Social Class Flashcards
What was Becker’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers.
=> Discovered they judged pupils according to how closely they fit with the image of an ‘ideal’ pupil.
=> Pupil’s work, conduct, and appearance were key factors influencing teachers’ judgment.
=> M/c students closest to ideal pupil whereas w/c furthest away.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What was Rist’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Teachers used information about children’s home background and appearance to place them in separate groups, seating each group at a different table.
=> Fast learners were labeled ‘tigers’ (tended to be m/c) of neat and clean appearance; they were given the greatest encouragement.
=> Other two groups – ‘cardinals’ and ‘clowns’ were seated further away (Tended to be w/c); they were given fewer chances to show their ability.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What was Dunne and Gazeley’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Schools persistently produce w/c underachievement because of labels and assumptions of teachers.
=> Interviews in 9 English State Secondary Schools – teachers ‘normalized’ the underachievement of w/c pupils; they seemed unconcerned by it and felt they could do little about it, yet they believed they could overcome the underachievement of m/c pupils.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What was Rosenthal and Jacobson’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Lied about having a new test specially designed to identify pupils who would ‘spurt’ ahead. This was untrue – the test was in fact simply a standard IQ test. However, teachers believed what they had been told.
=> The researchers tested all the pupils, but then picked 20% of them purely at random and told the school, that the test had identified these children as ‘spurters’. On returning to the school a year later, they found that almost half (47%) of those had made significant progress.
=> Teachers had conveyed their beliefs through the way they interacted with the children e.g. through body language, level of attention, or encouragement given.
=> This provides strong evidence for the idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What was Gillborn and Youdell’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Study of 2 London Secondary Schools showing how teachers use stereotypical notions of ‘ability’ to stream pupils.
=> Found that teachers are less likely to see working-class (and black) pupils as having ability. As a result, these pupils are more likely to be placed in lower streams and entered for lower-tier GCSEs; denying them the knowledge and opportunity needed to gain good grades, and widening the class gap in achievement.
=> links to the idea of the A-C economy: schools focus their time, effort, and resources on those pupils they see as having the potential to get 5 grade Cs and so boost the school’s league table position – the A-C economy produces an Educational Triage (Schools categorize pupils into 3 types: those who will pass anyway, those with potential and those who are doomed to fail).
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What is an educational triage? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
Schools categorize pupils into 3 types: those who will pass anyway, those with potential, and those who are doomed to fail.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR
What is Lacy’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
Pro/anti-school subcultures.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What is Ball’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Study of a comprehensive school that was in the process of abolishing a form of streaming/banding, in favor of mixed ability groups.
=> Discovered the influence of anti-school subcultures declined as a result of this, yet teachers continued to categorize pupils and were able to label m/c pupils as cooperative and able. This positive labeling was reflected in better exam results, suggesting a self-fulfilling prophecy had occurred.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What is Woods’ study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Pro/anti-school subcultures are two possible responses to labeling and streaming but Woods recognizes there may be more, including:
Ingratiation (“teacher’s pet”);
Ritualism (staying out of trouble);
Retreatism (Daydreaming/messing about);
Rebellion (Complete rejection of school values).
Note: Pupils may move between different types of responses, acting differently in lessons with different teachers.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What is Archer’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Found that w/c pupils felt that to be educationally successful, they would have to change how they talked and presented themselves.
=> ‘Nike Identities; w/c pupils’ investment in ‘Nike’ identities is not only a cause of their educational marginalization by the school, but it expresses their positive preference for a particular lifestyle. Thus, w/c ‘get the message’ that education is not for the likes of them and actively choose to reject it because it does not fit in with their identity or way of life.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What is Ingram’s study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Studied 2 groups of w/c catholic boys from the same highly deprived neighborhood in Belfast, where one group passed the 11+ and the other group failed it.
=> Grammar school had a strong m/c habitus of high expectations whereas secondary school had a habitus of low expectations of its underachieving pupils.
=> W/c communities place great emphasis on conformity with boys experiencing a great pressure to ‘fit in, and grammar school boys experienced a tension between the habitus of their w/c neighborhood and that of their m/c school as a result.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What was Evans’ study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Studied a group of 21 w/c girls from a south London comprehensive studying for their A-levels.
=> Found that they were reluctant to apply to elite universities such as Oxbridge and that the few who did apply felt a sense of hidden barriers and of not fitting in.
THIS IS AN INTERNAL FACTOR.
What was Douglas’ study? Is this an internal or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Found that working-class parents placed less value on education.
=> They were less ambitious for their children, gave them less encouragement, and took less interest in their education. They visited schools less often and were less likely to discuss their children’s progress with teachers.
=> Children then had lower levels of motivation and achievement.
THIS IS AN EXTERNAL FACTOR (CULTURAL DEPRIVATION).
What is Sugarman’s study? Is this an internal factor or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Argues working-class subculture has 4 key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement:
Fatalism (whatever will be, will be) ;
Collectivism (valuing being part of a group more than succeeding as an individual);
Immediate gratification (seeking pleasure now rather than making sacrifices in order to get rewards in the future);
Present time orientation (seeing the present as more important than the future so not having any long-term goals).
THIS IS AN EXTERNAL FACTOR (CULTURAL DEPRIVATION).
What is Operation HeadStart? Is this an internal factor or an external factor (if this is external, is this cultural or material deprivation)?
=> Pre-school education scheme that was introduced in the 1960s in poorer areas.
=> Aimed to develop skills and instill achievement motivation.
=> Included improving parenting skills, setting up nursery classes, and home visits by educational psychologists.
THIS IS AN EXTERNAL FACTOR (CULTURAL DEPRIVATION).
