achievement Flashcards

Question

what is the idea of immediate gratification?

Answer 1

seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get later rewards

Answer 2

seeing the present as more important than the future so not having long-term goals

Answer 3

to tackle the problem of cultural deprivation by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas, they compensate fir the deprivation children may experience during primary socialisation

Answer 4

a multi-billion dollar scheme of pre-school education in poorer areas in the 1960s.

Answer 5

- "planned enrichment" of deprived children's environment to develop skills and instil achievement motivation - improve parenting skills = nursery classes, home visits by educational specialists etc.

Answer 6

- education priority areas - education action zones - sure start

Answer 7

nell keddie (1973) describe cultural deprivation as a myth and an example of victim blaming - w/c children are culturally different not deprived - she believes the reason w/c children fail is because they are put to a disadvantage by the education system because it is dominated by m/c values - she argues we should challenge teachers and schools for their 'anti-working class prejudices'

Answer 8

argue that the problem is not the child’s language but the school’s attitude towards it = teachers have a “speech hierarchy”

Answer 9

- believe w/c parents attend fewer parents’ evenings not because of lack of interest BUT because they work longer/less regular hours + put off by the school’s m/c atmosphere etc. - they may want to help their children progress but they lack the knowledge and education

Answer 10

poverty and lack of material necessities such as adequate housing or income

Answer 11

- barely 1/3 of pupils eligible for free school meals achieved 5 or more GCSE at A*-C including English and Maths, against nearly 2/3 of other pupils - Jan Flaherty (2004) : money problem = significant factor in younger children non-attendance at school - exclusion and truancy are more likely for children in poorer families - 90% of “failing” schools are located in deprived areas

Answer 12

- children may get bullied for living in poverty / poor quality housing = knocks their own self esteem = overcrowding = disturbed sleep = no place to focus / do homework - damp, run down environment = mouldy clothes / walls = unsanitary' = sicknesses and illnesses e.g asthma or nausea = missing days off school = underachievement

Answer 13

- less likely to be able to afford medicines = 2 and a half more times likely to suffer from chronic illnesses - 'hand me downs' = holes in clothes / socks etc. = can not afford to replace them = risk facing bullying at school - twice as likely to miss meals = not enough money to have 3 meals a day / or nutritious meals = no energy to focus in class / lack concentration = more likely to underachieve - can not do fun activities that stimulate a child's intellectual development e.g swimming = all money must go on food - benefits stop for children at the age of 16 = they may worry about the future = had to mature at a young age = may feel as though they were a burden - lack of necessities e.g housing, diet, resources, school equipment

Answer 14

- only 33% of those claiming free school meals gained 5 GCSEs A-C compared to the 66% not claiming free school meals - nearly 90% of failing schools are in deprived areas - increase in tuition fees (£9000 max), the umber of UCAS applicants fell by 8.6%

Answer 15

Bourdieu (1984) cultural capital is claimed by m/c families, who subscribe to the dominant values of the education system including = attitudes, knowledge, tastes, abilities, languages and values

Answer 16

through socialisation

Answer 17

they have 'something in common' with the education system = similar interests, books, documentaries etc. = 'feel at home' = high qualifications = higher status jobs = higher salaries

Answer 18

to attach a meaning or definition to someone

Answer 19

as bright or thick, troublemaker or hardworking etc.

Answer 20

often these labels are attached regardless of the pupil’s actual ability or attitude and more so labelled pupils on the basis of stereotyped assumptions about their class background = labelling w/c negatively and m/c positively

Answer 21

interactionist study small-scale, face-to-face interactions between individuals = they are interested in how people attached labels to one another and the effects that this has on those who are labelled.

Answer 22

a study of 2 English primary schools by Amelia Hempel-Jorgensen (2009) = In a w/c primary where staff said discipline was a major issue, the ideal pupil was described as quiet, passive and obedient = behaviour over ability = m/c prim school with few discipline problems ideal pupils were defined in terms of personality and academic ability rather than “non misbehaving”

Answer 23

Becker interviewed 60 Chicago high school teachers = he found that they judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an image of the “ideal pupil”. = pupils’ work, conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teachers’ judgements = teachers saw children from m/c as the closest to ideal and w/c as further away from it because they regarded them as badly behaved

Answer 24

'learning into labour' = participant observation + unstructured interviews = 12 w/c boys = transition from school to work = anti-school attitude = defied school rules = smoke, drank, truancy etc. = reject school meritocratic ideology that w/c pupils can achieve m/c jobs

Answer 25

interviews from 9 secondary schools, they found that teachers = ‘schools persistently produce working class underachievement’ = ‘normalised’ the underachievement of w/c pupils = seemed unbothered by it = felt they could do little or nothing about it whereas, they felt they could overcome the underachievement of middle-class pupils

Answer 26

- w/c parents as uninterested in their child’s achievement. - w/c students as underachieving and entered them for easier exams. - m/c parents as more supportive. - m/c as high achievers and set them extension work

Answer 27

an expectation/belief that can influence your behaviours, causing the belief to come true

Answer 28

1. the teacher will label the pupil 2. they will then treat the pupil according to their label 3. the student then internalises this label, and it becomes a part of their self-concept and the label becomes true

Answer 29

separating children into different ability groups/classes = streams

Answer 30

children in the lower sets get the message that that teacher have written them off as no-hopers = creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where children live up to their teachers low expectation by underachieving

Answer 31

David Gillborn and Deborah Youdell (2001) studied 2 London secondary schools and showed how teachers use stereotypical notions of “ability” to stream pupils = w/c and black students less likely to be seen as having ability = placed in lower streams and entered for lower-tier GCSEs = they link streaming to publishing exam league tables = schools need to achieve good league table position to attract pupils and funding = league tables create what Gillborn and Youdell call an “A-to-C economy” in school

Answer 32

system in which schools focus their time, efforts and resources on pupils who have the potential to get 5 grade Cs and would boost the school’s league table position

Answer 33

sorting pupils into 3 categories

Answer 34

- those who will pass anyway and can be left to get on with it - those with potential, who will be helped to get a grade C or better - hopeless cases, who are doomed to fail

Answer 35

a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong

Answer 36

as a response to the way they have been labelled, e.g. a reaction to streaming

Answer 37

Colin Lacey (1970)

Answer 38

differentiation and polarisation

Answer 39

where teachers categorise pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude and/or behaviour

Answer 40

the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite poles or extremes

Answer 41

= groups that conform to the hidden curriculum and value education = pupils placed in high streams = largely m/c = gain their status through academic success

Answer 42

= groups that rebel against the formal and hidden curriculum = don’t value education and rebel against teachers and authority = placed in low streams (who tend to be w/c), suffer a loss of self esteem = the school has undermined their confidence by placing them in a position of inferior status = they then search for alternative ways of gaining status = turning upside down the school's values of hard work, obedience and punctuality = normally through friends and peers that they gain their status

Answer 43

Stephen Ball (1981) - studied a comprehensive school that was in the process of abolishing banding (type of streaming) in favour of mixed-ability groups = he found that when the school abolished banding, pupils had less reasons to adopt a subculture and the influence of the anti school subculture declined however differentiation continued, teachers continued to categorise pupils differently, and were more likely to label m/c pupils as co-operative and able = this positive labelling was reflected in better exam results = self-fulfilling prophecy Ball's study shows that class inequalities can continue as a result of teachers’ labelling, even without the effects of streaming

Answer 44

Ingratiation - being the teacher's pet Ritualism - going through the motions and staying out of trouble Retreatism - daydreaming and messing around Rebellion - outright rejection of everything that the school stands for

Answer 45

- useful in showing that schools are not neutral or fair institutions and can create social class inequalities

Answer 46

- too determinism: assumes that pupils labelled have no other choice but fulfilling the prophecy = Carol Fuller (1984) shows that this is not always true - Marxists also criticise = for ignoring the wider structures of power within which labelling takes place. labelling theory blames teachers for labelling pupils, but fails to explain why they do so - labelling theory doesn't really explain why certain groups are negatively labelled more than others

Answer 47

dispositions or learned, taken-for granted ways of thinking, being and acting shared by a particular social class, including: - tastes - preferences - outlooks on life

Answer 48

the m/c habitus

Answer 49

Bourdieu = reproducing the class structure and ‘keeping the working class in their place’

Answer 50

schools have m/c habitus, pupils who have been socialised with m/c tastes and preferences gain “symbolic capital”/status and recognition from the school = schools devalue the w/c habitus, so that w/c tastes (clothing, appearance, accents) are deemed tasteless/worthless

Answer 51

that for w/c pupils to be successful = they must change how they talked and presented themselves

Answer 52

They felt unable to access ‘posh’, m/c spaces such as university and professional jobs = seen as ‘not for the likes of us’ = 'odd one out'

Answer 53

w/c students to seek an alternative way of achieving self-worth, status and value by constructing meaningful class identities for themselves by investing heavily in “styles”

Answer 54

= wearing this style = right appearance = earns them symbolic capital and approval amongst peers = safety from bullying / 'social suicide' = from not conforming = conflicts with the schools dress codes = non conforming = labelled as 'rebels'

Answer 55

that school m/c habitus stigmatises w/c identity

Answer 56

Nicola Ingram (2009) studied 2 groups of catholic boys from the same deprived neighbourhood in Belfast = 1 group had passed 11-plus exam and gone to grammar school (with a strong m/c habitus) = the other had failed and gone to a local secondary school (wit low expectations) Ingram found that having a w/c id was inseparable from belonging to a w/c locality Ingram noted that w/c place great emphasis on conformity = boys experienced great pressure to fit in problem for the gram school boys = they experienced tensions between the habitus of w/c and that of m/c school = pupils are forced to abandon their “worthless” w/c id if they want to succeed

Answer 57

Sarah Evans (2009) – studied a group of 21 w/c girls from a south London comprehensive studying for their A-Levels = found that they were reluctant to apply for elite universities (e.g. Oxbridge) and those that did apply felt a sense of hidden barriers and of not fitting in = the girls had a strong attachment to their locality (4 out of the 21 untended to move away to study) = this restricted the choices and narrowed the opportunities Bourdieu (1984) – many w/c see places such as Oxbridge as being ‘not for the likes of us' = this feeling comes from their habitus

Answer 58

marketisation policies puts pressure on schools to stream and select pupils = schools need to achieve a good league table position if they are to attract pupils and funding.

Answer 59

- A-C economy - educational triage - cream-skinning - silt shifting

Answer 60

marketisation puts schools under pressure to select more able, largely m/c pupils who will gain the school a high ranking in the league tables = schools with a good league table position will then be better placed to attract other able, m/c pupils when in competition with other schools = schools will receive more funding and so on

Answer 61

- 2013 : teachers assess of pupils at the end of yr 1 = showed girls ahead of boys by between 7 and 17 percentage points in all 7 areas of learning assessed (literacy, language, maths, personal/social/emotional dvlpt) - girls - better at concentrating - KS1 to 3, girls do consistently better than boys. esp, in Eng where the gender gap widens with age - in science and maths the gap is narrower but girls still do better. - at GCSE the gender gap stands at around 10 percentage point - AS/A-Level : girls are more likely to sit, pass and get higher grades → the gap is much narrower than at GCSE (46.8% of G gained A/B grades; 42.2% of B) - vocational courses = larger proportions of girls achieve distinctions, even when they are in minority subjects e.g. engineering

Answer 62

- the impact of Feminism - changes in the family - changes in women' employment - changes in girls' aspirations - class gender and ambition

Answer 63

the social movement that strives for equal rights for women in all areas.

Answer 64

- since 1960s feminism has challenged the traditional stereotypical women roles in a patriarchal society - it has raised women’s expectations and self-esteem - Angel McRobbie’s study of girls magazines (1994) - in the 70s magazines emphasised the importance of getting married and not being “left on the self” , nowadays they contain images of assertive, independent women

Answer 65

major changes since the 70s : - increase in the divorce rate - increase in cohabitation - increase in marriages outside families/children - increase in lone parent families - increase in smaller families = means more women aspire to take on the breadwinner role = influences of independent role model women = girls are less likely to rely on a husband

Answer 66

the 1970 equal pay act the 1975 sex discrimination act - since 1975, the pay gap between men and women have halved (30% to 15%) , but still present - some women are breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’ , which is the invisible barrier that keeps them out of high - level jobs

Answer 67

Sue Sharpe’s (1994) interviewed girls in the 1970s and 90s = major shift in the way see their future. in 1974, girls had low aspirations, they believed education success was unfeminine and that appearing to be ambitious would be considered unattractive, they gave priority to “love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and then their careers by the 90s girls’ ambitions had changed à different order priorities : careers + being able to support themselves was main priority

Answer 68

fuller believed most of the low-aspiring w/c girls were not interested in staying at school and expressed a desire for low-level jobs however, Diane Reay (1998) believed this reflected the reality of the girls' class position, their limited aspirations reflected the limited job opportunities they perceived available to them

Answer 69

- equal opportunities policies - positive female role model - GCSE and coursework - teacher’s attention - challenging stereotypes in the curriculum - selection and league tables

Answer 70

- feminist ideas have had a major impact on education system. - policymakers are much more aware of gender issues. - teachers are more sensitive to the need to avoid stereotyping Jo Boaler (1988) sees the impact on equal opportunities policies as a key reason for changes in girls’ achievement  many of the barriers have been removed and education is more meritocratic

Answer 71

an increase in the proportion of female teachers and heads = women in senior positions may act as role models for girls: - showing them women can achieve positions of importance - giving them non-traditional goals to aim for

Answer 72

some sociologists argue that changes in the way pupils are assessed have favoured girls and disadvantaged boys Stephen Gorard (2005) found that the gender gap in achievement was fairly constant from 1975 until 1989, when it increased sharply, this was the year when GCSE started introducing coursework as a major part of nearly all subjects, Gorards thinks that the gap in achievement is a “product of the changed system of assessment rather than any more general failing of boys” Eirene Mitsos and Ken Browne (1998) support this view, they concluded that girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised than boys

Answer 73

Janette Elwood (2005) argues that even though coursework has had an influence it cannot be the only cause of the gender gap : exam have more influence than coursework in final grades

Answer 74

teachers interact differently with boys and girls Beckie Francis (2001) found that while boys got more attention, it was more often than not, negative attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers who tented to have lower expectations of them and deemed them as disruptive = felt written off by teachers = self fulfilling prophecy = underachievement

Answer 75

marketisation has created a more competitive climate in which schools see girls as desirable recruits because they achieve better exam results David Jackson (1998) argues this has increased opportunities for girls, as achieving girls are more likely to be attractive to schools, whereas low achieving boys are not. this creates a self-fulfilling prophecy – because as girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools they are more likely to do well. in comparison, boys may be seen as liability students who are an 'obstacle' to improving league table scores

Answer 76

they celebrate the progress made so far in improving achievement. they believe further progress will be made by continuing : - development of equal opportunities policies, - encouraging positive role models - overcoming sexist attitudes and stereotypes.

Answer 77

they recognise girls have achieved more, but they emphasise the system remains patriarchal: - sexual harassment of girls continues at school - education still limits girls subject choices and career options - there are more female head teachers, but male teachers are more likely to become heads - women are underrepresented in many areas of curriculum - women's contribution is history is still ignored

Answer 78

he believed this was because of the conflict between the w/c girls’ feminine id and the values and ethos of the school. Archer found that performing their w/c fem id, girls gained symbolic capital from their peers BUT this would bring them to conflict with schools, preventing them from acquiring educational capital (qualifications) and eco capital (m/c career) = not all girls are successful = class dependent too

Answer 79

Sarah Evans (2009) study of 21 w/c sixth form girls found that girls wanted to go to uni. not for themselves but for their family, they wanted “to give something back to them” = girls motivation reflected their w/c feminine id. = they wanted to stay home to contribute to their fam

Answer 80

the result of boys’ poorer literacy and language skills. - one reason for this may be that parents spend less time reading to their sons, additionally it is argued that it is mums who read to their children therefore reading might become viewed as a feminine activity - boys tend to choice leisure's such as football = do little to help develop language and communication skills - poor language and literacy is likely to affect boys’ performance across a wide range of subjects

Answer 81

since the 1980s there has been a significant decline in heavy industries such as iron and steel, shipbuilding, mining, engineering and other manufacturing. Due to globalisation these jobs moved to countries where there was cheaper labour. Mitsos and Brown (1998) claim the increase in male employment opportunities has led to an ‘identity crisis for men’ with many boys now believe that there is little prospect of them getting a proper job, this then impacts upon motivation and self-esteem therefore they give up on trying to gain qualifications.

Answer 82

Tony Sewell claims that boys fall behind because education has become ‘feminised’ (BBC, 2006). that is, schools do not nurture ‘masculine’ traits such as competitiveness and leadership, instead, they celebrate qualities more closely associated with girls, such as methodical working and attentiveness in class = he views coursework as a major cause of the gender gap

Answer 83

men now make up only 16% of primary school teachers,39% of 8-11 year old boys have no lessons whatsoever with a male teacher, yet the majority of the boys surveyed said the presence of a male teacher made them behave better and work harder

Answer 84

Becky Francis (2006) argues that 2/3 of 7-8 year olds believed the gender of their teacher didn’t matter

Answer 85

Barbara Read (2008) criticises the claims that culture of primary schools is becoming feminised and that only male teachers can exert the firm discipline that boys need to achieve. She analysed the language used in primary school, and identified 2 types of languages : - ‘Disciplinarian’ language : the teacher’s authority is made explicit and visible through shouting, “exasperated tone of voice” or sarcasm = more masculine - ‘Liberal’ language : authority is implicit involving the teachers speaking to pupils as if they were an adult and expect them to be kind, sensible and respectful of the teacher = more feminine however, Read (51 prim schools teachers : 25 male and 26 female) most teachers use disciplinarian language to control pupils behaviour

Answer 86

Epstein (1998) found that ‘laddish’ subcultures have contributed to boys’ under-achievement. Epstein examined the way masculinity is constructed within school and found that boys are likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies, and subjected to homophobic verbal abuse if they appeared to work hard = threat to their masculinity males respond by becoming increasingly laddish in their effort to construct themselves as non-feminine

Answer 87

the process of learning the behaviour expected of males and females in society Eileen Byrne (1979) shows teachers encourage boys to be tough and show initiative and not be weak or behave like sissies. girls on the others hand are expected to be quiet, helpful, clean and tidy.

Answer 88

some subjects are seen as “boys” or “girls” subject. Kelly argues that science is seen as boys : - science teachers are more likely to be men - the examples teachers/textbooks use often draw on boys’ rather than girls interests - in science lesson boys monopolise the apparatus and dominate the lab, acting as if it is “theirs”

Answer 89

the idea that subject choice can be influenced by peer pressure, others can apply pressure to an individuals if they 'disapprove' of their choice. e.g. boys tend to opt out of music and dance because such activities fall outside of their gender domain as it is likely to attract neg response from peers Alison Dewar (1990) study of American college students : found that male students would call girls “lesbians” or “butch” – if interested in sport

Answer 90

- cultural deprivation - material deprivation - racism in wider society

Answer 91

- intellectual and linguistic skills. - attitudes and values. - family structure

Answer 92

Cultural Deprivation Theorists argue that some children from low income black or Asian families lack the intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences required to equip them properly for education Bowker argues that the language spoken by low income black American families is inadequate for educational success, their lack of Standard English as a major barrier to their progress in education and integration into wider society

Answer 93

Cultural deprivation theorists see a lack of motivation as a major cause of the failure of many black children, they argue that some black children are socialised into a subculture that instils a fatalistic, “live for today” attitude and does not value education and leaves them unequipped for success, unlike other children who are socialised into the mainstream culture, which instils ambition, competitiveness and willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve long-term goals when researching the low achievement of some Bangladeshi and Pakistani children, Dr Mohammed Ali, the chief executive of a Bradford charity put at least part of the blame for their underachievement on the amount of time they spent at the mosque studying the Koran

Answer 94

Daniel Moynihan (1965) claims because many black families are headed by a lone mother; their children are deprived of adequate care as she has to struggle financially in the absence of the male breadwinner, the father’s absence also means that boys lack an adequate role model of male achievement = he sees this as being a cycle, where poorly socialised children fail at school, become inadequate parents, who raise children who fail Murray (1984) argues that a high rate of lone parenthood and lack of positive male role models lead to underachievement of some minorities The Swann Report (1985) suggested that the more tightly knit Asian family structure, compared with the typical African Caribbean one, might be responsible for higher levels of achievement in some Asian groups. few women of southern Asian origin are single mothers, whereas the phenomenon is common in African Caribbean families

Answer 95

it is not the absence of fathers as role models that leads to black boys underachieving, but the lack of fatherly nurturing support and consistent discipline : this results in black boys finding it hard to overcome the emotional and behavioural difficulties of adolescence = instead it present boys with a media-inspired role model of anti-school black masculinity = street gangs etc.

Answer 96

Critical racial theorists such as Gilborn (2008) argue that this is not peer pressure but institutional racism within education system that systematically produces the failure of large number of black boys

Answer 97

- 15% of ethnic minority households live in overcrowded conditions, compared with only 2% of white households - Bangladeshi and Pakistani women are more likely to be engaged in low-paid home working, sometimes for as little as £1.50 per hour - Unemployment is three times higher for African and Bangladeshi/Pakistani people than for white people

Answer 98

for example, in housing = discrimination means that minorities are more likely to be forced into substandard accommodations than white people of the same class = live in poor housing / poverty = children are more likely to underachieve = cycle

Answer 99

teachers are quicker to discipline Black pupils than others for the same behaviour. = result of “racialised expectations” = they found that teachers expected black pupils to present + discipline problems and misinterpreted their behaviour as threatening or a challenge to authority. = when teachers acted on this misperception, the pupils responded neg and + conflict resulted. = in turn Black pupils felt teachers underestimated their abilities and picked on them = self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 100

Asian pupils can also be the victims of teachers’ labelling. she found that despite the school’s apparent commitment to equal opportunities, teachers held ethnocentric views = British culture and Standard English were superior, this affected how they related to Asian pupils. teachers assumedthey would have a poor grasp of English and left them out of the class discussions = used simplistic, childish language when speaking to them = Asian pupils felt isolated and marginalised

Answer 101

- disruptive or withdrawn = creation of subcultures - alternatively pupils may refuse to accept the label and even decide to prove it wrong by working extra hard = negative labels do not always turn into self-fulfilling prophecies

Answer 102

- too deterministic = not all students fail when labelled negatively - there is a danger of seeing these stereotypes as simply the product of individual teachers’ prejudices, rather than of racism in the way that education system as a whole operates e.g. curriculum

Answer 103

Daria Roithmayr (2003) believes institutional racism is a “Locked-in inequality” : The scale of historical discrimination is so large that there no longer needs to be any conscious intent to discriminate, the inequalities become self-perpetuating Gillborn (2008) applies the concept of locked-in equality to education. he sees ethnic inequality as “so deep rooted and so large that it is a practically inevitable feature of the education system”.

Answer 104

Gillborn (1997) marketisation gives school more scope to select pupils, it allows negative stereotypes to influence decisions about school admissions - they found that primary school reports were used to screen out pupils with language difficulties - application process was difficult for non-English speaking parents to understand - racist bias in interviews for school places - lack of info and application forms in minority language

Answer 105

the term ethnocentric refers to an attitude/policy that gives priority to the cult and viewpoint of 1 particular ethnic group – usually the dominant culture e.g. - english literature - history - music Bernard Coard (2005) explains how the ethnocentric curriculum may produce underachievement. e.g. in History the British culture being predominantly taught may make black people as inferior undermines black children’s self-esteem and leads to their failure

Answer 106

Gilborn (2008) argues that ‘the assessment game’ is rigged in a way that validates the dominant culture’s superiority e.g. in the past, primary schools used baseline assessments; which tested pupils when they started compulsory schooling, however, these were replaced in 2003 by the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) = a new way of measuring pupils’ abilities, at the end of the school year, after arguably a year of being subject to racial abuse, as well as being based entirely on teacher's judgement = over night this shown black students to be doing worse than white pupils

Answer 107

he does not believe that racism has disappeared from schools, but he argues that it is not powerful enough to prevent individuals from succeeding. according to him external factors such as boys’ anti-school attitudes, the peer group and lack of nurturing father figure