Class differences in achievement INTERNAL factors sociologists

Question 1

Becker (1971)

Answer 1

Labelling theory
- Did a study in Chicago High school
- Teachers judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an image of the “ideal pupil”
- working class students were far from the “ideal pupil”

Question 2

Dunne and Gazeley

Answer 2

Labelling theory
- Schools persistently produce working class underachievement
- Teachers “normalised” the underachievement of working class students
- Due to labelling

Question 3

Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968)

Answer 3

Self - Fulfilling prophecy
- Studied a California primary school
- They told the school they had a new test specifically designed to identify the pupils who would “spurt” ahead. This was untrue
- Researchers picked 20% of the students at random and told them they were “spurters”
- A year later , they came back and found that almost half of those identified as spurters had made significant progress.

Question 4

Gilborn and Youdell (2001)

Answer 4

Streaming and educational triage
- Teachers use stereotypical notions of “ability” to stream pupils
- Teachers are less likely to see workint class students as having ability therefore placed in lower streams.
- Denies opportunity needed to gain good grades and widens the class gap in achievement
- A-C economy = this process is the educational triage
- System where schools focus their time and effort on those pupils they see having the potential to get five grade Cs so boost the schools league table position

Question 5

Lacey (1970)

Answer 5

Pupil subcultures
- how they develop :
•Differentiation - Process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability to, attitudes and behaviour
•Polarisation - Profess in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of the two opposite poles or extremes
• Pro - school subculture = pupils placed in high streams tend to remain committed to values of the school
• Anti- school subculture = Those placed in low streams go against values of the school

Question 6

Archer (2010)

Answer 6

Pupil identity and achievement
- Interaction between working class pupils identities and school , and how this produces underachievement.
Draw on Bourdieus concept of habitus = dispositions taken for granted ways of thinking , being and acting that are shared by a particular social class.
- Working class pupils felt that to be educationally successful , they would have to change the way they presented themselves.