Education: In schools processes: Subcultures, Setting and Streaming Flashcards
What do Gillborn and Youdell argue about educational marketisation? What does this result in?
They argue that due to the marketisation schools have adopted an A-C economy, as they are ranked in league tables according to the % of pupils which achieve 5 x GCSE A*-C’s (inc. Eng and Maths).
This has resulted in ‘education triage’: schools focus on the C/D borderline students with ‘hopeless cases’ left to fail in the bottom sets.
What is educational triage?
Educational triage is when schools categories their pupils into; those who will pass so will need little assistance (can be left to get on), those will potential who will be helped to get a grade C or better, hopeless cases who they believe will fail (so are also left alone).
Why do schools employ educational triage?
Educational institutions do this in order to gain a good league table position for an increase in funding.
What are some of the advantages of setting and streaming?
- Can help higher ability students to succeed as they are not held back by lower set pupils and teaching methods.
- In technical subjects there is more targeted learning
What are some of the disadvantages of setting and streaming?
- Lower set pupils are often labeled a “thick” meaning their self esteem is likely to fall - impacting their grades.
- Some students are placed in the wrong academic set because of their social class or background.
- Risk creating the self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Little mobility.
- Weakest teachers teach the lower sets.
What are some of the advantages of mixed ability sets?
- More progress is made by pupils in mixed ability sets.
- Peer support is more common. As well as the push and pull processes.
- Less likely labeling.
- When students make jumps they are no longer being held back.
What are some of the disadvantages of mixed ability sets?
- Not as good for very technical subjects.
- Able students may feel held back.
What did Douglas argue about bottom-stream students?
Argues that bottom-stream students endure a self fulfilling prophecy in which pupils live up to their low expectations.
What did Ball, 1981, argue about stream and pupils?
That the top-stream students are ‘warmed up’ and the bottom-stream are ‘cooled out’.
What do functionalists believe about setting and streaming?
They argue it is good as it is a form of role allocation and sifting and sorting.
What do Marxists believe about setting and streaming?
They argue it’s a false class consciousness from the ideological state apparatus to keep working class pupils in their class.
What can streaming cause?
Can cause polarisation, where pupils move towards one of the two opposite poles: pro-school subcultures, anti-school subcultures.
Define what a pupil subculture is:
A pupil subculture a group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour habitats. There are two types:
anti-school subculture and pro-school subculture.
Define what a pro-school subculture is:
Pupils that are committed to the values of the school. They gain their status in an approved way, through academic success. These are normally made up of middle class students.
Define what an anti-school subculture is:
Those placed in lower streams suffer a loss of self esteem: the school have undermined their self-worth by placing them in a position of inferior status. The label of failure means the search for alternative ways to gain status, usually this involved during their school cultures upside down - rebelling.
