Class- Internal Factors Flashcards
What sociologists studied labelling?
Interactionists
What did Howard Becker find when interviewing 60 Chicago high school teachers?
They judged students according to how closely they fitted an image of the ‘ideal pupil’.
What did Becker find as the ideal pupil?
Middle class was closest to ideal
What did Amelia Hempel-Jorgensen find in her 2009 study of 2 English primary schools?
Teachers may have different notions of the ideal pupil:
W/c school- discipline was a major problem. The ideal pupil was defined as quiet, passive and obedient. Children defined in terms of their behaviour.
M/c school- the ideal pupil was defined in terms of personality and academic ability.
What did Dunne and Gazeley find?
Schools persistently produce working class underachievement because of the labels and assumptions of teachers. Teachers 'normalised' the underachievement of w/c (putting them in lower exams) but believed they could overcome the underachievement of m/c pupils (extension work). They also saw w/c students doing well as overachieving.
What did Rist finding about group seating in primary school?
Middle class seated together. Neat and clean appearance - 'tigers'. High achievers. Most encouragement. Working class- 'Clowns' and 'Cardinals'- lower level books and fewer opportunities to show abilities
Explain the steps that cause a self fulfilling prophecy according to interactionists
Step 1- Labelled and on the basis of this label, predictions are made
Step 2- The teacher treats the pupil accordingly, acting as if the prediction is already true
Step 3- The pupil internalises the teacher’s expectation- they become the kind of pupil predicted in the first place.
What was Rosenthal and Jacobson’s study?
A study in a Californian primary school. They told the school they had a test which would tell which pupils would ‘spurt’ ahead. The researchers tested all the pupil’s IQs and then picked 20% at random as ‘spurters’. A year later they found that half labelled had made significant progress.
What did Rosenthal and Jacobson conclude from their study?
Demonstrates the self fulfilling prophecy. They had conveyed their label to the students by encouragement and body language. The fact that it was selected at random shows that teachers can make a child into a certain type if they believe they are one.
What is streaming?
Separating children into different ability groups or classes over all subjects. Self fulfilling prophecy is most likely to occur when children are streamed.
Why is it hard to move up in stream?
Once streamed, they are locked into their teachers’ low expectation of them. Children understand teachers have written them off = self fulfilling prophecy
Why do middle class students benefit from streaming?
Likely to be placed in higher streams, reflecting the ideal pupil. = develop positive self concept, gain confidence, work harder and improve their grades
What is the A-C economy?
Gillborn and Youdell argue this is a system in which schools focus all their time, effort and resources on those pupils they see as having the potential to get 5 grade Cs and so push the league table position up.
What is the educational triage?
Gillborn and Youdell argue that the A to C economy produces educational triage. Schools categorise pupils into. Types-
Those who will pass and can be left to get on with it.
Those with potential to get a grade C with help.
Hopeless cases doomed to fail. ‘Warehoused’ into the bottom sets.
What is a pupil subculture and how does it emerge?
A group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns. Emerges as a response to labelling and streaming.
