Labelling and in school factors that cause social class differences: Flashcards
P1: What did Becker (1971) find about teacher labelling?
Becker found that teachers label middle-class pupils positively as the ‘ideal student’ and working-class students negatively, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
How does Rosenthal and Jacobson’s (1968) study support labelling theory?
Their ‘Pygmalion in the Classroom’ experiment showed that students labelled as ‘spurters’ performed better due to higher teacher expectations.
How does Fuller’s (1984) study challenge labelling theory?
Fuller found that black working-class girls rejected negative labels and worked harder, showing that labelling is not always deterministic.
P2: What did *** (1981) find about setting and streaming?
Ball found that working-class students were more likely to be placed in lower streams, where they received less challenging work, leading to underachievement.
What is the ‘A-to-C economy,’ and how does it affect working-class students?
Schools focus resources on borderline students to improve league table rankings, neglecting those in lower sets (often working-class), reproducing class inequalities.
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Evaluation (AO3):
However, Marxists argue that the education system is structured to benefit the ruling class as a whole, not just through in-school factors like setting and streaming.
P3:What did Willis (1977) find about working-class subcultures?
Willis found that working-class ‘lads’ rejected school values, seeing education as pointless because they expected to end up in manual labour jobs.
What did *** (1994) identify about working-class subcultures?
He identified groups like the ‘macho lads’ who saw school as feminine and rejected authority, reinforcing underachievement.
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Evaluation (AO3):
However, labelling theorists argue that these subcultures form as a response to negative teacher labelling, rather than being an independent cause of failure.
P4:What is *** (1984) concept of cultural capital?
Bourdieu argues that middle-class students have more cultural capital (e.g., knowledge, skills, and experiences) that align with the school curriculum, giving them an advantage.
How do middle-class parents use cultural capital to benefit their children?
They can afford educational trips, private tutors, and extracurricular activities, boosting their child’s learning and performance.
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However, labelling theorists argue that teachers’ biased perceptions reinforce class differences, regardless of a student’s cultural capital.
