Class internal factors

Question 1

Teacher labelling

Answer 1

label:apply a judgement or meaning to someone
BECKER:
-interviewed 60 chicago high school teachers
-found they judge pupils on how closely they fitted the image of the ‘ideal pupil’->middle class were closest to this perception as better behaved
-working class pupils weren’t seen as the ideal pupil as they were regarded as badly behaved
HEMPEL JORGENSEN:
-study on a w/c primary school and a m/c primary school.
-In a w/c primary school the ideal pupil was described as passive and quiet and didn’t factor in academic ability.Staff disciple was a problem
-in m/c primary school ideal pupil was described as with personality and being academic.Few issues with staff discipline
EVALUATION:
-blames teachers but it doesn’t explain why teachers work in a system that produces class division

Question 2

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 2

-a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it having been made
EG-if a teacher has judge a pupil as less intelligent or poorly behaved, they will treat that pupil as their judgment is true
ROSENTHAL AND JACOBSON:
-told teachers in a primary school that they had an assessment which would identify pupils who are ‘spurters’
-however test was an IQ test,tested all pupils and then gave the teachers back a randomly selected list of names pretending to have identified them as spurters.
-Found that almost a year later almost half who had been identified as spurters had made significant progress
-suggest that if a teacher believes they are that type they can make them into that type
EVALUATION
-theory outdated.Today teachers are very well trained and would be hard for teachers to discriminate against certain students

Question 3

Streaming

Answer 3

involves separating children into different ability groups or classes called ‘streams’.Each ability group is then taught separately from the others for all subjects.
-being in low streams can contribute towards self full filling prophecy.
-Children pick up a message depending on what stream they are in.If pupils in a high stream (m/c) they are viewed positively by teachers, pushed harder and given more opportunities ->more likely to succeed
-If pupils are placed in low streams they accept they are hopeless and unlikely to achieve.Give up trying improve->more likely for poor performance
DOUGLAS:
-found pupils placed in higher streams at the age of 8 improved their IQ score by age 11 by contrast pupils placed in lower streams their IQ had declined
GILLBORN+YOUDELL:
-study of two london secondary schools
-found that teachers are less likely to see w/c and black pupils as having ability.Placed in lower streams and entered for lower tier GCSEs
-denies them of the knowledge and opportunity needed to gain good grades->widens class gap in achievement
-A-C economy:percentage of students getting 5 or more Cs or above in GCSEs
-gives them good position on league table which parents then use when making decisions about where they send their children
Educational triage:use streaming so teachers work out which pupils they need to invest their energy into.
-pupils in high streams (m/c) will succeed regardless of teacher input
-pupils in the middle streams (underperforming m/c)have help from teachers to ensure they get a C or above
-lowest streams are lost causes (w/c) given no attention at all
EVALUATION:
factors outside of school may effect their achievement not in school