lesson 10 : deviant subcultures : anti school subcultures & gangs Flashcards
what does anti-school subculture mean?
- includes students who have negative attitudes towards school
- engage in behaviour that goes against school policy & expectations
what was sewells (1997) research on anti school subcultures?
black masculinity and schooling.
- studied afro caribbean boys aged 11-16 in a comprehensive school
- many of these boys raised by lone mothers, lacked father / male role model
- boys vulnerable to peer group pressure including being drawn into gangs and forming anti school groups
- boys displayed macho forms of masculinity, wanted respect and often rejected authority figures
- subculture of “black masculinity” and the peer group was a comfort zone for young males who had been rejected by absent fathers and education system
- 18% of afro caribbean boys adopted anti school subculture
what were the four types of afro caribbean students that sewell found?
- conformist (41%)
- innovator (35%)
- retreatist (6%)
- rebels (18%)
what is a conformist student according to sewell?
education is the root to success. students conformed to norms and values of school which were incompatible with the aggressive black street culture.
what is an innovator student according to sewell?
education is seen as important, but school is rejected. students were anti school but kept out of trouble. kept their distance from conformist group.
what is a retreatist student according to sewell?
students were loners and mainly had special educational needs.
what is a rebel student according to sewell?
students rejected the norms and values of school and education. qualifications seen as worthless because they couldn’t help students get a job as society was too racist to offer them. prevented them from getting jobs. were confrontational and challenging in the classroom and often demanded respect. bought elements of black street culture into school.
give three evaluation points for sewells research.
- criticised by others as seems he is blaming afro caribbean for their own underachievement. doesn’t acknowledge real cause of failure which is institutional racism and racism in education. sewell should focus on that rather than anti school subcultures. (-)
- supported by labelling and interactionist theory (becker). black street culture and negative connotations are exaggerated in media as part of deviance amplification and moral panics. could contribute to teachers labelling these males negatively, so self fulfilling prophecy occurs. (+)
- criticism is that only 18% of afro caribbean males were rebels and formed part of anti school subculture. majority of students were positive and were and part of pro school subculture. results need to be analysed in perspective of this. (-)
what did carolyn jackson (2006) research consist of?
two projects :
- nuffield foundation : investigated boys from two schools in nw england. yr9 boys given questionnaire and 25 from each were interviewed. (semi structured)
- economic and social research council : studied boys and girls from 6 schools in n england. yr9 given 3 questionnaires and 153 interviewed (semi structured).
jackson wanted to investigate concept of laddishness and what it means
what did jackson (2006) find about laddishness?
- laddish behaviour present in both girls and boys
- girls referred to as “ladettes” who adopted laddish behaviour
- girls rejected “good girl” model and became feisty and sassy
- lads and ladettes developed an anti school subculture in which they : avoided doing school work, didn’t try and fail due to their low ability, would hide any work and efforts they made, felt stressed and embarrassed if teachers encouraged academic competition leading them to reject school
- self handicapped : behaved in ways which created barriers to success which formed anti school subculture
give four evaluation points for jackson’s (2006) lad research.
- mixed methods were used so both qualitative and quantitative data was collected, makes it reliable and valid. (+)
- good range of males and females and different ethnicities so data can be generalised and can be seen as representative of the population. (+)
- the term “laddishness” not clear as a concept. so the term needs to be operationalised and defined. needs to measured in some type of way. (-)
- social desirability might occur when answering questions. alters participants answers which can deem answers as unreliable. almost creates a new identity for participants. (-)
what did mac and ghaill (1994) find about different school cultures?
researched parnell school and focused on vocational qualifications. found school had five different school cultures that boys fit into.
- ordinary lads : belonged to non-academic peer groups, had an attitude of indifference and did not form any resistance
- macho lads : boys were academic failures who rejected school rules. valued looking after mates, being tough and having a laugh. academic work seen as feminine and males that worked hard viewed as swots
- academic achievers : mainly from skilled working class backgrounds, boys had strong work ethic. pro school and worked hard
- new enterprisers : students were enthusiastic about the new vocational qualifications and technology subjects. worked hard and critical of macho lads.
- real englishmen : middle class backgrounds and were confident and stylish. achieved academic success without seeming to work hard. regarded macho lads as trashy and vulgar. however, group still challenged school rules and didn’t respect teachers.
what does the term gang mean?
a group of young people who regularly associate together. used by media and police to refer to a group who cause harm to the community. also involved in persistent criminality, with violence often being part of group solidarity.
what did alexander (2000) research find about asian gangs?
- conducted ethnographic research of young bangladeshi males agd 14-24 in s ldn in 1990s
- violent clashes emerged between young asian males and black youth
- asian gangs formed in response to islamaphobia
- alexander stated media image of asian gang is a myth. media greatly exaggerated violence which created moral panic
why did alexander state that asian gang was a myth?
- few encounters between black and bangladeshi youths, but only minor incidents which were equivalent to school scuffles, not proper fights
- asian gang made up of mainly bangladeshi males who were loose knit and didn’t perceive themselves as a gang but friends. group did not want to develop reputation for violence, but would defend if each other were attacked
- conflict between two groups not based on racial differences, so not straightforward to assume or state that each group only contained bangladeshis or blacks.
- teachers labelled boys as gangs as they always together and been involved in fighting. this was inaccurate
