do Nike styles influence working class pupils’ view of higher education?
Rejection due to lifestyle and affordability
What do working class pupils perceive university as?
Unaffordable and risky investment
What lifestyle aspect impacts working class pupils’ desire for university?
Living off a student loan
What do Archer et al. suggest about working class identities?
Express positive preference for lifestyle
What is self-exclusion in the context of education?
Rejecting education for identity
How does class identity affect university applications?
Creates barriers for working class
What did Evans study about working class girls?
Reluctance to apply to elite universities
What fear did working class girls have about elite universities?
Fear of not fitting in
Why do girls feel a strong attachment to their community?
They don’t want to move away
How does self-exclusion affect working class pupils?
Narrows options, limits success
What pattern do studies show about the education system?
Devalues working class experiences
What issue do working class pupils face in education?
Abandoning working class identity or conforming to middle class habits
What did INGRAM study?
Two groups of Catholic boys from Belfast
Grammar school values
Middle class values with high expectations
Secondary school values
Low expectations
W/c community emphasis
Fitting in
Tension between habitus
Middle class culture at school vs working class neighborhood
Example of symbolic violence
Ridicule for wearing tracksuit on non-uniform day
