Social class and education- internal factors Flashcards
What do internal factors mean?
Interactionalist’s theory
The w/c underachievement is due to the interactions between pupils and teachers + institutions can determine if pupils are successful or not
what are different internal factors?
-stereotyping, labelling and the
self fulfilling prophecy
-setting and streaming
-unequal access to classroom knowledge
-pupil subcultures
-wider educational policy’s
Rutters beliefs’ on teachers part to play in students achievement?
Schools make a difference on success and failure
Teachers have an important role to play for success
Rutters characteristics of good teachers?
Teachers should be:
-well prepared for lesson
-high expectations
-emphasis or reward and punishment not punish and blame
-teachers lead by example e.g. punctual
-teachers treat pupils as responsible people
-mixed ability classes
-generate an ethos
-genuine interest
What does the labelling theory suggest?
To label someone as bright and hardworking compared to those who are thick, trouble makers and unable
Creating stereotypes based on ideal pupil based on class background
Becker and labelling?
interviewed 60 high school teachers and found that teachers stereotype based on work, conduct + appearance
means the m/c are ideal and w/c arent
Hargraves and labelling?
We get the halo affects
the ideal pupils get imaginary halos in educational career
future interactions with teachers based on halos
Circous and Kitsuse on labelling?
Counsellors assess students based on social class and race
Play a large role in judging students ability of a course
M/C students referred to more academic and high ability courses
Rists theory of labelling?
Labelling starts at primary school
Found in american kindergartens teachers use info about child’s background to place pupils in different groups
Findings of Rists theory’s?
-Fast learners called tigers and were sat near the teacher and got lots of attention usually m/c
-Cardianals and clowns further away from teachers, lower reading levels and get less attention. Mainly W/C
Whats the self fulfilling prophecy?
when teachers label children as dumb or clever. Pupils take this in and believe that are what there labelled as so therefore either do well or not
stage 1- teacher labels
stage 2- teachers interact on labels
stage 3- pupil internalises
Rosenthal and Jacobson theory on the self fulfilling prophecy?
R&J told school about an ability test to identify the ‘spurters’ (smart children).
All pupils tested and R&J selected 20% of students and identify them as spurters lying to the teachers
-a year later 43% of students made significant progress compared to other 53%
R&J came to the conclusion that the teachers interact with the spurters differently to other pupils. The pupils internalise this and do better than ‘non spurters’
Unequal access to classroom knowledge- Keddie?
Found teachers unevenly distribute knowledge
High ability students have a higher status knowledge
Low ability students get a lower status knowledge
What consist of low ability vs high ability groups?
-High ability groups- maily w/c, abstract knowledge,theoretic, detailed and a full curriculum
-Low ability groups- mainly m/c descriptive knowledge, common sense, basic and dumbed down
Hargraves and setting+streaming?
Damaging to the w/c
Stops them from gaining rewards
Sets are contradictory in term of own progress frustration (anti school subcultures)
Status created + new set of values
Ball beachside comprehensive- setting and streaming?
-setting has negative consequence on pupils
-At beachside comprehensive streaming and setting fazed out and replaced with mixed ability’s
-Ball still found teachers differentiate between social class reflecting exam results creating the self fulfilling prophecy
Lacey hightown grammar- subcultures? the 2 concepts?
differentiation- teachers differentiated pupils based on ability, setting and streaming included
-polarisation, ways pupils respond to differentiation
What are the two ways differentiation dealt with in polarisation?
The pro school subcultures
The anti school subcultures
What is the pro school subcultures?
-Associated with m/c
-positive stereotypes, labelling
-halos
-high sets and streams
-high status knowledge and more attention
-high expectations
-positive self fulfilling prophecy
-warmed up
What is the anti school subcultures?
-Associated with the w/c
-negative stereotypes and labeling
-no halos
-low sets and streams
-low status knowledge and less attention
-low expectations
-negative self fulfilling prophecy’s
-cooled down
Wider educational policy’s- Education reform act 1988?
Margret thatcher introduced schools to resemble a marketplace to get competition
Introduction of forual funding, league tables and free marketisation/ parentocracy
How do league tables, formula funding and free marketisation increase competition affecting social class?
Puts pressure on schools to perform and do better on league tables to attract more students
- schools therefore spend more time and recourses on able students to boost position, usually m/c
Barlett- what is cream skimming?
Selecting higher ability pupils to look better and be more likely to succeed, usually m/c
Barlett- what is silt shifting?
‘off loading’/turning away pupils who prove to be difficult and expensive to teach, usually w/c
Gillbourn and Youdell- Rationing education A-C education?
Due to pressure of league tables and formula funding schools rationing time on most able students creating a triage of education
Education triage diagram?
> A- Those who pass either way- less time and resources m/c
/
Pupils –> B- Borderline case-
\ A Lot of time and
\ recourse’s w/c
>
C-Hopeless case- less
recourses and time -W/C
Critics of internal factors- Marxist?
Ignores wider structural problems e.g. inequality’s due to capitalism
Criticisms of internal factors- Stereotypes?
-Assumes all teachers label and stereotypes’ pupils
-Assumes once labels made it always sticks
- to deterministic
Criticisms of internal factors- Woods
Ritualism and retreatism
Critics of internal factor- Furlong?
Pupils go through many teaching so labelling isnt fixed
Criticisms of internal factor- Cultural and maternal deprivation factors?
Ignores factors such as cultural and material deprivation
Criticisms of internal factors-
Other factors
Ignores factors such as gender and ethnicity
Criticisms of internal factors- City technical collages?
Specialist voactioanl based schools have been set up to improve the educational chances of underachieving groups
