Education: Class Flashcards
Internal factors: labelling
Labelling is to attach meaning or definition e.g teachers labelling students as bright, troublemaker etc
Studies show that teachers often attach labels regardless of pupils attainment or attitude. They label students on stereotyped assumptions about their class and background. Working class students are labelled negatively and middle class are labelled positively.
Internal factors: labelling
Becker
1971
conducted interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers. he found that they judged students on how closely they fitted the image of an ideal student.
Pupils work, conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teachers judgements. teachers saw middle class children as more closely fitting the ideal stereotype. they viewed working class students as further away from the ideal as they were badly behaved.
Internal factors: labelling
Hempel-Jorgensen
2009
studied 2 primary schools. she said notions about the schools varied on the the social class make-up;
Aspen Primary school: largely working class, discipline was an issue, the ideal pupil was defined as quiet, passive l, and obedient. children were defined by their behaviour rather than their ability.
Rowan Primary School: largely middle class that had very few discipline problems. the ideal student was defined in terms of personality and academic ability.
Internal factors: labelling in secondary schools
Dune and Gazeley 2008 argue school consistently produce working class underachievement because of the labels and assumptions teachers make. From interviews with 9 English state schools they found teachers ‘normalised’ underachievement of working class students. many seemed to justify it as though it was out of their hands, whereas the middle class students could overcome the underachievement. Teachers labelled working class parents as being disinterested in their child’s education. they labelled middle class parents as supportive. this then led to differences with how staff dealt with underachievement- extension tasks were set for middle class pupils but not for working class pupils.
Internal factors: labelling in primary schools
Rists 1970 study of American Kindergarten found that teachers used information about children’s home backgrounds and appearance to help them separate children into groups. Those the teachers decided were fast learners she labelled as ‘the tigers’ tended to be middle class and of neat and clean appearance. She seemed to show this table the greatest encouragement. The other 2 groups were labelled as ‘cardinals and clowns’ these tended to be working class and were set lower level reading.
internal factors: self-fulfilling prophecy
this is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it having been made. interactionists argue labelling can affect attainment by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. this can be positive or negative.
internal factors: self-fulfilling prophecy
teachers expectations
a primary school in California: Oak Community school was investigated by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968), they told the school they had designed a test to identify students who would ‘spurt ahead’ but it was a standard test. researchers ‘tested’ all students and identified 20% as ‘spurters’. returning a year later nearly half the ‘spurters’ had made significant progress. this effect was greater on younger children.
internal factors: streaming
what is streaming?
this involves separating students into different ability groups. each ability group is taught separately. studies show that a self-fulfilling prophecy is likely to occur when students are streamed.
as Becker shows WC students are not usually seen as ideal pupils, and lacking ability. low expectations = lower stream.
once placed in a stream, it is difficult to go up in a stream as students are often locked into a teacher’s expectations of them. students in the lower streams think the teachers do not care, which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. studies even show students who had been placed in lower streams by age 8 their IQ had declined by age 11.
middle-class students tend to benefit from streaming as they gain positive self-concepts, confidence and work harder to improve their grades.
internal factors: streaming
streaming and the A-C economy
teachers are found to stereotypically stream pupils based on ‘ability’. working class and black pupils were more likely to be seen as less academic. therefore, they are more likely to be in a lower stream, enrolled for foundation exams which denies them the knowledge or opportunities to gain good grades, widening the class gap.
by publishing schools’ A-C pass rates at GCSE, it means schools spent their time pushing students to get even higher grades, and neglecting those they think will not achieve the grades.
internal factors: streaming
Educational Triage
an educational triage is where you sort and organise pupils based on their academic ability. schools categorise students into 3 types:
1. those who will pass and are left to get on with it
2. those with potential who are helped to get a C grade.
3. hopeless cases.
internal factors: pupils’ subcultures
what is a pupil subculture?
this refers to a group of students who all have similar values and patterns of behaviour. these often emerge due to streaming and labeling. these subcultures can develop in 2 ways:
differentiation: teachers categorise pupils based on attitude, ability, and behaviour.
polarisation: the process where students respond to streaming by moving towards one of the two poles: a pro/anti-school culture
the pro-school culture: higher streamed students remain committed to the values of a school via academic success.
the anti-school subculture: lower stream= lower self-esteem, a label of failure. students search for approval from their peers which causes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
internal factors: pupils’ subcultures
Pupil’s class identities and the school
WC students are part of a sub-culture but they also can have their own identities:
HABITUS: these are the learnt ways of thinking and acting shared by a particular class. these include tastes and preferences on fashion and leisure pursuits, their outlook on life, and life expectations.
SYMBOLIC CAPITAL AND VIOLENCE: by defining WC tastes as inferior, symbolic violence produces a structure and keeps WC people in their place. some WC have felt to succeed they need to change how they present themselves.
NIKE IDENTITIES: symbolic violence makes young people seek alternative self-worth by constructing styles in branded clothing such as Nike. this can violate the school’s rules and then they are seen as rebels.
external factors: trends
middle class children perform better than working class children
the gap in achievement widens as children get older
children from middle class families do better at GCSE’s, stay in full time education for longer and take up the majority of university places
external factors: cultural deprivation
class differences and achievement are apparent from a very young age. Centre of Longitudinal (2007) found that by the age of three, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already a year behind more privileged homes and the gap widens with age.
some sociologists claim this is due to cultural deprivation. they argue most of us acquire basic values, attitudes, and skills that are needed at school from primary socialization in the house. the basic cultural equipment is language, self-discipline, and reasoning skills.
according to cultural deprivation theorists, many working-class families fail to socialize their children adequately. These children grow up culturally deprived, they lack in cultural equipment they need to succeed.
external factors: cultural deprivation
language
language is an essential part od education and how parents communicate with their children affects their cognitive development and their ability to benefit from the process of schooling.
