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Sociology > Education > Flashcards

Education Flashcards

1
Q

How do functionalists believe education contributes to society?

A

Teach norms and values
Uniforms lead to less bullying
School symbol and motto make students feel like a family.

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2
Q

What did Durkheim claim about education?

A

Education produces social solidarity
School is a socialisation experience
School operates as society in miniature.

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3
Q

What are examples of how the curriculum changed to meet the need of work?

A

Apprenticeships
Collages-Vocational
Correspondence Principle
Subservient workforce-rules, punctuality, uniform
Multicultural education.

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4
Q

What did Parsons argue about education?

A

That it is a bridge for children to cross to grown-up society.
School is meritocratic.

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5
Q

What did Davis and Moore argue about education?

A

It is a means for selecting and shifting people to different levels-Role allocation
Whose who fail only have themselves to blame.

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6
Q

What is an evaluation of Durkheim?

A

Many people do not get socialised and do not turn to crime and get no qualifications.

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7
Q

What is an evaluation of Parsons?

A

Not all people turn to crime, many schools give bad advice.

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8
Q

What are evaluations of Davis and Moore?

A

Schools aren’t meritocratic.

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9
Q

What is universalistic values?

A

Everyone is taught the same values in common settings such as school.

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10
Q

What is particularistic values?

A

Particular to individuals taught in places such as the family.

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11
Q

What did Althusser say about education?

A

That there are 2 apparatuses the upper class use to control the WC.

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12
Q

What are the 2 apparatuses called that Althusser claims the upper class use?

A

Repressive state apparatus
Ideological state apparatus

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13
Q

What is the repressive state apparatus?

A

The bourgeoise use physical force such as army, police or courts to control the WC.

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14
Q

What is the ideological state apparatus?

A

Where the upper class use values and beliefs to control the WC through religion, mass media or education.

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15
Q

What are education’s two functions according to Althusser?

A

Reproduces class inequality by failing each successive generation of WC pupils
Legitimates class inequality by persuading workers to accept the inequality is inevitable.

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16
Q

What did Bowles and Gintis claim about education?

A

The correspondence principle
Meritocracy is a myth

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17
Q

What is the correspondence principle?

A

That education mimics the workplace.

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18
Q

What is the hidden curriculum?

A

Teaches norms and values such as punctuality, obedience, queuing, manners and deadlines.

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19
Q

How does Hierarchy in school reflect in the workplace?

A

Authority of the higher ups.

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20
Q

How is alienation reflected in the workplace?

A

Workers lack of control over production.

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21
Q

How is extrinsic satisfaction shown in the workplace?

A

Satisfaction form the pay not the actual job itself.

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22
Q

How is fragmentation shown in the workplace?

A

Fragmentation of work through the division of labour into small meaningless tasks.

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23
Q

How is competition reflected in the workplace?

A

Through differences in status and pay.
Employee of the month.

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24
Q

What is the acronym of evaluation?

A

Dated
Reliability
Ethics
Ecological validity
Applicability
Method
Sample representativeness

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25
Q

What are the strengths of the Marxist view of education?

A

Recognises that education is not positive force for everyone.
Exposes the myth of meritocracy.
Bowles and Gintis provides evidence to support their claim.

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26
Q

What are the limitations of the Marxist view of education?

A

Doesn’t recognise that some WC have used education to achieve social mobility.
Ignores that schools reproduce patriarchy not just capitalism.
Takes deterministic view-assume pupils have no free will.

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27
Q

What do functionalists think education serves ?

A

The needs of society as a whole

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28
Q

What do marxists believe education serves ?

A

The needs of capitalism

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29
Q

Which sociological perspective believe that education allows the talented students to rise to the top and therefore everyone has equal opportunity to succeed ?

A

Functionalists

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30
Q

Which sociological perspective believe that education is a tool to reproduce the class system and restrict the opportunity of the w/c ?

A

Marxists

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31
Q

What do functionalists believe education produces ?

A

Integrated members of society with shared norms and values

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32
Q

What do marxists believe education produces ?

A

Obedient workers

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33
Q

What do the new right believe about education ?

A

Similarly to functionalists they believe that education is meritocratic and that competition is important for maintaining a high standard of education

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34
Q

How do the new right believe that too much state control in education can be solved ?

A

Schools and colleges become self-governed which encourages them to be better to surpass competition form other schools

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35
Q

How do the new right believe that welfare dependency can be helped through education ?

A

Increasing competition to give people more incentive to work harder and have more choice

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36
Q

How do the new right believe that lowering taxes can improve the education system ?

A

If the taxes are lowered then more people can invest in private education

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37
Q

What is Chub and Moe’s study which supports educational consumer choice ?

A

They found that the American education system failed to create equal opportunity and that private schools consistently do better as they are answering to paying parents, they said that if parents had more control then both the quality and efficienty of education would be improved

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38
Q

What are some evaluations of the new right perspective ?

A

-Competition benefits the m/c
-Inequality and under-funding is causing low standards rather than state control
-parental choice contradicts the national curriculum
-Marxists see the new right perspective as imposing the culture of a dominant class rather than a shared national culture

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39
Q

What did Willis find about education ?

A

He studies the 12 “lads” and found that due to teacher labeling they rejected education and formed anti-school subcultures leading to them all working in manual labor jobs due to a lack of qualifications

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40
Q

What percentage of the higher professional class (U/C) are achieving 5 grade 4-9 in GCSEs ?

A

77%

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41
Q

What percentage of the Intermediate class (M/C) are achieving 5 grade 4-9 in GCSEs ?

A

53%

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42
Q

What percentage of the Routine class (W/C) are achieving 5 grade 4-9 in GCSEs ?

A

33%

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43
Q

What do current statistics suggest about working class underachievement ?

A

The working class under-achieve much more than the middle and upper classes

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44
Q

What are some possible explanations of working class underachievement ?

A

-Material deprivation
-Immediate vs deferred gratification
-Poor housing leading to illness e.g. mold causing respiratory issues
-Setting and Streaming

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45
Q

What is meant by external factors ?

A

Factors outside of the school that are causing under-achievement

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46
Q

What are some examples of external factors that are affecting education ?

A

-Cultural deprivation
-Material deprivation
-Language differences and barriers

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47
Q

What is meant by an internal factor ?

A

Factors inside of the school that are affecting education

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48
Q

What are some examples of internal factors that are affecting education ?

A

-labeling
-Self fulfilling prophecy
-Subcultures

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49
Q

What is material deprivation ?

A

A lack of money and the things it can buy that are necessary for educational success

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50
Q

What is cultural deprivation ?

A

A lack of certain norms, values, skills and attitudes that are needed for educational success

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51
Q

What are some examples of material deprivation in education ?

A

-no laptop
-lack of printing facilities
-poor housing
-crowded living space
-poor area

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52
Q

What are some examples of cultural deprivation in education ?

A

-Not visiting the library
-Not visiting museums
-lack of routine
-Not appreciating the value of education

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53
Q

What is Harker’s supporting study for material deprivation ?

A

She found that poor quality housing led to educational underachievement, this is due to a lack of study space, less space to play as a child impairing cognitive ability, more disruption due to moving house, health hazards, higher rates of parents with mental health issues

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54
Q

What is Howard’s supporting study for material deprivation ?

A

Young people from poorer homes are more likely to have dietary deficiencies which leads to a weak immune system and low concentration and energy levels

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55
Q

What is an evaluation of Harker’s study for material deprivation ?

A

This may be more of a cultural problem than a material problem
Pupil premium means that children are given a balanced meal in school and therefore this may be less of a problem

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56
Q

What is Blanden and Machin’s supporting study for material deprivation ?

A

Working class children are more likely to engage in fights and tantrums which will lead to them spending more time being sent out of the classroom

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57
Q

What are some evaluations of Blanden and Machin’s study for material deprivation ?

A

-Stereotyping the W/C to be aggressive
-Overgeneralised

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58
Q

What is Bull’s study which supports the effect which equipment and uniform have on achievement ?

A

He focused on the cost of free schooling which included the equipment costs and cost of school trips in education, he found that children whose parents could not afford the additional costs achieved lower than those whose parents could afford all additional costs

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59
Q

What is Tanner’s study which supports the effect of equipment and clothing on education ?

A

The children whose parents can only afford basics tend to become isolated and are often stigmatised and bullied, this is because equipment and funding extra-curricular activities such as art or music can be expensive

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60
Q

What fraction of children are classed as poor (living in households with an income 60% below the median) ?

A

1/3

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61
Q

What are some examples of policies which were introduced to try and close the gap between classes in education ?

A

-Education action zones
-Excellence in Cities
-Educational Maintenance Allowance/Bursary
-Sure start
-Pupil Premium

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62
Q

What is the policy - educational action zones ?

A

Established in 1998 to try and maximize the opportunity in urban and rural areas, it supplied teaching staff and was implemented for 6 months with a possibility to be extended for 2 years

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63
Q

How successful were educational action zones ?

A

They had limited success as it only lasted a total of 5 years due to a lack of sponsors

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64
Q

What is the policy - excellence in cities ?

A

Established in 1999, costing £500 million in an aim to raise the standard of education and promote inclusion, it provided support and mentors in cities

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65
Q

What is Callender and Jackson’s study which supports the fear of debt being a reason that the working class underachieve ?

A

The working class avoid debt and are in a household where they are much less likely to receive help from home to afford additional costs this means that less people from working class households are willing to go to university and therefore it is more difficult for them to achieve social mobility

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66
Q

How successful was the excellence in cities policy ?

A

It was successful as it did raise levels of achievement and provided support to areas which needed it

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67
Q

What is the policy - Educational Maintenance Allowance/Bursary ?

A

Trialed in 1999 and fully rolled out in 2004, it aimed to cover the basic costs of education such as books and transport, it gave students £10-30 a week

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68
Q

How successful was the Educational Maintenance Allowance/Bursary policy ?

A

It was partially successful as although it made educational more affordable and accessible, it had to be replaced to save £330 million

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69
Q

What is the policy - sure start ?

A

This was introduced in 1998 by labour, sure start centers provided free services and support to families it offered a space for children to play and learn skills but also a place where children could have health visits

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70
Q

How successful was the sure start policy ?

A

It was mainly successful because it did improve children’s development and the amount of access parents had to a variety of different services however, may had to be closed down in 2010 due to austerity

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71
Q

What is the policy - pupil premium ?

A

This was introduced in 2011 with an aim to reduce costs for low income parents, this includes free school meals and reduced costs for school trips

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72
Q

What is some support for the idea that material deprivation is an explanation to working class underachievement ?

A

-There is a strong correlation between household income and achievement
-This theory has led to social policies being introduced to try and reduce the influence of material deprivation on educational achievement

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73
Q

What are some ideas that disprove the theory of material deprivation being a reason for underachievement ?

A

-The research only shows a correlation and not a cause
-There are still a high number of students from working class backgrounds that achieve highly in education
-There are more factors that affect achievement than just material deprivation

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74
Q

What is Douglas’ study which supports cultural deprivation as an explanation to working class underachievement ?

A

There was a correlation between the degree of interest shown by the student’s parents and their achievement,
W/C parents visited schools less often, less likely to encourage further education and were perceived by teachers to be less interested

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75
Q

What are some criticisms of Douglas’ study which supports cultural deprivation as an explanation of working class underachievement ?

A

-The study is dated as it was conducted in the 60’s
-It is deterministic
-There may be a reason as to why parents can’t visit the school such as if they were working shifts
-Parents may not encourage further education as they cannot afford the cost rather than them not valuing it

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76
Q

What might be the explanation as to why children from lower class backgrounds are up to 1 year behind children from the upper classes from age 3 ?

A

W/C parents may have less time to read to their children and have less money which could mean they can’t afford the same services as the upper classes, this may lead to material deprivation causing cultural deprivation

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77
Q

What were the three areas that Feinstein found that middle class parents give their children a better headstart than working class parents ?

A

-Parenting style
-Parents educational behaviours
-Use of income

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78
Q

What did Feinstein find about how parenting style differs between the middle and working class ?

A

Working class parents are more inconsistent in terms of discipline which leads to their children having poor behaviour and self control

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79
Q

What did Feinstein find about how Parents educational behaviours change between the classes ?

A

Parents from middle class backgrounds do more educational activities away from school such as teaching their children letters and helping their children with homework

80
Q

What did Feinstein find about how the use of income differs between the classes ?

A

The middle classes earn more and can therefore afford to spend more on educational activities

81
Q

What is a subculture ?

A

A group where their norms and values differ from mainstream culture

82
Q

What did Sugarman find about subculture in the working class acting as a barrier to achievement ? (4 key features)

A

-Fatalism
-Collectivism
-Immediate Gratification
-Present-time Orientation

83
Q

What did Archer find about working class culture preventing some people looking at further education ?

A

Many students from a working class background had the belief that university “is not for the like of us” which means many choose not to go, Archer also found that students often brought problems from their area to school and teachers did not have a good understanding of these pupils

84
Q

What are some criticisms of cultural deprivation as an explanation for working class underachievement ?

A

-Dated
-Over-generalized
-Stereotypical
-Doesn’t take other factors into consideration

85
Q

What is Bereiter and Englemann’s supporting study for language barriers being a reason for working class underachievement ?

A

Language used in working class homes is deficient this is because due to them communicating in words and gestures the children struggle with abstract thinking

86
Q

What is Bernsteins supporting study for language barriers being a reason as to why working class children underachieve ?

A

He found that children in working class families used a restricted code whereas children in middle and upper classes use an elaborated code, he found that the w/c underachieve as education requires an elaborated code

87
Q

What is meant by restricted code ?

A

Typically used by the w/c, limited vocabulary and often short sentences

88
Q

What is meant by elaborated code ?

A

Often used by the middle class, they use a wider range of vocabulary than the w/c

89
Q

What is meant by cultural capital ?

A

How much knowledge you have about certain aspects such as music, art or literature.

90
Q

What was Alice Sullivans study?

A

A survey of 465 pupils in 4 schools.
Tested their vocab and knowledge for cultural figures.

91
Q

What was Alice Sullivans findings?

A

Children who read complex fiction developed a wider vocab.

92
Q

What was Gewirtz study?

A

Data collected from 14 London school.
Interviews with a range of students, parents and staff.

93
Q

What was Gewirtz’s findings?

A

Middle classes were better able to make the most of the choice that had become available to them in terms of where their children went to school because they had more cultural capital.

94
Q

What were Gerwitz’ three types of parental approaches to choosing a school ?

A

-Privileged skilled choosers
-Disconnected choosers
-Semi-skilled choosers

95
Q

What does Gerwitz mean by a privileged skilled chooser ?

A

Generally a middle class parent who can afford to travel to a school, they know how the system works so can make a well-informed decision

96
Q

What does Gerwitz mean by a semi-skilled chooser ?

A

Generally aspirant working class parents who lack the cultural capital to understand the educational market which means they become frustrated in the fact they want to make the best decision for their child but struggle to

97
Q

What are some evaluations of the cultural capital theory ?

A

-It doesn’t see the working class as deficient to the middle class unlike m/d
-It shows that parental choice is a myth
-It explains why some working class succeed and why some middle class fail

98
Q

What are some characteristics of the ideal pupil ?

A

-Punctual
-Engaged
-Middle class girl
-Hard-working

99
Q

What are the stages of labeling according to Hargreaves et al ?

A

-speculation
-elaboration
-stabilisation

100
Q

What is the speculation stage of labeling ?

A

Teachers begin to make guesses about the types of students they have

101
Q

What is the elaboration stage of labeling ?

A

When teachers predictions are either proved or contradicted

102
Q

What is the stabilisation stage of labeling ?

A

The label becomes fixed to the child, this is whether they are seen in a positive or negative light

103
Q

What did Becker find during his labelling study of 60 high school teachers ? (1971)

A

Found they judged pupils based on how close to the ‘ideal pupil’ they were.

Appearance + behaviour are key factors when it comes to the teachers opinions

M/C students are also more likely to be seen as ‘ideal pupil’

104
Q

In Hempel-Jorgensen’s study what did they find? (2009)

A

found teachers may have different opinions/notions on the ‘ideal pupil’

Found these notions depend on social class make up of the school

105
Q

What is the Dunne and Gazeley study which supports the labeling theory ?

A

They interviewed teachers in 9 different secondary schools, they found that all working class students were entered into foundation papers due to normalized working class underachievement

106
Q

What is the process of becoming a self fulfilling prophecy ?

A

-The teacher labels the pupil
-The teacher treats the pupil differently
-The pupil makes the label a part of their identity

107
Q

Outline the procedure of Rossenthall and Jacobson’s study.

A

They studied a primary school in California, they told the school that a test could be conducted to find out the students most likely to overachieve where really they randomly selected 20% of the students and told the school that these children were gifted

108
Q

Outline the findings of Rossenthall and Jacobson’s study.

A

After a year they returned and found that 47% of the students that had been labelled as gifted had made progress

109
Q

What are some evaluations of Rossenthall and Jacobson’s study ?

A

-Not representative
-Unethical
-High validity

110
Q

What is meant by the self fulfilling prophecy ?

A

When a person internalizes a label and it becomes a part of their personality

111
Q

What is Fuller’s study supporting the self refuting prophecy ?

A

She found that Afro-Caribbean girls devoted themselves to their schoolwork to prove the label given by their teacher to be wrong

112
Q

What are some evaluation points of the labeling theory ?

A

-It locates the issues within education to be in school rather than at home
-The theory has lots of supporting research
-Labeling is deterministic
-It is a micro-theory not a macro-theory

113
Q

What is Lacey’s subculture study ?

A

There are two main explanations why students form subcultures: differentiation and polarization

114
Q

What is meant by differentiation (Lacey) ?

A

Categorizing people based on their ability and behavior e.g. streaming

115
Q

What is meant by polarization (Lacey) ?

A

Pupils being at extreme poles e.g. anti school or pro school subcultures

116
Q

What is meant by a pro-school subculture ?

A

Good work is encouraged and status is earned through achievement

117
Q

What is meant by anti-school subculture ?

A

Disruptive behavior is encouraged and status is earned through bad behavior

118
Q

What is Willis’ study which supports anti-school subcultures ?

A

The LADS, they were a group of w/c boys who found that teacher labeling means that they give up on education and leave school to go into manual labor jobs

119
Q

What is Ball’s study ?

A

Most working class students were put into the bottom band and teachers limited their learning to a foundation level, this means that the middle class overachieved and the working class underachieve

120
Q

What is Keddie’s supporting study which supports streaming ?

A

Found that the students who were closer to the ideal pupil stereotype were given more information than working class students who were denied information that was essential to pass the exams

121
Q

What was introduced in the 1988 education act which meant that schools had to compete for students ?

A

League tables
-Competing for students meant that their position in the league tables was secure

122
Q

What is Gillborn and Youdell’s study ?

A

They found that educational triage involved grouping students into success, borderline and failures, the working class in lower ability classes were ignored as they wouldn’t help the school to move up the league table

123
Q

How has progress 8 changed the way which students are targeted ?

A

Every grade counts towards progress 8, there is a higher focus on making sure pupils meet their target rather than a grade 5-9 however there is still more focus on getting students from a 3 to a 4 to get a good 9-4 percentage

124
Q

What percentage of girls passed GCSE maths and english in 2022 ?

A

77%

125
Q

What percentage of boys passed GCSE maths and english in 2022 ?

A

66%

126
Q

What is Sharpe’s supporting study for girls changing aspirations ?

A

In 1974 most girls wanted to be housewives and their focus was on getting marreid and having children, school work was seen as masculine
In the 1990’s girls aspired to have careers and wanted to be able to support themselves rather than to be a housewife and reliant on their husband

127
Q

What is McRobbie’s theory which supports girls changing aspirations being influenced by magazines ?

A

1970’s - most magazines were about beauty, family and posters of male idols etc

NOW- being less about family, beauty etc and more about careers, jobs and independent women etc

128
Q

what are the changes that have occurred within the family?

A

•Increase in divorce rate
•Increase in cohabitation
•Increase in number of lone parent
families

129
Q

what are the changes in women’s employment?

A

1970 Equal Pay Act - makes it illegal to pay women less than men (pay gap halved from 30%-15% since 1975)

1975 Sex Discrimination Act - outlaws workplace discrimination

130
Q

what does Reay (1998) argue about class and gender?

A

Argues that some W/C girls may continue to have gender stereotyped aspirations + expect to go into low paid jobs.

Says their limited aspirations reflect the limited job opportunities they perceive as being available to them

131
Q

National curriculum introduced…

A

a common core set of subjects (compulsory for all)
gave girls access to full curriculum

a number of policies have been implemented (GIST & WISE)

132
Q

What are GIST and WISE and what did they aim to do?

A

Girls in Science + Technology (GIST)
Women in Science + Engineering (WISE)
aimed to raise aspirations of girls by female scientists visiting schools etc

133
Q

What did Gorard (2005) say about coursework?

A

Gorard said that when coursework was introduced (in 1988) to GCSE, there was a sharp increase in girl’s achievement

134
Q

what did Mitsos and Browne (1998) say about coursework?

A

Said that girls are more conscientious, organised + have good presentation which helped with coursework completion

135
Q

what did Burns and Bracey say ?

A

said boys believe work should be done in school time and are unprepared to do assignments and homework

girls read 3x as much as boys and on average have 4x the concentration span

girls mature up to 2yrs quicker than boys so approach their studies in a more responsible way - recognise the seriousness of academia and career choices

EVALUATION: over generalised

136
Q

what is the liberal feminist view on gender and education?

A

celebrate the progress made so far to improve achievement

believe further progress will be made by:
-more equal opportunity policies
- positive role models (e.g female SLT teachers and headteachers)
-overcoming sexist attitudes + stereotypes

137
Q

what is the radical feminist view of gender + education?

A

education system remains patriarchal:
-sexual harassment of girls in schools
- education limits girls’ subject choice + career options
-still mainly male authority figures e.g head teachers in secondary schools
-women underrepresented in curriculum

138
Q

what is symbolic capital (Archer 2010)?

A

refers to the status, recognition + sense of worth that we are able to obtain from others

139
Q

what did Archer (2010) say about the reason for social class differences in girls’ achievement?

A

found that by performing their W/C feminine identities, the girls gained symbolic capital from their peers

HOWEVER, this brought them into conflict with school - prevents them from achieving educational capital (qualifications) + economic capital (M/C careers)

140
Q

what is a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity?

A

many of the girls invested considerable time, effort & money in constructing ‘desirable’ + ‘glamorous’ hyper-heterosexual feminine identities

this brought status from their female peer group

HOWEVER, it brings them into contact with school - often punished for having the ’wrong appearance’ (“too much” jewellery, makeup etc)
- Bourdieu describes this as symbolic violence (harm by denying someone symbolic capital)

141
Q

what did Evans (2009) say about w/c girls achievement?

A

Evans studied 21 W/C sixth form girls in a South London comprehensive school

found that they wanted to go to uni to increase their earning power - this was not for themselves but to help their family

many W/C students who do go to uni often still live at home whilst attending which makes it more affordable
HOWEVER, it also limits their choice of uni

142
Q

What are the socialisation differences that have meant boys have started to underachieve?

A

Stereotypical masculine identities are based on being active
-This argument was supported by an episode of Panorama – found that parents spend LESS time reading/discussing books with sons than with daughters.
-Boys could enter education system with lower literacy levels

143
Q

What did Mac an Ghaill (1994) say about out of school factors that meant boys are underachieving?

A

-“crisis of masculinity” –particularly amongst W/C boys
-argues that boys are socialised into a perception of a future male identity based around the man being the main breadwinner

However, traditional jobs in manufacturing industry have declined. Service sector work has increased thus making male breadwinner role unlikely causing male W/C unemployment

144
Q

What did Epstein (1998) say about subcultures in school?

A

Found that boys, particularly W/C boys, faced abuse if they worked hard

145
Q

What did Francis (2001) say about subcultures in school?

A

Boys more concerned about being labelled as hard-working than girls - saw it as a ‘threat’ to their masculinity

Evaluation - over generalised

146
Q

What do Mitsos and Browne (1998) say about the increase in the underachievement of boys?

A

Using a interactionist perspective to explain the underachievement of boys they suggest 4 areas which might account for this trend:

  1. teachers may be less strict + tolerate a lower standard of work
  2. boys are more like to disrupt the class/ be sent out of lessons/ be expelled
  3. ‘culture of masculinity’ encourages boys to want to appear “macho” and “tough” - hard work in school does not fit in with this image - more likely to form ‘anti school subcultures’
  4. boys tend to overestimate their ability, produces over confidence + lack of work
147
Q

What have some theorists said about biological explanations for the difference in subject choice?

A

Some theorists focused mainly on the differences in brain function:

  • It has been argued that males and females have different dominant areas of the brain
    e.g. the language area of women’s brains is more developed, whilst men have more activity in the area of the brain that deals with patterns.
    Many theorists say these differences equate to very different abilities and aptitudes - they believe this would explain the gendered nature of subject choice
148
Q

What did Kelly (1982) say about biological explanations for the difference in subject choice?

A

Kelly (1982) suggests that the dominance of different areas of the brain is a product of nurture rather than nature.
e.g. the toys given to different genders - this allows them to exercise different parts of the brain
General tendency for boys to have more ability with patterns and spatial awareness is a product of them being given toys, such as lego, which allows them to practice these abilities from an early age

149
Q

What did Norman (1988) say about early socialisation as an explanation for the difference in subject choice?

A

said that boys + girls are dressed differently, given different toys, encouraged to take part in different activities

also said that parents often reward boys for being active and girls for being passive

150
Q

What did Elwood (1998) says about early socialisation as an explanation for the difference in subject choice?

A

said that the differences in socialisation lead to different reading tastes + then onto different subject choices

said that boys read more hobby + information books and girls read more stories

151
Q

What are the in-school explanations for the difference in subject choice?

A

Some feminists have argued that patriarchal ideology is also transmitted within schools (e.g. it is possible for teachers to still harbour stereotypical assumptions about the types of subjects most suited for girls and boys)

Some have also suggested that the differences in the content of the curriculum in certain subjects is almost more targeted at particular genders (e.g. the contributors of women in science and technology are not emphasised by the official curriculum)

152
Q

What did Kelly (1987) say about in-school explanations for the differences in subject choice?

A

said that textbooks are often gender biased – demonstrates a tendency for textbooks on technical and scientific subjects to illustrate their content in ways which relate to traditionally male experiences, such as cars and football, which doesn’t match with the wider “interests” into which girls are often socialised

153
Q

What did Paechter (1998) say about gender identity and peer pressure explanations for the differences in subject choice?

A

said that pupils see sport as mainly within the male gender domain - girls who were ‘sporty’ had to cope with an image that contradicted the conventional female stereotype (this aisle means that many girls can opt out of sport subjects)

also said that other boys/girls may apply pressure to an individual if they don’t agree/approve their choice

154
Q

What does it mean by gendered career opportunities?

A

employment is highly gendered - women’s jobs often involve work similar to that once performed by housewives (e.g. childcare + nursing)

155
Q

What did Lees (1993) say about double standards in pupils’ sexual and gender identities?

A

Lees identifies double standards of sexual morality in which boys boast about their own sexual exploits, but judge girls if they don’t have a steady boyfriend or if she dresses a certain way

156
Q

What did Parker (1996) say about verbal abuse surrounding pupils’ sexual and gender identities?

A

found that boys were labelled as ‘gay’ simply for being friendly with girls or female teachers (Lees and Paechter note that these labels often bear no relations to pupils’ actual sexuality)

157
Q

What did Mac an Ghaill say about the male gaze in education?

A

‘male gaze’ refers to the way male pupils/teachers look girls ‘up and down’, seeing them as sexual objects + making judgement about their appearance

158
Q

What did Epstein and Francis’ studies show about male peer groups in education?

A

their studies show boys in anti-school subcultures often label boys who want to do well in school as being ‘gay’

159
Q

what is language linguistic deprivation?

A

some groups of people may not speak English at home or have English as an additional language (EAL)

it is argued that these students will lack the familiarity and practice in English necessary to both comprehend subject content and communicate their thought effectively in school

160
Q

What did Cameron (2004) say about language linguistic deprivation?

A

found that higher incidence of error in the written work of EAL children

161
Q

How do subcultural variations of English affect students?

A

Bereiter and Englemann consider the language spoken by black low income families as inadequate for educational success

Evaluation - 2010 - there was very little difference in achievement (3%) between students who didn’t have English as their first language + those who did.
Gilborn + Mirza (2000) note that Indian pupils do very well despite often not habing English as their first language – although this in itself is now dated

162
Q

What did Pryce (1979) say about the family structure affecting ethnic minority achievement?

A

Conducted a study in an African-Caribbean community in Bristol

Noted that families tended to be “turbulent” with a high incidence of matriarchal single parent families

Said findings suggested an explanation for the tendency for African-Caribbean underachievement, but also why girls who have a female role model seem less affected

Evaluation :
- studies are overgeneralised
- studies are stereotypical
- studies are dated

163
Q

What did Driver and Ballard (1981) say about the family structure affecting ethnic minority achievement?

A

found that Asian groups which tend to achieve well in education also tend to be in tight-knit and ‘stable’ families - this also placed a very high emphasis on the value of education

Evaluation :
- studies are overgeneralised
- studies are stereotypical
- studies are dated

164
Q

What did Moynihan (1965) say about the family structure affecting ethnic minority achievement?

A

said that many African-Caribbean children are deprived because of single parent families – they may have a lack of role models + more financial pressures affecting educational success

Evaluation :
- studies are overgeneralised
- studies are stereotypical
- studies are dated

165
Q

What did Sewell (2009) say about family structure affecting ethnic minority achievement?

A

says that African-Caribbean boys are influenced by other factors apart from the family (e.g. gangs, rap stars etc)

166
Q

What did Lupton (2004) say about the family structure affecting ethnic minority achievement?

A

the focus of her study was on Asian students’ success
found that respectful behaviour towards adults is expected in Asian families, this behaviour is then is repeated in schools

167
Q

What did the Sutton Trust (2014) study say about ethnic minorities and higher education?

A

surveyed 16,000 pupils & found ethnic minority pupils are more likely to want to go to university

168
Q

What did Palmer (2012) say about material deprivation affecting ethnic minorities?

A

Palmer said that:

  • almost half of ethnic minority children live in low income housing

-ethnic minorities are almost twice as likely to be unemployed

169
Q

What did Mason (2000) say about racism in society affecting ethnic minority achievement?

A

Mason suggests the continuing racism in society is a continuing issue + groups continue to be discriminated against

Said that this could explain why ethnic minorities may face higher rates of unemployment and low pay - this could have a negative impact on their children’s educational prospects

170
Q

What did Gillborn and Mirza (2000) say about racism in schools affecting ethnic minority achievement?

A

Found that African-Caribbean children started school as high achievers but by GCSEs they were the lowest achievers - racism can lead to low self esteem among African-Caribbean pupils + a hostility to schooling

171
Q

What did Gillborn and Youdell (2000) say about the different treatment of black African-Caribbean pupils by some teachers?

A

said that the teachers expected black African-Caribbean students to present more discipline problems + misinterpreted the pupils’ behaviour as challenging authority.

This may explain the higher levels of exclusions from schools of black African-Caribbean boys

172
Q

What did Osler (2001) say about the different treatment of African-Caribbean students by some teachers?

A

said that African-Caribbean students suffer more unrecorded unofficial exclusions / are sent out of class more

173
Q

What did Wright (1992) say about ethnic minority students being discriminated against in classroom interactions?

A

Wright said that Asian children were seen as a “problem”, but as a problem that could largely be ignored - evidence shows they were largely ignored/excluded during classroom discussions, received less attention + were rarely asked questions - found that teachers thought that their English was insufficient for a full classroom participation

Wright also said that African-Caribbean students (especially boys) were expected to behave badly - they received negative attention and were often singled out for criticisms - often felt picked on

174
Q

What is the ‘ideal pupil identity’?

A

The pupil is seen as achieving in the ‘right’ way through natural ability + initiative

175
Q

What is the ‘pathologised pupil identity’?

A

the pupil is seen as a conformist + culture-bound ‘overachiever’ – succeeds through hard work

176
Q

What is the ‘demonised pupil identity’?

A

W/C hyper-sexualised identity – this pupil is seen as unintelligent, peer-led, culturally deprived ‘underachiever’

177
Q

What did Fuller (1984) say about ethnic minority pupils response to labelling?

A

Fuller studied a group of black African-Caribbean girls in yr11 (at a London comprehensive school)

found that the girls were high achievers in a school where most African-Caribbean girls were placed in low streams

Fuller describes how, instead of accepting negative stereotypes of themselves, they channelled their anger about being labelled into the pursuit of educational success

178
Q

What did Mac an Ghaill (1992) say about how ethnic minority students reacted to labelling?

A

how the students responded depended on factors (e.g. ethnic group, gender + nature of former school)

Mac an Ghaill conducted a study of black African-Caribbean + Asian A-level students at a 6th form college

the study reached similar conclusions to Fuller’s study

found that students who felt they had been labelled negatively didn’t necessarily accept the label

179
Q

What did Mirza (1992) say about how teacher racism can affect ethnic minority pupils’ ambitions?

A

Mirza studied ambitious black African-Caribbean girls who faced teacher racism

found that racist teachers discouraged African-Caribbean pupils from being ambitious through the kind of advice they gave them about careers + option choices

Mirza identifies 3 main types of teacher racism :

  • the teachers who believe all pupils are equal but allow racism to go unchallenged
  • the liberal chauvinist teachers (believe African-Caribbean students are culturally deprived + have low expectations of them)
  • the overt racist teachers (teachers who actively/openly discriminate against African-Caribbean students)
180
Q

What did Sewell say about how African-Caribbean boys respond to schooling?

A

Rebels - small minority, but most visible + influential group - often excluded from school - these pupils have rejected both the goals and the rules of the school

Conformists - largest group, keen to succeed + accept the schools goals - not part of a subculture + are anxious to avoid being stereotyped by peers/teachers

Retreatists - tiny minority, isolated individuals who were disconnected from both school + black subcultures

Innovators - 2nd largest group, pro-education but anti-school (like Fuller’s girls)

181
Q

What is ‘institutional racism’?

A

Discrimination that is built into the way institutions such as school + colleges operate

182
Q

What is ‘individual racism’ ?

A

that results from the prejudiced view of individuals (e.g. teachers)

183
Q

What is the ethnocentirc curriculum?

A

describes an attitude or policy that gives priority to the culture and viewpoint of one particular ethnic group - thus the ethnocentric curriculum reflects the culture of one dominant ethnic group

184
Q

What is the government’s Swann Report?

A

found that schools tend to both transmit and value white M/C attitudes and knowledge - school life/curriculum remains ethnocentric

in an argument, that agreed with one made by Bourdieu, the report suggested that this might alienate ethnic minority youth

185
Q

what did Mac an Ghaill (1992) conclude in his study of African-Caribbean pupils and the ethnocentric curriculum?

A

He concluded that students in his study felt that an ethnocentric curriculum held them back, making them feel different and “like outsiders”

186
Q

Which act introduced state schooling?

A

Elementary Education Act 1880

  • made schooling compulsory from the ages of 5 to 13 (this rose to 16 in 1973)
187
Q

What was the 1944 Butler Act?

A

it introduced the Tripartite System
- founded on the idea of meritocracy

188
Q

What was the tripartite system?

A

3 different types of secondary schools were created.
entrance to these schools was based on an individual’s ability, measured by an 11+ exam

  • Grammar schools - offered an academic curriculum, and access to non-manual jobs and higher education - for pupils who passed the 11+ - pupils were mainly M/C
  • Technical schools - offered skills, primarily created for the delivery of mechanical, scientific and engineering skills – very fews of these schools were actually built
  • Secondary modern schools - focused on delivery of a non-academic curriculum, giving pupils who failed 11+ access to manual work - mainly W/C pupils
189
Q

what were the reasons why more M/C students ended up attending grammar schools?

A
  • often did better in 11+ as they hired tutors/ bought past papers etc
  • the exams often used elaborated code
190
Q

The Comprehensive system was introduced in 1965. What did it do?

A

It abolished 11+ exams & (most) grammar schools, and secondary modern schools – these schools were replaced by comprehensive schools that all pupils within the area would attend

191
Q

What were the negatives of the new comprehensive schools?

A

they were established to overcome the bias created by the tripartite system, but many sociologists argue selection of pupils still takes place within comprehensives, its just hidden (covert selection)

192
Q

The Conservative gov (1979-1997) passed The Educational Reform Act (1988) which introduced the marketisation of education. What policies were introduced to achieve this?

A

-OFSTED - inspections and reports (NUT [2015] - there is no evidence that OFSTED has raised standards, despite £156 million per year spent on it)

-League Tables - to rank schools based on how student achieve in exams etc

-The National Curriculum - created a standard curriculum that all schools follow (e.g. maths, English, science etc) – it also allows for standardised exams (publish results in league tables)

  • Formula funding - how much the gov gives schools per student – successful schools are more likely to attract a larger number of students, so they get more money
  • Parentocracy - parents are given free choice over where to send their children to school (Tough and Brooks [2007] - are critical of the concept of parentocracy as they say not all parents have the power, just M/C parents)
193
Q

What policies did the Labour gov (1997-2010) introduce to improve education?

A
  • Limiting class sizes - placed a cap of 30 in classes for children aged 5-7
  • 15 hours (nursery) - each child between ages of 3 and 4 were guaranteed 15hrs of nursery education per week
  • Education Action Zones - set up a number of these, particularly in deprived areas, with schools of low levels of academic attainment. (became known as Excellence in Cities in 2005) (Power & Whitty [2008] said reforms didn’t work, said they failed to have a significant effect on the educational achievement of those from disadvantaged areas)
  • City Academies (2000) - introduced in deprived areas, mainly where schools were failing - increased choice and standards in an area
194
Q

What policies did the coalition gov (2010-2015) introduce to improve education?

A
  • Pupil premium
  • Academies Act (2010) - there was a shift in ideologies concerning academies, no longer were they concerned primarily with replacing poor performing schools in deprived areas (as the previous Lab gov was) but instead are now concerned with giving schools more freedom from state control, both from the LEA and National curriculum
  • Free schools
  • The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) - its focus is to ensure pupils take a broad + academic curriculum: English, maths, science, MFL + humanities
195
Q

How does globalisation affect education?

A
  • broader multicultural curriculum
  • exchange visits – students + teachers
  • global market for educational resources (e.g. whiteboards etc)
  • league tables - global comparison – PISA is a league table to compare schools globally
  • international comparisons are used to form policies
196
Q

strengths of globalisation in education

A
  • useful for comparing standards internationally
  • provides evidence for policy maker who want to learn from other countries on what policies seem to work best/what doesn’t
  • useful to see whether education spending matches educational achievement
197
Q

weaknesses of globalisation in education

A
  • PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS tests are based on a very narrow conception of education (literacy, numeracy, science) which can be measured

Sociology (10 decks)

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