Pupil Subcultures Flashcards
What are pupil subcultures ?
Pupil subcultures are a group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns , pupil subcultures can often emerge as a response to the way pupils have been labelled and in particular as a reaction to streaming
How does Lacey explain how pupil subcultures develop ?
-Differentiation - is the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability to, attitude and behaviour . Streaming is a form of differentiation
-Polarisation - is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of the 2 opposite poles , either a pro or anti school subculture
What is differentiation ?
Differentiation refers to the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability to, attitude and behaviour eg streaming
What is polarisation ?
Polarisation is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite poles either a pro or anti school subculture
Who tend to form pro school subcultures ?
Pupils placed in high streams who are largely middle class tend to remain committed to the values of the school . They gain their status in the approved manner through academic success . Their values are those of the school so form pro school subculture
Who tend to form anti school subculture ?
Those placed in low streams tend to be working class suffer a loss of self esteem as the school has undermined their self worth by placing them in a position of inferior status
The label of failure pushes them to search for alternative ways of gaining status , usually Turing uprise down the schools value of hard work , obedience and punctuality
Such pupils will form an anti school subcultures as a means of gaining status among their peers , for example by checking a teacher , truanting , not doing homework , smoking etc
What did Ball find when a school abolished streaming ?
Ball found that when the school abolished banding , the basis for pupils to polarise into subcultures was largely removed and the influence of anti school subcultures declined
Never less , although pupil polarisation all but disappeared , differentiation continued . Teachers continued to categorise pupils differently and were more likely to label middle class as cooperative and able to
What are the 4 other responses to pro and anti school subcultures as well as pro and anti school subcultures put forward by Woods ?
-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
Response to labelling and streaming - Ingratiation ?
Ingratiation is being the teachers pet
Response to labelling and streaming - Ritualism ?
Ritualism is going through the motions and staying out of trouble
Response to labelling and streaming - Retreatism ?
Retreatism is daydreaming and mucking about
Response to labelling and streaming - Rebellion ?
Rebellion is outright rejection of everything the school stands for
What are some criticisms of the labelling Theory ?
-Labelling theory has been accused of determinism , that is it assumes that pupils who are labelled have no choice but to fulfil the prophecy and inevitably fail
-Marxists also criticise the labelling theory for ignoring the wider structures of power within which the labelling takes place , the labelling theory tends to blame teachers for labelling pupils but fails to explain why they do so
