Ethnicity - Internal Factors - Pupil Responses&Subcultures

Question 1

How may pupils respond to teacher racism and labelling?

Answer 1

Pupils may respond in a variety of ways.
For example:
- becoming passive and withdrawn
- refusing to accept the label (prove it wrong by working extra hard).

Negative labels don’t automatically turn into self-fulfilling prophecies.

Question 2

Who did Fuller study on pupils rejecting labels?

Answer 2

Fuller (1984) studied a group of black girls in year 11 in a London comprehensive school.
These girls were untypical as they were high achievers in a school were most black girls were placed in lower streams.

Question 3

How did the pupils in Fuller’s study reject their labels?

Answer 3

The girls in Fuller’s study used their anger about being labelled to pursuit their educational success.
- they didn’t seek approval of teachers (regarded them as racist).
- didn’t limit their choice of friends to other high achievers (friends with other black girls from lower streams).
- conformed only as far as school the schoolwork itself was concerned.
- dedicated to work (but gave appearance of not doing so).
- showed a deliberate lack of concern about school routines.
- positive attitude towards academic success.
- relied on their own efforts and the fairness of external exams (rather than teacher approval).

Question 4

How does Fuller see girls’ behaviour?

Answer 4

Fuller sees girls’ behaviour as a way of dealing with the contradictory demands of succeeding in school.
- they remained friends with black girls in lower streams.
- they avoided the joking of black boys (who were mostly anti-school).
- able to maintain a positive self-image by relying on their own efforts rather than excepting negative stereotypes.

Question 5

What two important points did Fuller’s study highlight?

Answer 5

1) pupils may still succeed even when they refuse to conform.
2) negative labelling does not always lead to failure.

Question 6

What was the result of fuller’s study?

Answer 6

The girls were able to reject the labels and remained determined to succeed. There was no self- fulfilling prophecy.

Question 7

Who did Mac an Ghaill make a study on?

Answer 7

Mac an Ghaill (1992) studied black and Asian pupils.
Who were studying A levels at a sixth form college.

Question 8

How did the pupils (studied by Mac an Ghaill) respond to being negatively labelled?

Answer 8

When being negatively labelled by teachers, the pupils did not accept the label given to them.
Their response depended on factors such as their ethnic group, gender and the nature of their former schools.

For example, some girls felt that going to an all girls school gave them more academic commitment, which helped them overcome negative labels.

Question 9

What is the result of Mac an Ghaill’s study?

Answer 9

Mac an Ghaill found that a label does not always produce a self fulfilling prophecy.

Question 10

Who did Mirza do a study on?

Answer 10

Mirza studied ambitious black girls who faced teacher racism.

Question 11

What did Mirza find teachers did to black girls?

Answer 11

Mirza found that racist teachers discouraged blacks pupils from being ambitious. They achieved this by thr kimd of advice they gave them about careers and option choices.
For example, teachers discouraged them from aspiring to go into professional careers.

Question 12

What did Mirza identify as the three types of teacher racism?

Answer 12

A large majority of teachers held racist attitudes. They can be split into three types of teacher racism:
- the colour-blind
- the liberal chauvinists
- the overt racists

Question 13

What is a colour-blind racist?

Answer 13

A colour-blind racist are teachers who believe all pupils are equal but in practice allow racism to go unchallenged.

Question 14

What is a liberal chauvinist racist?

Answer 14

A liberal chauvinist racist are teachers who believe black pupils are culturally deprived and have low expectations of them.

Question 15

What are overt racists?

Answer 15

Overt racists are teachers who believe black pupils are inferior and actively discriminate against them.

Question 16

What did Mirza find that the girls did in school?

Answer 16

The girls spent most of their time avoiding teachers/the effect of the teachers negative attitudes.

They achieved this by being selective in which staff they ask for help off, they got on with their own work in lessons without taking part and chose certain option to avoid them

Question 17

What is the evaluation on Mirza’s study?

Answer 17

Although the girls had high self esteem, the strategies put the, at a disadvantage by restricting their opportunities - they were unsuccessful strategies.

Question 18

What are the 4 responses to racist stereotyping that Sewell identified in schooling that leads to underachievement?

Answer 18

Sewell identified the 4 responses which are:
- the rebels
- the conformists
- the retreatists
- the innovators

Question 19

Who were the rebels? (Sewell)

Answer 19

The rebels were the most visible and influention group, but they were only a small minority of black pupils who were often excluded from school.
They rejected both the goals and the rules of the school and would express their opposition through peer group membership.
They conformed to the stereotype of the anti-athority, anti-school ‘black macho lad’.

Question 20

What did the rebels believe in? (Sewell)

Answer 20

The rebels belived in their own superiority. Their superiority is based on the idea that blck masculinity relates with sexual experience and viriliry (having the qualities of a masculine male).
They were also disrespectful and insulting to white boys, they saw them as effeminate (unmanly), and dismissive (they acted the same way to eachother: both being contemptuous) of black boys.

Question 21

Who were the conformists? (Sewell)

Answer 21

The conformists were the largest group who consisted of black boys who were keen to succeed and accepted the schools goals and rules and had friends from different ethnic groups.
They were not apart of a subculture and were anxious to avoid being stereotyped either by their teachers or their peers.

Question 22

Who were the retreatists? (Sewell)

Answer 22

The retreatists were a tiny minority that consisted of isolated individuals who were disconnected from both school and black subcultures.
They were also despised by the rebels.

Question 23

Who were the innovators? (Sewell)

Answer 23

The innovators were the second largest group which consisted of girls who were pro-education but anti-school (similar to the girls studied in Fuller’s research).
They valued success but did not seek approval from teachers and they only conformed just for were the schoolwork itself was concerned.
This distanced them from conformists and allowed them to maintain credibility with the rebels while remaining positive about acadmic achievement.

Question 24

What did Sewell conclude about the 4 pupil responses of schooling he identified?

Answer 24

Sewell shows that only a small minority fit the stereotype of the ‘black macho lad’ (the rebels).
Nethertheless, teachers tend to see all black boys as the rebel and this contributes to the underachievement of many black boys, whatever their attitude is towards school is.
Furthermore, many of the boys’ negative atitudes is a response to this racism.

Question 25

What did Sewell evaluate about his own study?

Answer 25

Sewell recognises that tecahers’ racist stereotyping of black boys disadvantages them and can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
He argues that external factors (such as peer groups, street culture and the lack of a nurturing father) are more important in producing underachievement.

Question 26

What is one evaluation of labelling and pupil responses? (linking to internal and external factors)

Answer 26

Rather than blaming children’s home background, as cultural deprivation does, the labelling theory shows how teacher’s stereotypes can be a cause of failure.

Question 27

What is another evaluation of labelling and pupil responses? (which is supported by Gillborn and Youdell)

Answer 27

There is a danger that these stereotypes can be seen as the product of individual teacher prejudices, rather than of racism in the way that the edcation system as a whole operates.

For example, Gillborn and Youdell argue that the policy of publishing league tables creates an ‘A-C economy’ that leads to large numbers of black and w/c pupils being placed in lower streams and being entered for lower tier exams.

Question 28

What is another evaluation of labelling and pupil responses? (which is supported by Mirza)

Answer 28

There is a danger of assuming that once labelled, pupils automatically fall victim to the self-fulfilling prophecy and fail.

To support this, Mirza shows that although pupils may devise strategies to try to avoid teachers’ racism, these too limit their opportunities.