Social Action Theories- Processes Within School + Pupil Identity

Question 1

Becker

Answer 1

‘The ideal pupil’ identity
Teachers judge pupils against ideal pupil identity. Factors used to create this are internal/external and not always linked to intelligence

Question 2

‘Halo effect’

Answer 2

When pupils become stereotyped either favourably/unfavourably based on earlier impressions

Question 3

What can ideal-pupil-comparison lead to?

Answer 3

Labelling resulting in setting, subcultures, self fulfilling prophecy. Overall impacting way students see themselves

Question 4

Process within school: Labelling

Answer 4

• studies show process is very quick and is early on in educational career where the teacher feel like they know the pupil
• highlights that labelling can impact sets, exam tiers, marks, table groupings. Once the labels are made they are difficult to remove

Question 5

Processes within schools: Self-fulfilling prophecy Rosenthal and Jacobson

Answer 5

Came into schools and made them do a placebo IQ test where 20% were randomly chosen to be labelled as ‘geniuses’. 47% of them made significant progress because of teachers beliefs about pupils had been influenced . Changed beliefs to ‘bright/naughty’ students

Question 6

Criticism of self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 6

Some students will reject the labels and prove them wrong

Question 7

Setting: Keddie

Answer 7

• A stream (high) - middle class taught abstract theoretical knowledge
• C stream (low) - working class taught descriptive common knowledge
• withholding high status knowledge from C stream increases class differences in achievement

Question 8

Setting and streaming impact on attainment

Answer 8

Top set= taught more

Question 9

Advantages of setting - functionalist and new right

Answer 9

• incentive to work hard
• easier to teach- tailor lessons
• allows students brightest ones to strive

Question 10

Disadvantages of setting - Marxist (reinforce class divide)

Answer 10

• impact tier of exam
• can be based on behaviour rather than ability
• can cause subcultures
• mixed ability can encourage students to help one another

Question 11

Explain educational triage

Answer 11

1- walking wounded= pass anyway
2- die anyway= hopeless cases
3- chances of survival= potentials
Schools focus on students who are potentials (grade 3/4) to get schools statistics of students passing up

Question 12

How did marketisation lead to educational triage?

Answer 12

Turned education competitive marketplace where pupils and parents use power to force standards to improve. Introduced formula funding where schools received funding per pupil and league tables introduced to rank each schools on gcse grades

Question 13

Term: cream skimming

Answer 13

Selecting higher ability who gain best results and cost less to teach. More popular schools

Question 14

Term: Silt shifting

Answer 14

Off loading pupils with learning disabilities who are expensive to teach and get poor results to less popular schools.

Question 15

Lacey

Answer 15

Low achievers form anti-school culture bc in position of inferior status so search for diff way of gaining status by inverting school values. Gain status and respect from peers. Likely become self-fulfilling prophecy of educational failure

Question 16

Mac an Ghail

Answer 16

There’s range of school subcultures so cannot generalise explainations

Question 17

Hey

Answer 17

Informal social control serves to prop up a dominant ideology of female proletariat- girls conform to society’s female stereotypes

Question 18

Green

Answer 18

8 different subcultures eg compliance opportunism ritualise retreatism colonisation rebellion

Question 19

2 subcultures of school

Answer 19

1- anti school: can’t gain respect from teachers by being smart, get from friends
2- pro school: academically able and gets respect from teachers

Question 20

Hargreaves

Answer 20

process of labelling very quick and teacher feels like know a pupil and is early on in educational career

Question 21

Rist

Answer 21

American kindergarten- teachers used info ab children’s home background and appearance to separate them into different tables

Question 22

Sewell

Answer 22

black students disciplined excessively by teachers who were socialised into racist attitudes and felt threatened by the students masculinity and sexuality

Question 23

Griffin

Answer 23

Young white working-class girls created small friend groups where deviance defined by sexual behaviour rather than trouble making. Girls concerned with their future in terms of marriage market

Question 24

Bourdieu- social class

Answer 24

Habitus- culture of social class
Symbolic capital
Symbolic violence

Question 25

Archer- social class

Answer 25

Working class- to be educationally successful=change way spoke and presented- like losing yourself. Symbolic violence led the to seek alt ways of creating self-worth, status, violence in investing in styles - NIKE IDENTITIES. Style performances policed by peer groups, not conforming= social suicide

Question 26

Evans- social class

Answer 26

Working class girls, south london, reluctant to apply to elite unis. Ones who did- felt sense of hidden barrier and of not fitting in. Had strong attachment to their locality

Question 27

Arnot- ethnicity

Answer 27

Black boys role model as ultra tough ghetto superstar. Many black boys subjuect to powerful anti educational peer group pressure. Barrier to success- pressure from other boys. Speaking in standard english and doing well= suspicious and seen as selling out to the white establishment

Question 28

Fuller

Answer 28

Black girls rejection of labels

Question 29

Sewell

Answer 29

problem= lack of fatherly nurturing/ tough love for black boys, results in finding it hard to overcome emotional and behavioural difficulties of adolescence. Street gangs of fatherless boys offer black boys perverse loyalty and love

Question 30

Gilbourn and Mirza

Answer 30

Teachers RACIALIZED EXPECTATIONS about black pupils which could lead to labelling

Question 31

Connell- gender

Answer 31

HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY- associated with male dominance and power, laddish culture, aggression and hetrosexuality.

Question 32

Mac an Ghail

Answer 32

Male peer groups put boys under pressure to not take school work seriously. Working class boys- didnt make effort, middle class boys- effortless achievement, try hard to succeed in private. MALE GAZE- males look girls up and down seeing them as sexual objects, way of survelliance, dominant ,masculinity reinforced, feminity devalued

Question 33

Reay- gender

Answer 33

Shaun- primary school was toughest guy, good at football. Went to secondary school, wanted to become good student found it difficult bc still valued relationships with old friends and identity as tough guy and good footballer

Question 34

Archer- gender

Answer 34

Asian students- laddish group displaying hegemonic masculinity, labelled as stupid. Seen as stupid- positive trait setting boys apart from girls. Boys argued behaviour was natural

Question 35

Lees- gender

Answer 35

SEXUAL DOUBLE STANDARDS- sexual morality where boys brag about their sexual expoloitys whereas gils are labelled as slags if do same. Sexual conquests= boys gain status, girls classes as promiscuous

Question 36

Louise Archer- gender

Answer 36

Girls who dont conform to traditional gender idenitites disadvantaged bc came into conflict with the school. Spent time and money on appearance to look sexy and feminine giving them sense of power and status. Peer group policed this

Question 37

Ringrose- gender

Answer 37

Young girls and women subject to SLUT SHAMING and sexual bullying eg punished for violating dress code policies by dressing in percieved sexually provactive ways, having casual sex. Young girlks cant do well in school if dont have positive sense of self and feel safe from issues of gendered violence and sexual bullying