Class differences in achievement (I) Flashcards
1
Q
What has the labelling theory found about teachers?
A
- teachers often attach labels regardless of a pupils ability but based on stereotyped assumptions about their class background
> interactionists sociologists have carried out studies on labelling
2
Q
What was Becker’s study of labelling?
A
- interviewed 60 Chicago high school teachers and found that they judged pupils based on whether they were the ideal pupil
- pupils work, conduct & appearance was key factors influencing teachers judgements
- saw m/c pupils as the closest to the ideal pupil
3
Q
What was Dunne & Gazeley study of labelling in secondary schools?
A
- schools persistently produce working class underachievement because of the labels & assumptions of teachers
- from interviews in state schools they found that teachers normalised the underachievement of working class pupil > felt they could do nothing to change their situation compared to middle class underachievement
- based teachers belief in the role of pupils home backgrounds >w/c parents=uninterested in education
4
Q
What was Rist’s study of labelling in primary schools?
A
- found that teachers used information about children’s home background & appearance to place them in separate groups > seating each group at a different table
- m/c who were labelled tigers= seated at the front
- w/c who were labelled clowns= seated further way & given low level books to read
5
Q
Evaluation of the labelling theory
A
- deterministic> assumes that students will passively accept labels many may resist labels e.g. Fullers study
- ignores other factors involved in achievement > e.g. curriculum
- Bourdieu > supports teachers label students as ideal due to their possession of cultural capital
Marxist > focus too much on micro level interactions & ignores the economic & structural forces that shape teachers biases
6
Q
How a self fulfilling prophecy occurs?
A
- prediction that comes true just by virtue of it having been made
- teachers label a pupil
- teacher treats pupil accordingly acting as if the prediction is already true
- pupil internalises the teachers expectation which becomes part of their self concept or self image > prediction is fulfilled
7
Q
What was Rosenthal & Jacobson study of the self-fulfilling prophecy at work?
A
- told school in California that they had a new test to identify those who would spurt ahead (untrue)
- Tested all pupils and picked 20% at random to be ‘spurters’
- a year late they found that almost half of those identified had made significant progress
> teachers conveyed results to pupils through their interactions e.g. attention & encouragement
8
Q
Evaluation of the self-fulfilling prophecy
A
- external factors
- ignore intersectionality of overlapping identities e.g. being black w/c and female student
- same evaluation as above
9
Q
How were the working class streamed & what were the effects of this?
A
- separating children into different ability groups
- Becker > w/c more likely to be put in lower stream as they are not seen as ideal pupil
- children in lower streams get the message that their teachers have written them of as no hopers
- creates a self fulfilling prophecy in which pupils live up to their teachers low expectations
- M/c children benefit from higher streams > develop a more positive self-concept
10
Q
What was Gillborn & Youdell study on streaming?
A
- teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to stream pupils
- less likely to see w/c & black pupil as having ability > pupils placed in lower streams & entered for lower-tier GCSE’s > denies them access to knowledge needed to gain good grades
11
Q
How do Gillborn & Youdell link streaming to league tables?
A
- rank schools according to their performance
- this creates and ‘A to C’ economy in schools > where schools focus their time, effort & resources on those pupils they see as having potential to get 5 grade C’s and above
- call this process ‘educational triage’ as schools categorise pupils into 3 types :
- those who will pass anyway & can be left to get on with it
- those with potential, that will be helped
- hopeless cases > doomed to fail (w/c & black pupils warehoused into bottom sets)
12
Q
Evaluation of streaming
A
- Functionalist > streaming helps ensure that students receive the appropriate education that corresponds to their capabilities . essential for maintaining social order and cohesion. > education =meritocratic
Marxist > mirrors hierarchical structure of Capitalist society, lower streams are prepared for w/c jobs & higher stream students groomed for professional roles - Ball > showed how abolishing streaming in school reduced class inequalities in achievement
13
Q
How do pupil subcultures develop according to Lacey?
A
- differentiation > process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude etc e.g. streaming those in lower streams given an inferior status
- polarisation> process by which people respond to streaming by moving towards one of the two opposite poles
14
Q
How did schools polarise boys into pro or antic school subcultures?
A
- pupils placed in high streams (m/c) tend to remain committed to the school values & gain their status in an approved manner (academic success) > form pro school subculture
- pupils placed in low streams (w/c) suffer a loss of self esteem as the school has undermined their self worth > status frustration >pushes them to alternative ways of gaining status e.g. inverting schools values
15
Q
Evaluation of pupil subcultures
A
- Ball found that when schools abolished banding, the basis for pupils to polarise into subcultures was largely removed & anti-subculture declined
- Willis> echoes Lacey by showing how anti-school behaviour reflects resistance to a system that disadvantages them
- Fuller study challenges
