Class Differences In Achievement - Internal Factors Flashcards
What are the internal factors that cause class differences in achievement?
- Labelling.
- Self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Streaming.
- Pupil subcultures.
- Pupils’ identity and the school.
Which theory is dominant in internal factors?
Interactionists =
they focus of interactions between teachers and pupils, and identify factors that cause underachievement.
What are labels?
Meanings or definitions we attach to someone/something to make sense of them.
- e.g. m/c pupils are labelled as ‘bright, motivated, cooperative, etc’.
Who are the 3 sociologists that discussed labelling as causing class underachievement?
- Becker.
- Jorgensen.
- Dunne and Gazely.
What did Becker study about labelling in schools?
- Interviewed 60 Chicago teachers.
- Found they judged pupils on how closely they fitted the ideal pupil.
- m/c closest to ideal pupil, and w/c furthest from it.
- This lead to w/c feeling marginalised –> less successful because teachers were more likely to send them out of class, etc.
What did Jogensen find about labelling in schools?
- Study of 2 English primary schools in 2009.
- Found the ideal pupil varied depending on the social class make-up of the school.
- In the w/c school; quiet, passive and obedient were closest to ideal pupil.
4 In the m/c school; personality and academic abilities defined ideal pupil as behaviour wasn’t much of an issue.
What did Dunne and Gazely find about labelling and underachievement?
- Interviews in 9 English secondary schools.
- Found teachers ‘normalised’ w/c under-achievement because they labelled w/c parents as uninterested in their child’s education.
- However, m/c underachievement was dealt with extended work as teachers labelled their parents as supportive.
What did Dunne and Gazely conclude about teachers’ labelling?
The way teachers dealt with underachievement lead to w/c underachievement as they were negatively labelled and weren’t given help.
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
A prediction that comes true simply because it has been made.
- e.g. “he’s stupid - he’s bound to fail” = he goes on to fail.
Who demonstrates a self-fulfilling prophecy in a primary school?
Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968).
What did Rosenthal and Jacobson do?
Gave an IQ test to all pupils and said 20% of them were intellectual ‘bloomers’ (randomly selected)
- Upon returning 1 year later, they found 47% of the ‘bloomers’ made significant improvements.
What did Rosenthal and Jacobson’s study show about self-fulfilling prophecies in schools?
Their study illustrates an important interaction principle:
- What people believe to be true, will in fact become true.
- However, this self-fulfilling prophecy can be negative.
How is the interactionists approach to self-fulfilling prophecies criticised?
Too deterministic =
not all pupils who are labelled as failures fulfil the prophecy; some reject the label and succeed (self-refuting prophecy).
- Not all teachers label w/c pupils negatively.
How are self-fulfilling prophecies and streaming linked, use Becker’s ideas?
As w/c pupils aren’t ‘ideal’, they are placed in lower streams, therefore, living up to the teachers low expectations.
What did Douglas find about pupils placed in a high stream?
Children that were placed in a high stream at age 8 had improved their IQ score by age 11.
What did Gillborn and Youdell find about streaming in their study.
- Study of 2 London secondary schools.
- Teachers are more likely to place w/c (black) pupils in lower streams as they view them as having less ability.
According to Gillborn and Youdell, what is the A-to-C economy?
A system where schools focus on pupils who have the potential to get 5 C grades and improving league tables - so streaming is involved.
What is the educational triage?
The way schools decide whether a pupils is unable to get 5 GCSE (C), so they will produce a self-fulfilling prophecy by placing them into lower streams.
What are the 3 categories of the educational triage?
1) . Those who will pass (left alone).
2) . Those who have potential (with help).
3) . Those with no hope, they will fail.
What is the decision of the teachers based on in the educational triage?
Pupils’ social class = w/c (black) lack ability.
Who uses the concept of ‘differentiation’ and ‘polarisation’ to explain how pupil subcultures develop?
Lacey (1970).
What is differentiation?
Streaming =
categorising pupils based on stereotypes differentiates them from the rest of the school.
How does differentiation lead to w/c subcultures?
Anti-school subculture =
- have low self-worth, so they invert school values to achieve status elsewhere (their peers).
What is an example of the values of an anti-school subculture?
Truancy, being cheeky to the teacher.
What is polarisation?
Streaming polarised boys to ‘pro-school’ and ‘anti-school’.
What is the difference between a pro-school subculture and an anti-school subculture?
- Pro-school usually affects the higher stream (m/c), where they gain status legitimately.
- Pro-school = their values correspond with school, anti-school subcultures invert them.
What is an issue of anti-school subcultures?
Pupils have a self-fulfilling prophecy of educational failure.
What does Hargreaves find about anti-school subcultures?
Secondary modern schools =
boys in lower streams were triple failures;
- failed 11+ exam.
- placed in low streams.
- been labelled ‘worthless louts’.
What did Stephen Ball (1981) find about abolishing streaming?
- Studied a comprehensive that was abolishing streaming.
- Polarisation had decreased - anti-school subcultures declined.
- Differentiation continued - teachers still labelled pupils.
What are the other responses to labelling and streaming, according to Peter Woods (1979)?
1) . Ingratiation = ‘teachers pet’.
2) . Ritualism = staying out of trouble.
3) . Retreatism = daydreaming, pissing about.
4) . Rebellion = rejection of everything the school stands for.
What are the criticisms of labelling theory?
1). Too deterministic =
assumes those labelled have no choice to fulfil the prophecy.
2). Marxists =
they ignore wider structures within which labelling takes place. Labels are a result of teachers being in a capitalist system, creating class division.
3). Fail to explain why teachers label pupils.
