Processes inside schools Flashcards
Education
What is the hidden curriculum?
The hidden curriculum is a set of social norms and values passed onto students via schools that are not explicitly taught.
What are some examples of things which make up the hidden curriculum?
1= Punctuality
2= Dressing smartly
3= Working hard
Who came up with the hidden curriculum?
Phillip Jackson - but it was enhanced by Bowles and Gintis.
What is labelling theory?
It states that as soon as a pupil joins a class, they are compared against the ‘ideal pupil’ and are positively or negatively labelled by the teacher. If they were to be labelled as a ‘troublemaker’, they are disiplined more harshly than their classmates.
How does labelling create a self-fufilling prophecy?
Labelling can create a self-fufilling prophecy when a student internalises a label that they have been given as part of their identity. For example, a ‘troublemaker’ may behave badly because they think their teacher expects them to behave like that anyways.
Gillborn and Youdell (2000) found that ______ pupils were more likely to be _________ than their ______ classmates for the _____ behaviour, and black students felt that their teachers had low _________ for them.
black
disiplined
white
same
expectations
Tell me about the ‘spurters’ study.
Rosenthal and Jacobson went to a school and told them that 20% of children were ‘spurters’ (they were chosen randomly). They came back one year later and 48% of the supposed ‘spurters’ made significant progress.
What are the three different ways of organising students into classes?
1= Streaming
2= Setting
3= Mixed ability
What is streaming?
Streaming is where students are sorted into classes according to ability, and they stay in these groups for all or most of their subjects.
What is setting?
Setting is where students are sorted into classes according to ability, but on a subject-by-subject basis.
What are mixed ability classes?
This is where students are sorted into classes that aren’t based on ability. This means that the highest achieving students and the lowest achieving students are taught together.
What is the benefit of using setting and streaming?
When students are in ability sets and streams, they can work at their own level and pace.
What is the drawback of streaming?
Students are likely to be better at some subjects than others, so ‘bottom’ students aren’t challenged enough in certain subjects, while ‘top stream’ students struggle in some subjects.
What is a common drawback of both setting and streaming?
Both setting and streaming can lead to low self-esteem for those in the lowest ability classes.
What did Ball find regarding labelling and streaming?
Ball (1981) found that teachers had high expectations for their highest ability classes, and these students recieved more attention and encouragement, and achieved as expected, showing that setting and streaming can actually enhance differences in student achievment.
What is the benefit of mixed ability groups?
Mixed ability groups can avoid worsening gaps between pupil achievement, and can enocurage sucess school-wide as pupils who are not as bright can learn from ones who are in class.
What is a drawback of mixed ability groups?
Despite mixed ability groups, teachers still hold low expectations for lower ability students and often lower the level of their teaching to suit them.
What is a subculture?
A subculture is a group who share ideas and behaviour patterns which are different from the mainstream culture.
What did Lacey claim could be a reason for the formation of subcultures within schools?
Lacey (1970) claimed that it was a result of streaming. He did a study in a grammar school and found that even though all pupils had been selected as ‘bright’, bottom streams still formed an anti-school subculture because they were labelled as failures.
What did Fuller claim could be a reason for the formation of subcultures within schools?
Fuller (1984) looked at a group of black girls in year 11 at a comprehensive school. They were high ability, but felt that their teachers were racist so they didnt work for their teachers approval. Instead, they formed a subculture, worked alone and suceeded.
Tell me about Willis and his study of student subcultures.
Willis (1997) studied a group of boys who had formed an anti school subculture. He found that the ‘lads’ deliberately disrupted lessons as a way of gaining respect from others within the subculture. These boys were working-class and believed education was no use to them.
