Education Internal Factors Flashcards
What are internal factors?
These are factors within schools causing these class differences
What is labelling?
To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. E.g teachers may lab,e a pupil as bright or thick, troublemaker or hardworking
Teachers and labelling
Studies show that teachers often attach such labels regardless of the pupils actual ability or attitude. Instead they lab,e pupils of. The basis of stereotyped assumptions about their class background, labelling working class pupils negatively and middle class positively
Studies of labelling in school
A number of studies of labelling have been carried out by interactionists sociologists. Interactionist study small scale, face to face interactions between individuals, such as in the classroom or playground. They are interested in how people attach labels to one another, and the effects that this has in this who are labelled
Howard Becker (1971) - study on labelling
Carried out important interactionist study of labelling. Based on interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers, he found that they judge pupils according to hose closely they fitted an image of the ‘ideal pupil’
People’s work, conduct and appearance were key fa ties influencing teachers judgements. The teachers saw children from middle class backgrounds as the closets to the ideal pupil and the working class children as the furthest away from it as they regarded them badly behaved.
Amelia hempel Jorgensen (2009) - study on labelling
A more recent study of two English primary schools found that these notions vary according to the social class make up of the school
In a largely sold oh class primary, where the staff said discipline was a major problem, the idea, pupil was defined as quite, passive and obedient- that is, children were defined in terms of their behaviour not their ability
By contract, the mainly middle class primary school had very few discipline problems and here the ideal pupil was defined instead in terms of personality and academic ability, rather than as being a ‘non misbehaving’ pupil.
Labelling in secondary schools
- mairead dunne and Louise gazeley (2008) argue that ‘schools persistently produce working class underachievement’ because of the labels and assumptions of teachers.
- from interviews in 9 English state secondary schools, they found that teachers ‘normalised’ the underachievement of working class pupils, seemed unconcerned by it and felt they could do little or nothing about it, where as they believed they could overcome the underachievement of middle class pupils.
- a major reason for this difference was the teachers belief in the role of pupils home backgrounds: they labelled working class parents as uninterested in their children’s education but labelled middle class parents as supportive e.g paying for music ,es so s or attending parents evening.
- led to class differences in how teachers dealt with pupils they perceived as underachieving- setting extensions work for underachieving middle class pupils, but entering working class pupils for easier exams. Teachers also underestimated working class pupils potential and those who were doing well were seen as ‘overachieving’
Labelling in primary schools
- labelling occurs from the outset of a child’s educational career, as ray risst (1970) study of American kindergarten shows. He found that the teacher 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 we’re fast learners, whom she labelled ‘tigers’, tended to be middle class and of neat and clean appearance. She seated these at the table nearest to her and showed them the greatest encouragement
The other two groups - whom she labelled the ‘cardinals’ and the ‘clowns’ - were seated furthest away. These groups were more likely to be working class. They were given lower level books to read and fewer chances to show their abilities. E.g they has to read as a group, not as individuals.
What is the self filling prophecy?
A self fulling prophecy is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it have been made, interactionists argue that labelling can affect pupils achievement by creating a self fulling prophecy
What are the three steps of the self fulling prophecy?
Step 1: the teacher labels a pupil (e,g as being very intelligent) and in the bassi of this label, makes predictions about him (e.g he will make outstanding academic progress)
Step 2: the teacher treats the pupil accordingly, acting as if the prediction is already true (e.g by giving him more attention and expecting a higher standard of work)
Step 3: the pupil internalises the teacher expectations , which becomes part of his self concept or self image, so that he now actually becomes the kind of pupil the teacher believed him to be in the first place. He gains confidence, tries harder and is successful. The prediction is fulfilled.
Teachers expectations - Robert Rosenthal and leonora Jacobson (1968) study
This study shows the self fulling prophecy at work.
They to,d a school that they had a new test specially designed to identify those pupils who would ‘spurt’ ahead. This was untrue. And the teachers believed it. The researchers tested all the pupils, but then picked 20% of them purely at random and told the school that these students would spurt ahead.
When they returned to the school they found that almost half (47%) of those identified as Spurtes had indeed made significant progress. The effect was greater on younger children.
This demonstrates the self fulling prophecy: simply by accepting the prediction that some children would spite ahead, the teachers brought it about.
Underachievement and the self fulling prophecy
The self fulling prophecy can also produce underachievement. If teachers have low expectations of certain children and communicate these expectations in their interaction, these children may develop a negative self concept. They may come to see themselves as failures and give up trying, thereby fulling the original prophecy
What is streaming?
Streaming involves separating children into different ability groups or classes called ‘streams’ each ability group is then taught separately from the others for all subjects. Studies show that the self fulling prophecy is particularly likely to occur when children’ are streamed
Streaming - Becker
Shows that teachers do not usually see working class children as ideal pupils. They tend to see them as lacking ability and have low expectations of them. As a result, working class children are more likely to find themselves put in a lower stream
Once streamed, it is usually difficult to move up to a higher stream; children are more or less locked into their teachers low expectations of them. Children in lower streams ‘get the message’ that their teachers have written them off as no hoppers. This creates a self fulling prophecy in which the pupils live up to their teachers low expectations by underachievement. E,g Douglas found that children places in a higher stream at the age of 8 had improved their IQ score by Age 11
The middle class ans streaming
Middle class pupils tend to benefit from streaming. They are likely to be placed in higher streams, reflecting teachers view of them as ideal pupils . As a result, they develop a more positive self concept, gain confidence, work harder and improve their grades.
Exam league tables
Gilborn and Youdell link streaming to the policy of publishing exam league tables. These rank each school according to its exam performances. Schools need to achieve good grades to achieve a good league table position if they are trying to attract pupils and funding.
The A to C economy
Publishing league tables creates what gilborn and youdell call an ‘A to C’ economy’ in schools. This is a system in which schools focus their time, effort and resources on those pupils that see having the potential to get five grade Cs and so boost the schools league table position
What is the educational triage?
The rationing of educational opportunity.
Gillborn and Youdell call this process the ‘educational triage’. Which means sorting. In which the schools categorise pupils into three types
- those who will pass anyway and can be left to get on with it
- those with potential, who will be helped to get a grade C or better
- hopeless cases, who are doomed to fail
Teachers do this using a stereotypical view or working class and black pupils as lacking ability. As a result they are likely to be labelled as ‘hopeless cases’ and in the bottom sets which produces the self fulling prophecy
What is pupil subculture?
A pupil subculture is a group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns, pupil subcultures often emerge as a response to the way pupils have been labelled and in particular as a reaction to streaming
Colin Lacey’s (1970) and pupil subculture
Colin Lacey’s concepts of differentiation and polarisation explain how pupils subcultures develop:
Differentiation - refers to the way that teachers categorise or ‘differentiate’ between pupils according to stereotypes about ability, appearance etc. setting and streaming are forms of differentiation as well as ‘foundation’ and ‘higher’ tier exam differentiation
Polarisation - this is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of the two opposite ‘poles’ or extremes. Lacey found that streaming polarised boys into pro or anti social school subculture.
