class differences (internal) Flashcards
labelling
teachers attach labels regardless of the pupils actual ability
instead they label on the basis of their stereotyped assumptions about their class background
labelling in secondary school
Dunne and Gazeley
schools produce WC underachievement because of labels
study in English state schools
found that teachers ‘normalised’ the underachievement of WC pupils
reason for this is the teacher’s beliefs in the role of pupils’ home background
- labelled WC parents as uninterested in their children’s education
labelling AO2 and sociologist
Becker
teachers judge pupils according to how they fit the image of the ‘ideal pupil’
saw MC pupils as closest
AO3 labelling - labels differ
the meanings of the labels each teacher applies vary - different teachers have different notions of the ideal pupil
labelling AO3 - labels don’t happen
teachers have a professional duty to treat all pupils fairly and may face disciplinary action if they’re seen doing otherwise
self-fulfilling prophecy - class diffs
a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it having been made
The teacher labels a pupil then treats them accordingly acting as if the prediction is already true. The pupil internalises the teacher’s expectation which becomes part of their self-image
self-fulfilling prophecy AO2
school was told they has a new test designed to identify those pupils who would ‘spurt’ ahead (this was untrue). the teachers believed this. Those students identified as being ‘spurters’ later on in the year had shown significant progress
self-fulfilling prophecy AO3
if this theory was true then why wouldn’t all teachers label students as ‘intelligent’.
Fuller’s study shows rejection of labelling - black girls in comprehensive schools labelled as low achievers. their response was to knuckle down and study hard to prove teachers wrong
streaming - class diffs
separating children into different ability groups
see working class pupils as lacking ability and have low expectations of them, as a result they are put into lower streams
Once streamed it is very hard to move up into a higher stream, children are locked into their teacher’s low expectation
streaming AO2
Douglas found that children placed in a lower stream at age 8 had suffered a decline in their IQ score by age 11
streaming AO3
this can be a good thing as it can allow for higher ability students to be stretched and the lower ability students to be supported which can lead to higher achievement.
this can be a bad thing though because it stunts pupils educational growth by placing them ‘permanently’ into lower sets
pupil subcultures - pro-school subculture
pupils placed in high streams tend to remain committed to school values and gain approval through academic success = pro-school subculture
pupil subcultures - anti-school subcultures
placed in low- streams suffer a loss of self-esteem, this label pushes them to search for an alternative way to gain status, usually, this involves them inverting the school’s values = anti-school subcultures.
joining an anti-school subculture is likely to become a self fulfilling prophecy of educational failure
how do pupil subcultures develop - 2 ways
differentiation
polarisation
how do pupil subcultures develop - differentiation
the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability
how do pupil subcultures develop - polarisation
the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite poles or extremes
pupil subcultures AO2
if they’d failed their 11+ exam 15% thought they were a failure
other responses to labelling - Woods
ingratiation - being teachers pet
ritualism - staying out of trouble
retreatism - daydremaing
rebellion - rejection of the school
labelling theory AO3 - useful
useful in showing schools aren’t neutral and fair institutions instead interactions within school actively create social class inequalities
labelling theory AO3 - deterministic
assumes that pupils who are labelled have no choice but to fulfil the prophecy and will inevitably fail
pupils class identities - habitus
the dispositions or learned ways of thinking shared by a social class
a groups ahbitus is formed as a response to its position in the class structure
MC has the power to define its habitus as superior and to impose it on the education sysstem
so school puts higher value on MC taastes
pupils class identities - symbolic capital and symbolic violence
schools have a MC habitus, so pupils socialised at home with MC tastes gain symbolic capital
so the school devalues WC habitus so the WC tastes are deemed to be worthless
Bourdieu calls this withholding of symbolic capital, symbolic violence
theres a clash between WC pupils habitus and the schools MC habitus
pupils class identities - symbolic capital and symbolic violence AO2
Wc pupils felt that to be educationally successful they would have to change how they talked and presented
pupils class identities - nike identities
symbolic violence led pupils to seek alternative ways to achieve status and value
they did this by constructing class identities by investing in ‘styles’ through consuming branded clothing like Nike
style was policed by peer groups, the right appearance earned symbolic capital
but it also led to conflict with the school’s dress code
nike styles play apart in WC pupils’ rejection of higher education - they see it as unrealistic and not for people like ‘us’
pupils class identities - WC identity and educational success AO3
ingram’s study of 2 groupw of WC boys bought up in deprived areas
one group has passed their 11+ exam ans gone to grammar school
the other had failed and went to a local secondary school
