Anti school subcultures Flashcards
Willis ‘learning to labour’ (Sociologist study)
He found that a group of working class ‘lads’ were fatalistic and didn’t try in school because they saw it as a waste of time. They’d accepted that they would be working in factories just like their parents and therefore rebelled against the school system.
Reay (Sociologist)
Found similar results to Willis arguing that working class peer groups are faced with a competition they cannot win, but within their own subculture, they can create their own competitions based on deviance.
Lacey (Sociologist)
Found that pupils would arrive with pro school attitudes, but polarization between ability led to demoralisation and a self fulfilling prophecy. Those perceived with lower ability tended to come from lower class background, and being labelled so young led to a lack of motivation and an anti school subculture.
Lacey, the power of labels (Study)
Studied a middle class grammar school and found that there were two related processes at work and in schools - differentiation and polarization. Most schools place high value on things such as hard work and exams - therefore teachers categorized the students into two groups based on ability (differentiation). Those labeled as less smart were deprived of status and were fatalistic.
Mac an Ghaill - evaluation of influence of social class on anti school subcultures AO3. (Sociologist)
Argues that anti school subcultures are more about gender then social class. Mac an Ghaill found fluid groups with different responses to school.
1- ‘Ordinary lads’ (indifferent about school)
2- ‘Academic achievers’ (pro school and hard working).
3- ‘The Macho Lads’ (Valued being tough over education. Thought academic students were ‘dickhead achievers’).
Brown AO3 (Sociologist)
Found that there were three possible working class presonses to education which were about ability rather then class.
1- ‘Getting in’ low achievers who went to koin manual occupations.
2- ‘Getting out’ high achievers who used their education to improve their social position.
3- ‘Getting on’ the working class who ‘just got on with it’ and complied to school authority.
Rist, working class in school (Study).
Conducted an ethnographic study of an elementary school where the teachers made children sit at tables according to her evaluation of their academic abilities - which ended up being based around social class. The children whose parents were on welfare became known as the ‘clowns’ by the second grade. Rist found that these labels had stuck, the ‘clowns’ had accepted the false initial definition of their ability and performance on the basis of it over a period of time.
Gilbourn, Ethnicity in School (Study).
Found that African-Caribbean pupils, both male and female, received a disproportionate amount of punishment and criticism from the teachers. Even when white students did the same thing as them. Teachers were mostly unconscious of their behaviour in ‘labelling’, however once the initial label had stuck and was constantly being reinforced it became a self fulfilling prophecy. (37% of ethnic minorities were on report cards compared to 6% of ethnic minorities).
Aggleton and middle class subcultures - could be AO1 or AO3 depending on the wording of the question (Study).
Studied 27 students taking a levels in a college of further education attempting to understand their reasoning for underachievement despite their privileged backgrounds. He found that the students resented the way in which their schools attempted to regulate their dress and appearance. They felt they should have more freedom. Outside of school, these rebels would spend their time in a ‘roadhouse’ pub. However, Aggleton found that this underachievement for them didn’t have as bad of consequences for them as it did with Willis’ lads. They had more cultural capital.
Fuller, West Indian Females (Study)
Studied a small group of girls of West Indian parentage who formed a subculture by the virtue of the girl’s positive acceptance of being female and black. Their response to racism was to work hard and prove their worth, however they were not conforming ‘good’ pupils. Pro-education but no pro school.
Mac an Ghaill, Black Sisters (Example).
They were a group of a level students who responded positively to education, but they were anti school. They found subtle ways of resisting the demands of school and racist curriculum, but also succeeded academically.
Mac an Ghaill - Male peer groups. (Examples)
1) The Macho Lads - into the three F’s, fighting, fucking and football. Their response to school was similar to Willis’ lads.
2) The Academic Achievers - mainly Asian or white students from skilled working class homes. They were conformist people who saw academic qualifications as the route to upward social mobility. They were ridiculed by the other male students for their interest in ‘feminine’ art subjects.
3) The New Enterprisers - the product of the schools emphasis on new technology. They placed high value on work experience, the computer club and enterprise schemes which prepared them for the future.
Sewell (Sociologist)
The culture on the streets for black males is anti education. Style and instant gratification is valued, whereas education is seen as feminine. Educational success might lead to bullying whist education failure might be a badge of honour.
Sewell, four reactions to school (Sociologist)
1- Conformists (pro-school/education)
2- Innovators (pro-education but anti-school)
3- Retreatists (drop outs)
4- Rebels (alternative subcultures).
Sewell AO3 (Example)
He actually found that the majority of black boys were actually conformists, and that the medias stigmatizations and labels led us to believe that they’re all rebels. In reality, the rebels only accounted for 18%.
