Education - class differences in achievement (internal)

Question 1

What are the 5 internal factors of class underachievement?

Answer 1

(1) labelling
(2) the self-fulfilling prophecy
(3) streaming
(4) pupil subcultures
(5) pupils class identities

Question 2

What is labelling?

Answer 2

To attach a meaning or definition to an individual

Question 3

How do teachers label working class and middle class students?

Answer 3

Teachers label students on the basis of stereotyped assumptions about their class background and therefore the working class are labelled negatively and the middle class are labelled positively

Question 4

What sociologists carried out an important study into labelling within high schools?

Answer 4

Howard Becker

Question 5

Describe Becker’s study into labelling

Answer 5

He carried out interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers

Question 6

What did Becker find in his study of labelling?

Answer 6

He found that the high school teachers judged pupils according to how closely they fitted the image of the ‘ideal pupil’, and the ideal pupils was mostly considered to be middle class pupils

Question 7

What sociologists carried out an important study into labelling within primary schools

Answer 7

Amelia Hempel-Jorgensen

Question 8

Describe Hempel-Jorgensen’s study into labelling?

Answer 8

She studied two English primary schools (1) Aspen primary school which was largely working class and (2) Rowan primary school which was mainly middle class

Question 9

What did Hempel-Jorgensen find in these two primary schools?

Answer 9

In the working class school they have major discipline problems and therefore the ideal pupil was defined as quiet, passive and obedient

In the middle class school they had few discipline problems and therefore the ideal pupil was defined instead in terms of personality and academic ability

Question 10

What did Dunne and Gazeley conduct research into?

Answer 10

Labelling in secondary schools

Question 11

Describe the procedure of Dunne and Gazeley’s research into labelling

Answer 11

They conducted interviews into 9 English state secondary school

Question 12

What did Dunne and Gazeley find about labelling in secondary schools?

Answer 12

They found that teachers normalised the underachievement of working class pupils and were not concerned by it, whereas they believed they could overcome the underachievement of the middle class pupils

They labelled working class parents as uninterested and middle class parents as supportive

This led to class differences in how teachers interacted with underachievers as they would set extension work for underachieving middle class pupils but for working class pupils they would just enter then into easier exams

Question 13

What did Rist conducted research into?

Answer 13

Labelling in primary schools

Question 14

Describe Rist’s procedure in his study of labelling within primary schools

Answer 14

He studied an American kindergarten

Question 15

What did Rist find about labelling in primary schools?

Answer 15

He found that teachers used information about children’s home background and appearance to place them in separate groups, seating each group at a different table

Those the teacher decided were fast learners (mainly middle class) were seated near the teacher and were given the greatest encouragement

Those the teacher decided were slower learners (mainly working class) were seated further away and were given fewer chances to show their abilities

Question 16

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 16

It is a predication that comes true simply by virtue of having been made

Question 17

How does the self-fulfilling prophecy work?

Answer 17

(1) the teacher labels a pupil and makes predictions about their educational achievement
(2) the teacher treats the pupil accordingly to the predications they’ve made
(3) the pupils internalises their teachers expectation and therefore the prediction is fulfilled

Question 18

Who conducted research into teachers expectations?

Answer 18

Rosenthal and Jacobson

Question 19

Describe the procedure Rosenthal and Jacobsons study?

Answer 19

They told Oak community school that they had a test designed to identify pupils who would spurt ahead (untrue) and so they picked 20% of the pupils at random and told the teachers that these were the spurters

Question 20

What were the findings of Rosenthal and Jacobsons study?

Answer 20

A year later they found that almost half of those identified as spurters had made significant progress and this therefore indicates the teachers had conveyed these beliefs to the pupils through the way they interacted with them and therefore they were more successful

Question 21

What is streaming?

Answer 21

Streaming involves separating children into different ability groups or classes called streams and then these groups are taught separately

Question 22

How are working class pupils streamed?

Answer 22

Teachers tend to see working class pupils as lacking ability and have low expectations of them and therefore they are placed in the lower streams

Question 23

How does streaming affect working class pupils?

Answer 23

Children in lower streams get the message that their teachers have written them off as no-hopers and this therefore creates a self-fulfilling prophecy which they live up to by underachieving

Question 24

How are middle class pupils streamed?

Answer 24

Middle class pupils tend to be put in higher streams which reflects their teachers view of them as ideal pupils

Question 25

What effect does streaming have on middle class pupils?

Answer 25

From being placed in higher streams, middle class students develop a more positive self-concept, gain confidence, work harder and improve their grades.

Question 26

What two sociologists conducted research into streaming?

Answer 26

Gillborn and Youdell

Question 27

Describe the procedure of Gillborn and Youdell’s study

Answer 27

They studied two secondary schools in London to show how teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to stream pupils

Question 28

What did Gillborn and Youdell find about streaming?

Answer 28

They found that teachers are less likely to see working class pupils as having ability and therefore they are placed in lower streams and entered into easier exams and this denies them the opportunity to gain good grades and widens the class gap in achievement

Question 29

What creates an A-to-C economy in schools

Answer 29

Publishing league tables

Question 30

What is the A-to-C economy?

Answer 30

It is a system in which schools focus their time, effort and resources on those pupils they see as having the potential to get 5 grade Cs

Question 31

What is the educational triage?

Answer 31

Some argue that the A-to-C economy produces an educational triage where schools categorise pupils into 3 groups:

(1) those who will pass anyways (left to get on with it)
(2) those with potential (receive help)
(3) hopeless cases (left to fail)

Question 32

Within the education triage what category are working class pupils most likely to be put in?

Answer 32

Hopeless cases - which therefore results in their underachievement as they receive less attention, support and resources

Question 33

What is a pupil subculture?

Answer 33

A pupil subculture is a group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns

Question 34

How do pupil subcultures emerge?

Answer 34

They tend to emerge as a response to the ways that pupils have been labelled and streamed

Question 35

What sociologist came up with the concepts of differentiation and polarisation?

Answer 35

Colin Lacey

Question 36

What is differentiation?

Answer 36

This is the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude and behaviour and therefore those deemed more able are placed in high streams and gain a higher status and those deemed as less able are placed in lower streams and given an inferior status

Question 37

What is polarisation?

Answer 37

This is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite poles e.g. anti-school and pro-school subcultures

Question 38

What type of students are found in a pro-school subculture?

Answer 38

Pupils placed in higher streams (mainly middle class)

Question 39

What is a pro-school subculture?

Answer 39

This is a pupil subculture where pupils remain committed to the values of the school and they gain their status in the approved manner (through academies success)

Question 40

What type of students are found in an anti-school subculture?

Answer 40

Pupils placed in lower streams (mainly working class)

Question 41

What is an anti-school subculture?

Answer 41

It is a pupil subculture that