Setting & Streaming Flashcards
Define setting and streaming
Setting: put into diff ability groups for diff subjects e.g. set 1 for maths
Streaming: put into ability grouping for all subjects e.g. upper/middle/lower stream.
-Affects attainment as it can raise it for those at top and lower for those at bottom
-Teachers put w/c+EMs in lower sets- discriminate.
-Ability is fixed when pupils=sets-assumes this is their ability but can change
Mac an Ghaill
Found teachers main concern=top sets-given priority-have most experienced teachers-high expectations-teachers respected them
Ward
Found bottom sets seen-low ability+unlikely to succeed-less experienced teachers-info taught according to assumption of ability
What does Boaler say about lower sets?
‘Lower sets are like psychological prisons…it just breaks all ambition’
Outline Hallam and Hurley´s research
45 mixed comprehensives England-representing 3 types of ability grouping.
Mixed ability schools: MA classes w/ setting in no more than 2 subjects in yr 9
Partially set: Setting-no more-2 subjects-yr7 increasing to max- 4-yr 9
Set: Setting in at least 4-from yr 7
Findings of Hallam and Hurley
Didn’t matter what technique used-schools using setting still get same avg grade as those who used mixed ability. +Can generalise-large sample-representative
Garmoran
Survey research-UK/ US/ Germany/ Belgium/ Japan/South Africa
High sets gain, low lose- gap between high & low achievers widens- overall skl results-these gains of high achievers are cancelled out by losses of low
-m/c-high sets, w/c-low-reinforces inequality + social class gap widens- to solve: academic standards-low sets-to be raised- incl entry to higher edu+access to jobs
Lacey (links to subcultures)
S&S-can lead to subcultures. Lacey’s concepts-differentiation + polarisation -explains devlpmnt pupil subc. Differentiation=When teachers s/s pupils according to how they see ability/behaviour- seen as more able=placed in high s/s.
Polarisation=Occurs as result of s/s-when pupils respond by moving towards opp group
