Internal Factors Leading To Class Differences In Achievement

Question 1

What is labelling ?

Answer 1

To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. For example. Teachers may label pupils as bright or a trouble maker.

Question 2

What are interactionists interested in ?

Answer 2

Interactionists study small scale face to face interactions between individuals , they are interested in how people attach labels to one another, and the effect that this has on those who are labelled.

Question 3

What was Becker’s interactions study of labelling?

Answer 3

Becker’s study was based on interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers he found that teachers judged pupils according to now closely they fitted an image of ideal pupil. The teachers saw children from middle class backgrounds as the closest to the ideal and working class children as furthest away from ideal pupil image because regarded them as badly behaved.

Question 4

What did hempel Jorgensen find out about how the ideal pupil varied?

Answer 4

Hemper Jorgensen found that the notions of ideal pupil vary according to the social makeup of the school
In a largely working class aspen primary school, where staff said discipline was a major problem the ideal pupil was defined as quiet, passive and obedient.
However, in a mainly middle class Roman primary school which had very few discipline problems, ideal pupil was defined by their academic ability rather than benaviour.

Question 5

What did Dunne and gazeley discover about labelling in secondary schools?

Answer 5

Duane and gazeley found that teachers normalised the underachievement of working class pupils and seemed unconcerned by it and feet they could do little or nothing about it, whereas they believed they could overcome the underachievement of middle class pupils. A major difference was teacher’s belief in working class parents as uninterested in their Childs education but middle class parents as supportive eg paying for music lessons, attending parents evenings. This led to differences in how teachers felt with underachieving pupils, for middle class would set extensions out for working class they would enter them for easier exams.

Question 6

What did Rists study show about labelling in primary school ?

Answer 6

Rists found that teachers used information about children’s home background and appearance to place them in separate groups, seating each group at different tables ‘ those the teachers decided were fast learners were labelled as tigers and tended to be middle class and of nest and clean appearance, this group were seated at the table nearest to her and showed the greatest encouragement, the other 2 groups were labelled cardinals and clowns. Who were seated further away this group were more likely to be working class and were given lower level books to read and less chances to show their abilities eg read as a group and not individuals.

Question 7

What is a self fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 7

A self fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true simply by the virtue of it having been made..

Question 8

What are the 3 steps towards a self fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 8

Step l - the teacher labels the pupil.
Step 2- the teacher treats the pupil accordingly, acting as if the prediction is already true.
. Step 3 - the pupil internalises the teachers expectations, the prediction is fulfilled.

Question 9

How do rosenthal and Jacobson show the self fulfilling prophecy at work ?.

Answer 9

. Rosenthal and Jacobson told the school that they had a new test specially designed to identity those pupils who would spurt ahead. This was untrue because the test was in fact a standard IQ test, the researchers at random identified 20% as spurters and found a year later 47% of those identified as spotters had made significant progress

Question 10

What is streaming ?

Answer 10

Streaming involves separating children into different ability groups called streams. Each ability group is then taught separately from the others for all subjects.

Question 11

Who are likely to be placed in low streams?

Answer 11

Working class pupils are more likely to be placed in low streams?

Question 12

What did Douglas find out about pupils placed in high or low streams?

Answer 12

Douglas found children placed in a low scream at age 8 suffered a decline in their IQ score by age in but those placed in a high stream af age improved their IQ score by age 11

Question 13

What did gillborn and youdell find about streaming in secondary schools?

Answer 13

Gillborn and youdell . Show how teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to stream pupils they found teachers are less likely to see working class and black pupils as having ability. As a result, these pupils are more likely to be placed in low streams and entered for lower tier GCSE’s

Question 14

What do Gillborn and Youdell argue publishing of exam league tables leads to ?

Answer 14

Publishing of league tables creates what Gillborn and Youdell call an A to C economy in schools , this is a system where schools focus their time , effort and resources on those pupils they see as having the most potential to get 5 grade c’s or above and so to boost the schools league table position. They also refer to this as educational triage.

Question 15

What are the 3 categories pupils are sorted into for educational triage produced by the A To C economy ?

Answer 15

Gillborn and Youdell argue that the A to C economy produces educational triage , schools categorize pupils into 3 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 above
-hopeless cases who are doomed to fail

Question 16

What is a Pupil subculture ?

Answer 16

A pupil subculture is a group of pupils who share similar values and behaviours patterns , pupil subcultures often emerge as a response to the way pupils have been labelled and in particular in reaction to streaming

Question 17

What are the concepts that Lacey uses to explain how pupil subcultures develop ?

Answer 17

Lacey’s concepts of differentiation and polarization help explain how pupil subcultures develop ;
Differentiation - the process of teachers categorizing pupils according to how they perceive their ability , attitude and behaviours . streaming is a form of differentiation
Polarization - Is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite poles

Question 18

Who are likely to join pro school subcultures and how do they gain their status ?

Answer 18

Pupils placed in high streams are likely to join pro school subcultures as their values are the same as the schools and they gain their status through academic success

Question 19

Who are likely to join anti school subcultures and how do they gain their status ?

Answer 19

Pupils placed in low streams are likely to join anti school subcultures as they believe the school had undermined their self worth by placing them in a position of inferior status . This label of failure pushes them to search for alternative ways of gaining status which usually involves going against the schools values of hard work , obedience and punctuality .

Question 20

What does Lacey say is the problem with joining anti school subcultures ?

Answer 20

Lacey argues that joining an anti school subculture has a negative impact on pupils as mostly results in the self fulfilling prophecy

Question 21

What did Ball find on his study of abolishing streaming ?

Answer 21

Ball found that when the school abolished banding , the basis for pupils to polarize into subcultures was largely removed and the influence of the anti school subculture declined . never less although pupil polarization all but disappeared , differentiation continued , teachers continued to categorize pupils differently and were more likely to label middle class pupils as cooperative and able.

Question 22

What did Woods argue are other responses to labelling and streaming as well as pro and anti school subcultures ?

Answer 22

Woods argues there are other responses to labelling and streaming as well as pro and anti school subcultures ;
-Ingratiation - being the teachers pet
-Ritualism - going through the motions and staying out of trouble
-Retreatism - daydreaming and mucking about
-Rebellion - outright rejection of everything the school stands for

Question 23

What is ingratiation?

Answer 23

Ingratiation refers to being the teacher’s pet

Question 24

What is ritualism ?

Answer 24

Ritualism is daydreaming and mucking about

Question 25

What is retreatism ?

Answer 25

Retreatism . Refers to outright rejection of everything the school stands for.

Question 26

What is a general criticism of the labelling theory?

Answer 26

Labelling theory has been accessed of being deterministic, that is it assumes that people who are labelled have no choice to fulfill the prophecy and fail. However, studies such as by fuller show this is not always true

Question 27

How do Marxists criticise the labelling theory?

Answer 27

Marxists criticise labelling theory for ignoring the wider structures of power within which labelling takes place. Labelling theory tends to blame teachers for labelling pupils but fails to explain why they do so

Question 28

What is meant by habitus ?

Answer 28

Habitus refers to the learned or taken for granted ways of thinning, being and acting that are shared by a particular social class

Question 29

What is the education systems habitus and how does this benefit middle class?

Answer 29

Middle class - have power to define their habits as superior so the School puts a higher value on the middle class tastes, preferences and so on.

Question 30

How do pupils gain symbolic capital ?

Answer 30

Because schools have A middle class habitus, pupils who have been socialised at home into middle class tastes gain symbolic capital

Question 31

What does bourdieu argue leads individuals to gain symbolic violence ?

Answer 31

School devalues the working class habitus and define their tastes and lifestyles as inferior so working class pupils gain symbolic violence.

Question 32

What was one way working class pupils tried to gain status due to symbolic violence?

Answer 32

Symbolic violence led working class pupils to seen alternative ways of gaining status one way was Nike identities.

Question 33

What did investing in Nike identities do for working class pupils?

Answer 33

Style was heavily policed by peer groups and not conforming was social suicide. The right appearance earned symbolic capital and approval from peer groups and brought safety from bullying.

Question 34

What was the problem with working class pupils investing heaving in nike identities?

Answer 34

Investing into Nike identities led to conflict with the schools dress code reflecting the schools middle class habitus of teachers opposing street styles so pupils who adopted street styles risked being labelled as rebels.

Question 35

What are the 2 reasons working class pupils give for rejecting the idea of higher education ?

Answer 35

Unrealistic - because see it is not for people like us’ but for richer, posher, cleverer people and they felt they wouldn’t fit in.
Undesirable- because would not suit their preferred lifestyle or habits eg dian’t want to have a student loan as wouldn’t be able to afford their street styles that give them their identity.

Question 36

Study by Ingram that shows working class educational success ?

Answer 36

Ingram did a study on 2 groups of working class boys , from a highly deprived area and one group had passed their 11+ exam and gone to the grammar school whereas the other group had failed and had gone to the local secondary school , the grammar school had a strong middle class habitus whereas the secondary school had a habitus of low expectations of underachieving pupils , therefore the boys who went to the grammar school felt tension between the habitus of their working class neighbourhood and that of their middle class school. For example one boy was ridiculed by his classmates for coming to school in a tracksuit on non uniform day because he was trying to fit in with his working class habitus but made him feel worthless by the schools middle class habitus , Callum the boys ridiculing is an example of symbolic violence in which he was forced to abandon his working class identity if he wanted to succeed

Question 37

How did Evans find working class identity leads pupils to self exclude themselves ?

Answer 37

Evans studied a group of 21 working class girls from a south London school who were studying for their A levels , Evans found that the girls were reluctant to apply to elite universities and the few that did apply felt a sense of hidden barriers and not fitting in , Evans also found that the girls had a strong attachment to their locality such as most girls didn’t want to move away from their home to study