Class- Internal factors Flashcards
Labelling and self fulfilling prophecy AO1
Becker
Becker interviewed 60 teachers from Chicago high schools and found that they tended to classify and evaluate students in terms of the ‘ideal pupil’.
Teachers perceived students from non-manual (MC) backgrounds as closes to this ideal and lower WC backgrounds as furthest from it.
Labelling and self fulfilling prophecy AO1
Hempel- Jorgenson
Studied two English primary schools and found teachers have different notions of the ideal pupil.
Aspen Primary School was largely WC with staff expressing discipline as a huge problem so their ideal pupil was quiet, passive and obedient
Whereas the MC primary school, where behaviour was not an issue, the ideal pupil was defined in terms of personality and academic ability
Labelling and self fulfilling prophecy AO1
Rosenthal and Jacobson
Studied labelling in an elementary school in California.
Tested all pupils for IQ at the beginning of the field experiment.
From the results, they selected a random sample of 20% of the student population and informed the teacher covertly that these children were ‘spurters’ who could be expected to show rapid intellectual growth – though they were not necessarily the most able children.
After 1year the children were re-tested and, in general, the sample showed greater gains in IQ for those labelled as ‘spurters’ than other children.
Report cards indicated that the teachers believed that this group had made greater advances in reading skills.
Although Rosenthal and Jacobson did not observe interaction in the classroom, they claimed that teachers’ expectations could significantly affect their pupils’ performance. Believed the teachers had communicated their belief that the chosen 20% had greater potential to the other children, who responded by improving their performance.
They speculated that the teacher’s manners, facial expressions, posture, degree of friendliness and encouragement conveyed this impression, which produced a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Labelling and self fulfilling prophecy AO3
:)-R&J used a field experiment – one that takes place in a natural environment. This could lead to higher validity, or more truthful and accurate data because the participants are in their normal, natural environment and likely to behave as normal, as opposed to a lab experiment
:(-R&J did not actually observe classroom interactions, so their view that this caused the SFP is flawed
:(-R&J presents ethical considerations. They manipulated the labelling process, so some pupils’ achievement could have been negatively affected.
Fuller- not everyone accepts the label imposed on them through labelling and setting/streaming. She studied a group of black girls who resisted their negative label and devoted themselves to study to be successful and prove teachers wrong.
Setting and streaming AO1
Ball examined a comprehensive school.
Pupils were placed in three bands based on information from primary schools.
- The first band was to contain the most able pupils and the third the least able.
Ball found that non-academic factors were used to band pupils – for pupils of similar IQ, those whose fathers were non-manual workers had more chance of being placed in the top band.
-Where band 1 was likely to be seen as hardworking, band 3 was likely to be seen as troublesome.
-Band 2 was believed to be the hardest to teach and the least cooperative.
- The effect of these beliefs was the deterioration of the behaviour of most band 2 pupils – absences increased and homework rarely handed in.
As a result of different teacher expectations, the bands were taught in different ways and encouraged to follow different paths.
Given that there was also a relationship between social class and banding, WC are put at a disadvantage by setting and streaming.
Setting and streaming AO3
Labelling can have an impact on streaming and WC children are more likely to find themselves put in lower streams.
Douglas found children placed in a lower stream at age 8 had suffered a decline in their IQ score by age 11 whereas those in higher sets had increased their IQ by age 11.
MC benefit from streaming as they are placed in higher sets meaning they are seen as ideal students, this results in a positive self-concept so further improves their achievement.
Subcultures AO1
Pupil subcultures are groups of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns.
-Often emerge as a response to the way pupils have been labelled, and a reaction to streaming.
There are pro-school subcultures and anti-school subcultures. Lacey’s concepts of differentiation and polarisation can explain how they are formed.
-Differentiation is the process of teachers categorizing pupils according to perceived ability e.g. through streaming
-Polarisation is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite ‘poles’ or extremes.
Subcultures AO1- Willis
Willis studied 12 WC boys in secondary schools in the 1970s.
He used group interviews and non-participant observation as his research methods.
tried to gain an understanding of the experience of schooling from the perspective of the pupils.
The boys, known as ‘the lads’ were friends and held particular shared attitudes towards school.
-‘anti-school subculture’ and had the following features:
· The lads looked down on teachers and other pupils
· They didn’t go to lessons and did little work. They entertained themselves by ‘having a laff’
· They identified with adults by smoking, drinking and not wearing uniform correctly
· The lads attached little or no value to academic work and had little interest in gaining qualifications
· Manual labour was prized above ‘pen-pushing’
· They rejected authority and the belief that hard work would lead to success.
Willis argued that the anti-school subculture, despite rebelling against the capitalist ideology of the school, prepared the lads for work in capitalism. Their rebellion ensured they failed, and would therefore only be able to get routine, manual jobs that capitalism needed to fill
Willis argued that when the lads rejected school they saw through the capitalist system but, due to the fact that they have no qualifications, they are amongst the most exploited in the system.
Willis’ conclusion was that the education system was failing to produce ideal compliant workers for the capitalist system - the lads were far from obedient and docile workers.
AO3- Subcultures Willis
-romaticised ‘the lads’ who has sexist, homophobic, racist attitudes
Mcrobbie criticised Willis for being too forgiving and accepting of the patriarchy and sexism
Policies AO1
Marketisation policies and greater use of selection have created a much more competition
MC students are seen as more desirable recruits as they achieve better exam results.
Conversely, WC students are seen as a ‘liability’ that are barriers to efforts by schools to climb the league tables.
As such, schools that are oversubscribed (the best ones) are unlikely to select them.
