Class differences in attainment- internal Flashcards
Define labelling
to give someone a definition
Where do teachers base their assumptions on in terms of labelling?
Class background- e.g. working class pupil-> negatively labelled, middle class pupil-> positively labelled
What study did Becker conduct to research labelling in schools?
- 60 Chicago high school teachers
- Teachers judged how closely pupils fitted to ‘ideal pupil’
- MC students= closer to ideal pupil
- WC students= further from ideal pupil (perceived as badly behaved)
What was Hempel-Jorgenson’s criticism of the labelling theory?
Hempel-Jorgenson= We cannot generalise the ideal pupil- in MC schools the ideal pupil is based on ability and personality, not behaviour
How would Marxists criticise the labelling theory?
The theory ignores the wider structure of power in which labelling takes place
What was Ray Rist’s study on in terms of the labelling theory?
- American Kindergarten
- Teacher examined information on children’s backgrounds and appearance when putting children in 3 groups
- ‘fast learners’= MC, seated closest, most encouragement
- WC- sat further away, lower level books to read to themselves
How is the self fulfilling prophecy formed in 3 steps?
- Teacher labels pupil e.g. student= intelligent
- Teacher acts accordingly to label (expects higher standard, gives more attention)
- Pupil internalises teachers label-> becoming part of their self concept-> become pupil teacher labelled them as= prediction fulfilled
What was Rosenthal and Jacobson’s study on The self-fulfilling prophecy?
- they told a school they had designed a test that would identify students that would ‘spurt’ ahead (it was a normal IQ test)
- ‘spurters’= 20% of random students
- a year later almost half of the ‘spurters’ had made significant progress (teachers changed their expectations-> affected how well kids did)
Give a criticism of the self fulfilling prophecy theory
Not all students will accept the label they are given -> SFP, some might actively try and prove their label wrong
Define streaming
separating students into different groups/‘streams’ based on ability (likely to cause SFP)
What is the likely affect of streaming on a WC student?
WC student-> lower stream-> lower self confidence -> SFP
What is the likely affect of streaming on a MC student?
MC student -> higher stream-> higher self confidence-> SFP
What did Douglas find as evidence for the effects of children in a higher stream?
Children placed in a higher stream at age 8 had improved IQ by 11
What is the “A to C” economy? and who came up with it?
- Gillborn and Youdell
- The “A to C” economy- schools focus on pupils they see potential in to get Cs or above, boosts league table position
- Two London secondary schools- teachers are less likely to see black working class pupils as having ability-> placed in lower streams-> lower-tiered GCSEs-> widens gap in achievement
What is ‘The educational triage’? and who came up with it?
- A to C economy-> educational triage
- schools categorise pupils into three types:
1. Those who will pass anyway and can be left to themselves
2. Those with potential- need help to get a grade C or better
3. ‘Hopeless cases’- doomed to fail
Gillborn and Youdell- teachers use this stereotypical view-> label Black pupils as ‘hopeless cases’ who lack ability= SFP
Give a criticism of Gillborn and Youdell’s The educational triage theory:
- outdated theory- now every child matters there is focus on all
What are the two ways Lacey says pupil subcultures develop? define these
- Differntiation= teachers categorise pupils on ability/attitude etc e.g. streaming
- Polarisation= pupils respond to streaming in 2 opposite ‘poles’- pro school, anti-school subculture
How do pro-school subcultures form?/what are they?
Pupils placed in high streams (MC)-> more committed to school values and gain status through academic success= pro-school subculture
What is an anti-school subculture/how do they form?
Pupils placed in low streams (WC)-> lower self-esteem-> other ways of achieving success (smoking, not doing homework)= anti-school subculture
What was Ball’s study on abolishing streaming? what did he find?
Studied comprehensive in process of abolishing streaming
Largely removed anti-school subcultures BUT teachers continued to categorise pupils in diff ways (MC= more able etc)-> SFP
Thus, class inequalities still occur without streaming but through labelling
What are the 4 pupil responses to the education system according to Woods? Define each of these
- Ingratiation= teacher’s pet
- Ritualism= going through motions, staying out of trouble
- Retreatism= Daydreaming, mucking about
- Rebellion= rejection of all school values
How would Marxists criticise internal class differences e.g. labelling?
Marxists- labels are not just the result of individual teachers prejudices but because they work in a system that produces class divisions
Define Bourdieu’s term ‘Habitus’
Habitus= a group’s habitus is their shared way of thinking, being and acting, formed as a result of their class structure
According to Bourdieu, how does MC habitus advantage MC children in schools? How does Archer support this?
Schools have MC habitus-> pupils socialised into MC tastes gain symbolic capital at school (devalues WC habitus as worthless)= symbolic violence- keeps WC in place
Thus, WC students may find their educational experience unnatural
Archer- WC pupils felt that to be educationally successful they would have to change how they talk, present themselves
