Education pt 2 Flashcards
Sociology
What did Amelia Hempel-Jorgensen (2009) suggest about labelling?
the ‘ideal pupil’ is different according to social class make-up of the school:
Aspen primary school- mainly w/c- where discipline major problem, the school’s ideal was quiet, passive and obedient= defined by behaviour. Rowan primary school- mainly m/c- few discipline problems, so the child was defined in terms of personality and academic ability
What did Dunne and Gazeley (2008) find out about labelling in secondary schools?
persistently produce w/c underachievement because of labels and assumptions that teachers make. They ‘normalised’ w/c underachievement so did little about it but believed m/c could overcome it. Set extension work for m/c pupils but entered w/c pupils into easier exams.
What did Lacey (1970) say about differentiation and polarisation?
differentiation= process of teachers categorising pupils on how they perceive their ability- ‘more able’ gets higher status and higher stream- ‘less able’ gets inferior status and lower stream. polarisation= process which pupils respond to streaming by moving into one of two extremes- pro-school or anti-school subcultures.
What did Rist (1970) suggest about labelling in primary schools?
used home background and appearance to place in separate groups on different tables. The ‘Tigers’ were the fast-learning group- mainly m/c and of clean, neat appearance- seated closest to her and had greatest encouragement. The ‘Cardinals’ and ‘Clowns’- mainly w/c- were seated further away, given lower-level books to read and fewer chances to show their ability.
What did Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) find relating to the SFP?
told school had a test that shows the ‘spurters’- but the test was actually simply an IQ test. Picked 20% of students purely at random and told them that those were the ‘spurters’.found= when came back a year later, almost half identified as spurters made significant progress. The effects were greater on younger children.
Therefore, teachers influenced by thinking that they were a certain type and treated them as so by giving them attention and encouragement.
What did Stephen Ball (1981) find when streaming was abolished?
by teaching mixed-ability groups the basis of polarisation was largely removed and the influence of anti-school sub. declined.
BUT, differentiation continued and the positive labelling showed in better exam results.SO, inequalities continue as result of teacher labelling, even without pupil subcultures.
What did Woods (1979) suggest regarding a variety of pupil subcultures?
more than just pro and anti school subcultures: Ingratiation= teachers pet
Ritualism= going through motions and staying out of trouble, Retreatism= daydreaming and mucking about, Rebellion= outright rejection of everything the school stands for. Furlong not committed to one response but may move between them, acting differently in lessons with different teachers.
What did Douglas find out about streaming?
children placed in lower stream at age 8 had a decline in IQ by 11.streaming helps m/c as most likely to be placed in high streams, reflecting their view that they are ‘ideal’. Children placed in higher stream at age 8 had an improved IQ by 11
What did Keddie find about access to knowledge via streaming?
unequal access to classroom knowledge with higher sets having access to higher status learning
General evaluation of Labelling
useful in showing that schools are not neutral institutions, as cultural deprivation theorists assume
deterministic- not always accept labels
Marxists= ignoring structures of power within schools. Fails to explain why teachers’ labels.
What is symbolic violence?
withholding of symbolic capital. By defining w/c as inferior, symbolic violence reproduces the class structure and keeps lower classes ‘in their place’. Archer found, w/c pupils had to change how they talked and presented themselves to be educationally successful
What is a Nike Identity?
the sports brand becomes part of the W/C pupils identity as they use it to gain symbolic capital and acceptance from peers. However, it clashes with school’s dress code, teachers find the street style as showing bad taste, they risk being labelled as rebels
What did Archer propose about Nike Identity?
the pupils’ performances of style are a struggle for recognition. While m/c see their ‘Nike identities’ as tasteless, to the w/c they are ways to gain symbolic capital and self-worth. It expresses their preference for a particular lifestyle so they may choose to self-exclude from education because it does not fit with their identity.
What did Ingram (2009) find about the relationship between W/C identity and educational achievement?
W/C boys in a grammar school felt pressure to conform and fit in with their community but felt tension in schools as a result of this not fitting in with the M/C status of the school and felt they had to abandon perceived worthless W/C identity in order to succeed.
What did Sarah Evans (2009) find about class identity and self-exclusion?
21 w/c girls in sixth form- reluctant to apply to elite universities like Oxbridge and the few that did apply felt a sense of hidden barriers to success. Plus, the girls had a strong attachment to their locality as only 4/21 intended to move away from home to study.