educational inequalities - differential achievement

Question 1

class differences in achievement
inside factors- labelling
Becker

Answer 1

found that teachers see middle class pupils as closest to the ‘ideal pupil’ in terms of performance, conduct, appearance and attitude.
Labels applied by teachers to pupils share the nature and quality of the interaction between pupil and teacher
Pupils will react to these judgments leading to a self fulfilling prophecy where the pupil internalises the label and conforms to a prediction.
Therefore working class students may be labelled as non-achievers or deviant which may lead to their lack of achievement

Question 2

class differences in achievement
inside factors-labelling
Keddie

Answer 2

Researched streaming (grouping students based on ability) found evidence of teachers expectations being less for those in bottom streams affecting teacher attitude and practise
A streamers- were trusted to work with minimum supervision and make contributions to class discussion
C streamers- needed constant social control and formed anti school subcultures.

Question 3

class differences in achievement
inside factors-labelling
hargreaves

Answer 3

Compared 2 streams of boys and found the selection of streams was closely related to behaviour. Top streams reward for behaviour whilst lower streams form anti school subcultures which increased the polarisation of the ability groups.
Process that occurred between the labelling of teachers about students:
Speculation based on guesses, working hypothesis based on interactions, elaboration testing hypothesis,= and stabilisation interpreting judgements and interactions.

Question 4

class differences in achievement
inside factors- labelling
abrahams

Answer 4

Interconnection of setting, labelling and subcultures to explain why students underachieve. Dominant class and gender ideologies of society are promoted in education by teachers, who subconsciously label students. Streaming should be stopped and trainee teachers educated to recognise labelling

Question 5

class differences in achievement
inside factors- pupil subcultures
hargreaves

Answer 5

Compared 2 streams of boys and found the selection of streams was closely related to behaviour. Top streams reward for behaviour whilst lower streams form anti school subcultures which increased the polarisation of the ability groups.
Process that occurred between the labelling of teachers about students:
Speculation based on guesses, working hypothesis based on interactions, elaboration testing hypothesis,= and stabilisation interpreting judgements and interactions.

Question 6

class differences in achievement
inside factors- pupil subcultures
mac and ghail

Answer 6

Subcultures of working class boys who followed their fathers into traditional working class manual labour jobs. ‘Macho lads’ shaped their working class identity by performing manual labour work. De-industrialisation led to their crisis of masculinity as there was a shift to part time office based roles suited to the lifestyles of women. These boys did not have the academic qualifications needed to move into new working class job roles so had no medium for displaying working class masculinity as women become breadwinners.

Question 7

class differences in achievement
inside factors- pupil subcultures

Answer 7

Studied 12 working class boys ‘lads’ forming a counter school subculture who felt superior to more conformist pupils ‘earoles.’ They showed little interest in academic work, preferred ‘having a laff’, tried to identify with the adult non-school world and saw manual work as superior to mental work. Counter school subculture prepared them for the boredom and monotony of shop floor work of local factories

Question 8

class differences in achievement
inside factors- theoretical explanations
althusser-marxist

Answer 8

Education is impacted by the infrastructure to benefit the bourgeoisie by passing on ruling class ideologies and passing on necessary skills to create a workforce. Ideological state apparatus - education is used by the ruling class to pass on ideologies and ensure the working class are kept in a subordinate position. The education system is manipulated and designed to ensure students are trained to be unquestioning, subordinate, hard working and conformist

Question 9

class differences in achievement
inside factors- theoretical explanations
bowles+gintis-marxism

Answer 9

Education serves to reproduce the capitalist relations of production with appropriate skills and attitudes. Correspondence principle- workers will adapt to the needs of the system and school corresponds to the world of work. Pupils who fit in and conform rise above those who express attitudes or behaviours challenging the system

Question 10

class differences in achievement
inside factors- theoretical explanations
durkheim-functionalist

Answer 10

Education should emphasise the moral responsibilities members of society have towards each other- passing on social solidarity and value consensus. Education ensures people have skills for a specialised division of labour and standardised testing helps to assess skills.

Question 11

class differences in achievement
inside factors- theoretical explanations
davis+moore-functionalism

Answer 11

Education performs role allocation by sorting and grading students in terms of ability which is rewarded in exam success ensuring those with highest ability are rewarded in a meritocratic society in terms of economic rewards to ensure these people fill the most functionally important roles

Question 12

class differences in achievement
outside factors-biological
eysenck

Answer 12

States that IQ is largely inherited as 60-80% is genetically based. Claims that ‘what children take out of school is proportional to what they bring to the school in terms of IQ.’ class differences in intelligence largely account for class differences in educational attainment.

Question 13

class differences in achievement
outside factors-biological
hernstein and jensen-new right

Answer 13

60-80% of intelligence is genetically based. Class differences in intelligence largely account for class differences in educational achievement.

Question 14

class differences in achievement
outside factors- material
smith and noble

Answer 14

Low income students face ‘financial barriers to learning’ as parents can’t afford school uniforms, transport, materials and textbooks leading to isolation and bullying, less likely to have an area to work at home, more likely to work part time and marketisation of schools meaning better resourced schools are in affluent areas.

Question 15

class differences in achievement
outside factors- material
Raey et al

Answer 15

Discussed the idea of economic capital which is needed to gain cultural capital having a negative impact on some students educational attainment as they miss out on it. Working class students are more likely to have part time jobs so are more likely to work longer hours reducing their chances of attaining higher grades.
25% of private school students have extra tuition compared to only 10% of state school students.
Positive evaluation: led to increases in tuition fees - increase in ‘fear of debt’

Question 16

class differences in achievement
outside factors- material
palmer

Answer 16

50% of BAME students are from low income families which will impact their life chances i.e. lack economic capital to achieve in education fully (tutors, resources etc…).

Question 17

class differences in achievement
outside factors- material
callendar and jackson

Answer 17

Surveys on 2000 prospect HE students examining attitudes to debt, class positions and decision for HE destinations.
Discussed ‘fear of debt’ and found those afraid of debt were 4x less likely to apply for university. This fear was greatest among the poor and stopped them applying completely.
UCAS - number of uk applicants to uni fell by 8.6% in 2012 when tuition fees went up.

Question 18

class differences in achievement
outside factors- cultural
douglas

Answer 18

Longitudinal study on factors affecting attainment including students health, size of family, school ect.
Most significant factor was the degree of parents’ interest in their education. Middle class parents more likely to encourage attainment and progression based on the indicator of more frequent visits to the school to discuss their childs progress

Question 19

class differences in achievement
outside factors- cultural
feinstein

Answer 19

Argued that parental interest was a significant factor in education attainment and that class differences existed in terms of support. Measured parental interest by asking for teachers judgement of how much interest parents showed in their parents education
Criticisms - attendance to school could be due to a lack of choice due to working hours rather than to a lack of interest in their child’s progress.

Question 20

class differences in achievement
outside factors- cultural
bernstein

Answer 20

Notes the importance of language upon educational attainment in relation to social class. The middle class use restricted code(informal) and elaborated code(formal) whereas the working class only have access to the restricted code.
This access of the middle class to elaborated code means they outperform the working class as they engage more in higher level discussions and can enhance their answers as is more highly rewarded.

Question 21

class differences in achievement
outside factors- cultural
sugarman

Answer 21

The working class formed a different subculture and were characterised by the following characteristics:
-fatalism: manual labour future mapped out and no attempt to change it
-immediate gratification: aim of going to work for financial reasons
-present time orientation: focused on what’s happening at time and not towards work and progressing
-collectivism: involved in anti school subcultures

Question 22

class differences in achievement
outside factors- cultural
bourdieu

Answer 22

Education system is systematically biased in favour of the culture of the dominant social classes devaluing the norms, values and knowledge of the working classes. Cultural deprivation reproducing inequalities. Middle class children have more cultural capital rewarding them more in education as their cultural assets are seen as worthy of investment and reward.

Question 23

class differences in achievement
outside factors- cultural
gerwitz

Answer 23

Argued that competition between schools benefits the middle class who can get their children into more desirable schools. Differences in economic and cultural capital lead to class differences in parents’ choice of secondary school. Middle class parents tend to be privileged skilled choosers accessing the best schools and have more economic capital meaning they can move house into areas with better schools.

Question 24

ethnic differences in achievement
inside factors- labelling+institutional racism
gillborn

Answer 24

The education system is ‘institutionally racist’ as teachers racist assumptions led them to believe that black male students would cause trouble so would see the behaviour of these students as challenging. Disproportionate amounts of black students are not entered into higher tiers - leading to their lower achievement. Caribbean boys underachievement is due to in school factors and institutional racism. He says exclusions of black boys are unjustified and white pupils committing the same acts are more likely to face less serious punishments.

Question 25

ethnic differences in achievement
inside factors- labelling+institutional racism
jasper

Answer 25

Agrees that schools are institutionally racist and claims a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs where black male students live down to negative labels given by teachers. The curriculum needs to be adapted to make it more relevant.

Question 26

ethnic differences in achievement
inside factors- labelling+institutional racism
crozier

Answer 26

Pakistani pupils ;keep to themselves’ because they are made to feel excluded and different at school. Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils had experienced: anxieties about safety, racist abuse, not feeling assemblies were relevant and career advisors believing south asian girls were bound by tradition so it was a waste of time advising them. This led to underachievement.

Question 27

ethnic differences in achievement
inside factors- labelling+institutional racism
mirza

Answer 27

Mixed methods ethnography on students and found that black african and carribean girls are ambitious, determined to succeed and have high status aspirations. Teacher typology into categories:
-over racists- displayed racial prejudice
-christians- treated pupils equally but didn’t acknowledge racial prejudice
-the crusaders- actively challenged racism
-black teachers- content teaching students regardless of ethnicity
-liberal chauvinists- promoted equality but were ill-informed

Question 28

ethnic differences in achievement
inside factors- labelling+institutional racism
mac an ghaill

Answer 28

Ethnographic study looked at relations between white teachers and 2 groups of male students with anti school values- ‘asian warriors’ and ‘african caribbean rasta heads.’ they identified that for the ‘rasta heads’ racism was the cause of their underachievement and not the attitudes of the boys themselves. Black youths systematically experience education in a different way to white pupils due to institutional racism and the ethnocentric curriculum.

Question 29

ethnic differences in achievement
inside factors-education system
abbott

Answer 29

Black boys face high exclusion rates in schools. children are educated in schools not home meaning that culture and external factors cannot be blamed for the underachievement of black males. Claims the curriculum does not do enough to be inclusive.

Question 30

ethnic differences in achievement
inside factors- education system
coard

Answer 30

The school curriculum is ethnocentric so it is based around white British viewpoint while ignoring others. White history and literature dominate the curriculum and teachers were found to be dismissive of non-standard English as a way of speaking. The culture of ethnic minorities is devalued and students become de-motivated as they can’t fully identify with the course content.

Question 31

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors- intelligence
hernstein and jensen-new right

Answer 31

Black people have lower level scores in IQ tests than white people which means they have lower intelligence levels which is the reason they underachieve in the education system.

Question 32

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors- intelligence
eysenck

Answer 32

‘What children take out of school is proportional to what they bring into the schools in terms of IQ.’

Question 33

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-material
swann report

Answer 33

Social class differences account for a high proportion of differences in achievement between ethnic groups:
-africans, bangladeshis and pakistanis are 3X more likely to be unemployed than whites
-15% of minority groups live in overcrowded homes (2% of whites)
-pakistanis are 2X more likely to be in unskilled jobs

Question 34

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-material
sewell

Answer 34

Blames the culture of black caribbean boys for their failure. Matriarchal background means they were financially deprived so turned to role models and rap culture to ‘get rich quick’ through illegitimate means. They were drawn to hyper-masculine anti school subcultures which were not conducive to learning.

Question 35

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-material
smith and noble

Answer 35

Low income students face ‘financial barriers to learning’ as parents can’t afford school uniforms, transport, materials and textbooks leading to isolation and bullying, less likely to have an area to work at home, more likely to work part time and marketisation of schools meaning better resourced schools are in affluent areas.
Applied to ethnic minorities as many live in deprivation meaning they face these barriers to learning.

Question 36

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-cultural
driver and ballard

Answer 36

British Indian families place a great value on their children’s education and push them to have high ambitions and gain good grades. This is reflected in the achievement of indian pupils who do better on average at GCSE than black and white groups

Question 37

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-cultural
archer and francis

Answer 37

Cultural factors are important in explaining the success of British Chinese students. Educational success is a big part of their identity. Parents talk to children about their future education and invest time and money in supporting children. Parents were critical of white British parents who were allowing failure to develop.

Question 38

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-cultural
bologani

Answer 38

Discusses the ‘myth of return.’ Some ethnic groups are attached to their country of origin and may one day return there-increasing the rise of islamophobia in schools. Students with family from Pakistan are more likely to take longer holidays and religious commitments. Students miss out on course content and teachers presume that they are not fully focused on their educational attainment.

Question 39

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-cultural
modood

Answer 39

Ethnic minority parents face language barriers which can negatively impact children’s educational attainment. ⅗ bangladeshi women did not speak english, ½ of pakistani women, ⅕ of pakistani and bangladeshi men. This impacts educational attainment.

Question 40

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-cultural
sewell

Answer 40

Blames the culture of black caribbean boys as they lack positive role models so are financially deprived and turn to role models in rap culture to ‘get rich quick’. Drawn to peer pressure, hypermasculinity, anti-school subculture.

Question 41

ethnic differences in achievement
outside factors-cultural
hendessi

Answer 41

States that poverty is the key factor to educational underachievement for Bangladeshi and Pakistani students. Family and culture norms and values are also important, especially for girls.