Social Class Inequalities - Key Concepts Flashcards
Material deprivation
A situation whereby a family is unable to provide for their child’s basic necessities required in order to be comfortable, healthy and successful in education.
Cultural deprivation
The view that some children lack the appropriate norms, values, attitudes, and skills needed to be successful in education and therefore underachieve.
Cultural capital (Bourdieu)
- The knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle-class which give them an advantage in the education system.
- Includes things learn as part of a culture and material factors
Restricted code
- Typically the speech code used by the working class
- When people speak in shorter sentences, using a limited range of vocabulary and depend more heavily on gestures than spoken word.
- Speech is predictable, more descriptive rather than analytical and is context bound
Elaborated code
- Language code typically used by the middle-class
- This is where they use more complex sentence structures and have a wider range of vocabulary.
- They also speak in a context-free way, meaning that they explain their points in full detail to other people, rather than assuming that the listener will understand their point and share their experiences.
Subculture
A subculture possesses attitudes and values which differ in distinct ways from the dominant culture
Fatalism
- Where a person believes that their future path cannot be altered so there is no point in trying to work to change their possible outcomes.
- Part of Sugerman’s 4 features of working class subculture which is a barrier to education
Collectivism
- Where a person value being part of a group above their own individual achievements.
- Part of Sugerman’s 4 features of working class subculture which is a barrier to education
Immediate gratification
- A working class value where they want to have immediate fun and pleasure, rather than making sacrifices in the short-term in order to make greater gains and access bigger rewards in future.
- Part of Sugerman’s 4 features of working class subculture which is a barrier to education
Present-time orientated
- This means that they live for the here and now, rather than thinking to the future. They do little planning ahead, for example looking into possible careers and further study routes for when they leave school.
- Part of Sugerman’s 4 features of working class subculture which is a barrier to education
Labelling
- The process of attaching a definition to an individual or group
- Often the label is a stereotype that defines all members of a group in the same way
Self-fulfilling prophecy
This is where an individual who has been labelled and treated badly by the person who labelled them, internalises the label and accepts it to be true.
Streaming
- A school groups pupils together based on ability.
- Each ability group is then taught separately from the others for all subjects
A*-C economy
This is where schools are under pressure to get a good % of children five or more Cs or above in their GCSE*, so that they can achieve a good position on league tables.
Educational triage
Refers to sorting people into three groups, based on priority and urgency of need.
Polarisation (Lacey)
- Students become divided into two opposing groups
- Those in top sets conform to the schools values achieve highly and have high status
- Those in the bottom set are labelled as failures and have low status
Differentiation (Lacey)
The ways in which teachers categorise students according to the perceived ability or behaviour this leads to streaming in setting
Pro-school subculture
- Students who conform to the aims, ethos and rules of the school.
- Pupils in upper sets are valued, rewarded by teachers and given higher status.
- Contributes to SFP as pupils believe themselves to be academically successful and therefore are more likely to achieve educational success
Anti-school subculture
- Pupils reject the aims, ethos and rules of a school and create their own alternative norms and values which goes against the schools.
- Often working class students who have been negatively labelled by teachers and developed a SFP and therefore many experience educational failure
- They lack self-esteem, feel like failures and lack status from teachers
Habitus
This refers to taken-for-granted ways of thinking and behaving
Symbolic capital
Symbolic capital is where a person has been made to feel that they have a sense of worth.
Symbolic violence
Symbolic violence is where a person is made to feel that they are worthless and of less value.
Nike identity
This is where working-class pupils wear particular brands of clothing – usual sportswear – which their working class peers will approve of. This then allows the pupils to gain a sense of symbolic capital (self-worth) from their friends, making up for the lack of approval which they receive at school.
Self-exclusion
Where working class pupils deny themselves opportunities and create their own barriers to educational progression.
Social Class
A person’s socio-economic status based on their occupation and income
Internal factors
Factors within schools and the education system such as interactions between pupils and teachers or inequalities between schools
External factors
Factors outside of the education system such as the influence of home,family background and wider society
Compensatory education policies
Providing extra support and resources to families in deprived areas to compensate for their cultural and material deprivation
Stigmatisation
Attaching a negative label to someone which can cause marginalisation and discrimination
Marginalisation
- To socially exclude an individual or group
- The process when an individual or group is pushed the edge of society and given less importance
Educational capital
Education qualifications
Setting
Pupils are divided into groups of the same ability for particular subjects
Pupil subculture
A group of students who share similar values, norms and behaviour which give them a sense of group identity and belonging
What class do better in education and does the gap in achievement grow as the child gets older?
- Middle-class pupils on average perform better than working class pupils in GCSEs and stay longer in full-time education and they make up the majority of university places
- The class gap in achievement grow wide children get older
Name the three external factors for class differences in achievement
- Cultural deprivation
- Material deprivation
- Cultural capital
Name the three internal factors explaining class differences
- Teacher labelling
- Setting and streaming
- Pupil subcultures
What did a nationwide study by the centre of longitudinal studies find?
- By the age of three children from disadvantage backgrounds are already up to one year behind those from more privileged homes
- The gap widens with age
What are the three main aspects of cultural deprivation?
- Language
- Parents education and attitudes towards education
- Working class subculture
What did Hubs-Tait find about the links between parents use of language and cognitive abilities & what type of parents are more likely to use language in this way?
- Where parents use language that challenges the children to evaluate their own understanding or abilities cognitive performance of children improves
- Educated parents
According to Hubs-Tait, how do less educated parents use language and how does it impact performance?
- Educated parents language in ways that only required children to make simple descriptive statements
- This lowers cognitive performance
Explain how cultural deprivation theorists like Bereiter & Engleman see differences in how parents use language as linked to social class.
- They claim that the language use in lower class homes is deficient
- They argue working class families communicate by jesters single words and disjointed phrases
- Therefore children failed to develop the necessary language skills and are incapable of abstract thinking and unable to use language to explain, describe, enquire or compare
- This means that working-class peoples are unable to take advantage of opportunities in school
Name the two types of speech code which Bernstein identifies differences between working class and middle-class languages that influence achievement
- Restricted code typically used by the working class
- Elaborated code typically used by the middle class
Why does Bernstein argue that the elaborated code give middle class pupils an advantage?
- Elaborated code is the language used by teachers, textbooks and exams.
- It is taken as the ‘correct way’ to speak
- It is more effective tool for analysing, reasoning and for expressing thoughts clearly and effectively which are essential skills in education
How does Bernstein’s language codes impact the way pupils feel at school and therefore impacts their success?
- Middle class children feel at home in education and more likely to succeed as they were primary socialised into using elaborated code
- Working class children are likely to feel more excluded and therefore less likely to be successful as they are lacking in the code
Does Bernstein argue that working class culture or language is inadequate?
No, instead he argues that teachers and schools ought to understand restricted code and working class culture and use it to teach, so working class pupils don’t feel excluded.
Why does Douglas argue that working class children have lower levels of motivation and achievement?
- Working class parents placed less value on education so were less ambitious for their children
- They give less encouragement and took less interest in their child’s education
- They visited schools less often and were less likely to discuss their children’s progress with teachers.
What does Feinstein argue the most important factor is affecting children’s achievement?
- Parents own education
- Middle class parents tend to be better educated they are able to give their children an advantage by how they socialise them
Name the 4 ways Feinstein identifies that parents attitudes impacts their children’s educational outcome
- Parenting style
- Parents educational behaviour
- Use of income
- Parental education
Explain how educated parents parenting style impacts their children’s educational performance
- Emphasises consistent discipline & high expectations of the children
- This supports achievement by encouraging active learning and exploration
Explain how less educated parents parenting style impacts their children’s educational performance
- Harsh and inconsistent discipline
- Emphasis on doing what your told and behaving yourself
- Prevents the child from learning independence and self-control
- Leads to poor motivation at school and problems interacting with teachers
Explain how educated parents being more aware of what is needed to help their child’s educational performance impacts them
- Engage in behaviours like reading to their children
- Teach their children letters, numbers, songs painting and drawing
- Help with their homework and establish good relationships with teachers
- Better able to get expert advice on child rearing and are better at guiding their children’s interactions
- Able to recognise the educational value of activities like visiting libraries and museums
Explain how educated parents use of income impacts their children’s educational performance
- Have higher income
- Spend incomes to promote their child’s educational success
- Bernstein & Young found middle class mothers are more likely to buy educational toys, books and activities which encourage reasoning skills and stimulate intellectual development
- Better understanding of nutrition and its importance for child development and are able to but more nutritious food because of their higher income
Explain how less educated parents use of income impacts their children’s educational performance
- Lower income so are less likely to be able to buy resources like educational toys
- Children are more likely to start schools without the intellectual skills needed to progress
- Less likely to understand nutrition and its impact on development and therefore less able to afford nutritious food
Explain how parental education impacts their children’s educational performance
- Even within a social class, better educated parents tend to have children who are more successful at school
- Explains why not all children of working class parents fo equally badly and why not all parents from middle class parents are equally successful
What do cultural deprivation theorists argue that a lack of parents interest in their children’s education reflects?
Working class sub-cultural values
What do cultural deprivation theorists mean when they say that have working class have a subculture?
The working class have different goals, beliefs, attitudes and values from the rest of society which means that their children fail at school
What are the 4 key features of the working class subcultures that act as a barrier to educational achievement according to Sugerman?
- Fatalism
- Collectivism
- Immediate gratification
- Present-time orientated
How does the middle class differ from working class view of fatalism
They emphasise how you can change your position through your own efforts
How does the middle class differ from the working class view of collectivism?
They believe an individual should not be held back by loyalty to a group
How does the middle class differ from the working class view of immediate gratification?
Middle class values emphasise differed gratification where you make sacrifices now for greater rewards later
How does the middle class differ from the working class value of present time orientation?
Middle clans have a future time orientation that sees planning for the future as important
Why does Sugarman believe that this results in under achieving in schools?
Working class children internalise the beliefs and values of the subculture through the socialisation process
What does Sugarman believe is the reason why the differences in subcultural values exist?
- Middle class jobs are secure careers which offer prospects for continuous advancement which encourages ambition, long term planning and a willingness to invest time and effort to gain the required qualifications.
- Working class jobs are less secure with less career structure through which individuals can advance. There are few promotion opportunities and earning peaks at an early age.
Evaluation: Why does Keddie describe cultural deprivation as a myth?
- Sees it as a victim blaming explanation
- Argues that a child can’t be deprived of its own culture
- Working class children are simply culturally different and not culturally deprived
- They fail because the education system is dominated by middle class values
- Schools shouldn’t see working class culture as deficient but instead recognise and build on its strengths and should challenge teachers’ anti-working class prejudice
Evaluation: How do Troyna and Williams disagree with the cultural deprivation language explanation?
- Problem is not the child’s language but the schools attitude towards it
- Teachers have a speech hierarchy: Middle class speech is the highest regarded, then working class and then black speech
Evaluation: Outline 3 ways Blackstone & Mortimore’s rejection of the cultural deprivation view that working class parents aren’t interested in their child’s education
- Working class parents attend fewer parents evening because they work longer or less regular hours or are put off by the working class atmosphere
- They may want to help their child progress but lack the knowledge and education to do so
- There’s evidence that schools with mainly working class pupils have less effective systems of parent-school contacts which makes it harder for patentas to keep in touch on their child’s progress.
What are the 3 aspects of material deprivation
- Housing
- Diet and Health
- Cost of education
What are the 3 ways Flaherty evidences phi’s view that money problems in the family are a significant factor in children’s non-attendance at school?
- Exclusion and truancy are more likely for children from poorer families
- 90% of failing schools are in deprived areas
- Working class families are much more likely to have low incomes or be in inadequate housing
According to Walfodel & Washbrook how can overcrowding impact pupils’ achievement?
- Makes it harder for children to study
- Less room for educational activities e.g nowhere to do homework
- Sleep is disturbed due to sharing beds or bedrooms
- Young children’s development is implied through lack of space to safe play and explore
- Greater risks of accidents
According to Walfodel & Washbrook how does living in temporary accommodation impact pupils’ achievement?
- Move more frequently resulting in constant change of schools and therefore disrupted education
- May suffer more from psychological distress, infections and accidents
According to Walfodel & Washbrook how can health problems as a result of housing impact pupils’ achievement?
Health problems caused from cold or damp housing, accidents due to overcrowding or infections lead or more school absences which impact negatively upon pupils achievements
According to the material deprivation theorist Howard, how does health impact education?
- Young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals
- Poor nutrition impacts health e.g weakening the immune system and lowering children’s energy levels
- Leads to more absences and difficulties concentrating in class
According to material deprivation theories Wilkinson, children from poorer families are more likely to have what problems?
- Emotional and behavioural problems
- Among 10 year olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders which all have a negative impact on a child’s education
What is Bull’s cost of free schooling?
The idea that the lack of financial support means that children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that would enhance their educational achievement.
According to material deprivation theorist, Tanner et al what is a burden to families?
- The cost of items such as transport, uniforms, books, computers, calculators and equipments for sports, music and art
- As a result, poor children may have to make do with Handmedowns and cheaper equipment which may result in being isolated, stigmatised or bullied
According to material deprivation theorist Flaherty what does the fear of stigmatisation help to explain?
Why 20% of those eligible for preschool meals do not take up their entitlement
According to material deprivation theorists Smith and Noble, how does poverty act as a barrier to learning in other ways?
Inability to afford private schooling or tuition and poor quality local schools
According to material deprivation theorist Ridge, what does a lack of funds mean for children from low income families?
- They often need to work he found that children and poverty take on jobs such as babysitting cleaning and paper round
- This often has a negative impact on their schoolwork
What study did material deprivation theorist Callander & Jackson do to study the fear of debt?
They use data from a nationwide questionnaire of nearly 2,000 perspective university students
What did Callander & Jackson find from their study on fear of debt?
- Working class students saw debt negatively and something to be avoided
- Working class students saw more costs than benefits in going to university
- The most debt adverse students were typically working class and were five times less likely to apply to university the most debt tolerance students who were typically middle-class
What did matrerial deprivation theorist Reay find about financial factors restricting working class students choice of university and chances of success?
- Working class students were more likely to apply to local universities so they could live at home but this gave them less opportunities to go to the highest universities
- Working class students are more likely to work part time to fund their studies making it more difficult for them to gain higher class degrees
Evidence how dropout rates are high for universities with a larger proportion of working class students
- London Metropolitan University has a large working class intake and the dropout rate is 16.6%
- Oxford University has nearly 50% of students from private schools and has a 1.5% dropout rate
What did the national audit office find about working class students and the fear of debt?
Working class students spent 2x the time in paid work to reduce their debt compared to middle-class students
Evaluation: What do Power & Whitty argue about the extent of impact New Labour’s compensatory policies on reducing class divide in education?
Although some individual schools teachers and peoples benefited from the compensatory policies evidence suggest that they were not effective and failed to make a significant impact on the gap achievement between middle class and working class students
Evaluation: What do Kerr & West conclude about the influence of compensatory policy in reducing the class gap in achievement?
- The influence of compensatory policies are limited by factors beyond the control of the school such as what happens at home and families, communities and neighbourhoods.
- Therefore schools alone cannot solve the problem of working class under achievement because the causes are complex and deeply entrenched in anal society
Name 3 Compensatory policies aimed to lessen the class achievement gap
- Education action zones
- Education maintenance allowance
- Sure Start
How does Bourdieu differ from cultural deprivation theorist?
- He doesn’t blame the working class for their under achievement at school
- He recognises that there is an inequality in cultural capital between the middle and working class but that is the fault with the education system because it two is dominated by middle-class values and sees the working classes inferior
What do middle class children learn through socialisation which contribute to their achievement in education according to Bourdieu?
They learn skills such as being able to analyse and express abstract ideas
According to Bourdieu, what impact does the middle class culture have on middle class and working class pupils?
- Middle class pupils feel comfortable,e and confident in the education system
- Working class children feel out of place, feel unconfident and that their culture is not valued
According to Bourdieu, why does schools assessing cultural capital lead to middle class children achieve if higher?
- Teachers perceive cultural capital as intelligence and leads to them applying a positive label to middle class pupils
- Positive labelling can lead to higher achievement as they work harder to achieve their teachers higher expectations of them
What are the 3 types of capital Bourdieu identifies?
- Economic capital
- Cultural capital
- Educational capital
What does Bourdieu argue the middle class possess?
Middle class generally possess more of all 3 types of capital.
Robson supported Bourdieu’s cultural capital explanation by finding that children which possess what activities improve chances of educational success?
- Reading for pleasure
- Listening to classical music
- Participating in artistic activities
What does Robson argue cultural capital can be turned into?
- Cultural capital can be turned into educational capital
- In turn, this leads to better qualifications and a higher education
How did Sullivan assess cultural capital?
- A survey of 465 people in school
- Asked them about a range of activities such as reading and whether they visited galleries or museums
- Tested their vocabulary and knowledge of cultural figures
What did Sullivan’s survey show about cultural capital and impact on GCSE?
- Students who read complex fiction and watch serious TV documentaries developed a wider vocabulary and greater cultural knowledge which indicates a greater cultural capital
- Pupils were more likely to be successful at GCSE
What did Sullivan conclude about cultural capital?
- Where pupils of different classes had the same level of cultural capital, middle class pupils still did better.
- The greater resources and aspirations of the middle class families explain the remainder of the class gap in achievement
A number of studies into teacher labelling have been carried out by what group of sociologists?
Interactionist sociologists
How did Becker study labelling and what did he find?
- Interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers
- He found that they judged pupils according to how close the fitted the ideal pupil
According to Becker’s study into labelling, what were key factors influencing teachers judgements of pupils?
- Pupils’ work, conduct and apparence were key factors.
- The intelligence and capabilities were given less importance than pupils’ conformity to the expectations of the ideal pupil.
According to Becker’s study into labelling, were middle class or working class pupils closest to the ideal pupil?
- Middle class pupils were the closest to the ideal pupil as they tended to be well-behaved, respectful and submit to the rules and values of the school.
- Working class pupils were the furthest away from the ideal pupil as teachers regarded them as badly behaved
What research did Hempel-Jorgensen conduct into labelling and what was the overall finding?
- Researched 2 English primary schools with different class makeups
- The ideas of the ideal pupil varies based on the class make up of the school
What did Hempel-Jorgensen find out about the ideal pupil in the working class Aspen primary school?
- Discipline was a major problem
- The ideal pupil was defined as quiet, passive and obedient
- Children labelled in terms of their behaviour not ability to
What did Hempel-Jorgensen find out about the ideal pupil in the mainly middle class Rowan primary school?
- Very few discipline problems
- The ideal pupil was defined in terms of personality and academic ability
- Children were positively labelled in terms for being outgoing, clever and funny
What were the 2 overall findings of Dunn & Gazeley’s study into labelling?
- School persistently produce working class under treatment because of the labels and assumptions of teachers
- The way that teaches explained and dealt with underachievement itself, created the differences in class levels of attainment
How did Dunn & Gazeley conduct their research into teacher labelling
Interviews in nine English secondary state schools
What 3 things did Dunn & Gazeley find that teachers did?
- Normalise the under achievement of working class pupils
- Seemed unconcerned by working class underachievement and felt that they could do little or nothing about it
- Believe they could overcome the underachievement of middle-class pupils
What was a major reason for why teachers believed they could overcome middle class but not working class underachievement? (Dunn & Gazeley)
- The teachers believe in the roles of pupils home background
- They labelled working class parents is not interested in their child’s education but middle-class parents were labelled as supportive
According to Dunn & Gazeley’s findings how did labelling lead to class differences through actions of teachers?
- There is class difference in how teachers deal with pupils they perceived as underachieving
- Teachers were more likely to say extension work for underachieving middle-class pupils but they didn’t for working class and instead entered them for lower tier exams
- teachers also underestimated working class pupils potential and those who are doing well was seen as overachieving
Where’s did Rist study teacher labelling?
In an American Kindergarten
What did Rist find teachers labelled students by?
- Information on home background
- Appearance
What were the 2 groups the Kindergarten in Rist’s study split the children into?
- Tigers
- Clowns
What were the Tigers in Rists study?
- Fast learners
- Tended to be middle-class and had a neat and clean appearance
- They were seated at the table nearest to the teacher and she showed them the greatest encouragement
What were the Clowns in Rists study?
- Seated at the back of the room
- Working class pupils
- They were given lower level books to read and had a fewer chances to show their abilities
- They had to read his group, not as an individual
What are the three steps of the self fulfilling prophecy?
- The teacher labels are pupil and makes predictions about the pupil
- The teacher treats the people accordingly acting as if the prediction is already true
- The pupil internalises the teachers expectation and it becomes part of their self-concept and tries to live up to the level and becomes the people the teacher believes them to be
Where did Rosenthal & Jacobson conduct their self fulfilling prophecy study?
Oak Community School which was a Californian Primary School
Outline Rosenthal & Jacobson’s experiment?
- They told the school that they had a new test to identify which pupils will spurt ahead but it was actually a basic IQ test
- They tested all pupils but randomly picked 20% of them and falsely told the them they were ‘spurters’
- A year later 47% of the spurters had made singificant progress
What did Rosenthal & Jacobsen’s study suggest?
- The teachers belief about the pupils had been influenced by the test results and they had then communicated their beliefs to the pupils in the way they interacted with them
- This demonstrates the self-fulfilling prophecy as by simply accepting a prediction that some children would spurt ahead the teachers themselves caused it to come true
Why is it important that the 20% of students Rosenthal & Jacobson selected as spurters were random?
Strongly suggests that if teachers believe people to be a certain type, they can actually make them into that
Evaluation: Evidence how the labelling & SFP theory is too deterministic?
Fullers study found that black girls were negatively labelled stereotypes and placed into low streams. Yet some of those girls consciously chose to reject those labels and tried to prove the teachers wrong by achieving academic success without conforming to the ethos and rules of the school.
Evaluation: What do structuralist sociologists argue the labelling theory gives too much importance to?
- Teacher agency
- They argue it is the way that the education system is set up that encourages and forces teachers to label pupils for example they must test students and put them into ability groups
Evaluation: What do Marxists argue about the labelling theory & SFP?
- The labels that teachers gives to students aren’t the result of the teachers individual prejudices
- They are due to the education system itself which is prejudiced against working class students and reproduces social class inequality
What is more likely to occur as a result of streaming?
The self fulfilling prophecy because once children are placed into a lower set it is hard to move up so they internalise the label of them being underachievers.
How can we link Becker to streaming?
As Becker showed teachers do not see working class peoples as the ideal people which means that they’re more likely to be put in the lower stream or set
What did Douglas find about the impact of streaming has on children’s IQ?
- Children placed in a lower stream at 8 suffered an IQ decline by 11
- Children places in a higher stream saw their IQ improve by 11
Outline the impact of streaming in middle class pupils?
- Middle-class students tended to benefit from being placed in higher streams
- Teachers had higher expectations of their work because they fit the ideal pupil
- Students gained more confidence, had high self-esteem and worked harder to improve their grades
Where did Gilbourn & Youdell conduct their research in setting and streaming?
In 2 London secondary schools
What did Gibourn & Youdell find in their research on streaming & setting?
- Teachers labelled working class and black pupils as ‘hopeless causes’ and placed them into lower set and lower tier exams where they received less attention, support and resources.
- The placing of students into sets were linked to the pressures of teachers to perform well so they had a higher position on the league table so they carried out educational triage
How did using interactionist ideas about teacher labelling help Gilborn & Youdel?
- They saw the interactions of labelling within the wider process of marketisation of education and the pressure it puts in schools and teachers to compete for pupils.
Who did Boaler study about setting and streaming?
- Studied students aged 13-16 in maths in 2 schools if similar class and previous attainment
- School A: Taught in mixed ability classes until a few months before their GCSEs
- School B: Students were placed in 8 sets for maths at 13 where middle class pupils were placed in higher sets but working class pupils were in lower sets
Where there any differences in exam results based on class in Boaler’s study?
- School A: No significant social class differences in exam results and the results were significantly higher than school B
- School B: The higher grades that were attained were middle class pupils
Boaler conducted a second part of his setting & streaming study on the same pupils - what was it and what did Boaler find?
- 8 years later he interviewed ten former students from each school
- School A: Positive reports of their school and believed that teachers regarded everyone as a high achiever
- School B: Were very aware of their ability group placement and those from set 1 were happy but no one else was
What did Boaler conclude from his setting & streaming study?
Ability grouping in sets reproduces social class inequalities whilst mixability groups promote higher achievement for all
Who did you the Centre for Longitudinal Studies study?
2544 Year 2 pupils in the Millennium Cohort Study
What did the Centre for Longitudinal Studies find about setting and streaming?
- 1 in 6 children in primary schools were placed in set
- Pupils in top sets did better in reading and maths compared to pupils in mixed ability sets
- Pupils in bottom sets did significantly worse in reading and maths compared to pupils in mixed ability sets
What did the Centre for Longitudinal Studies find about setting and streaming & link to class?
- Working class pupils were disproportionately placed in lower streams
- Streaming particularly at an early age is likely to increase the gap between the highest and lowest achievers and between social class
What type of subculture did Willis’ ‘lads’ develop?
- An anti-school subculture which rejected the norms and values of school.
- They saw school as a waste of time and believed the didn’t need the qualifications
- Mocked those who conformed to the schools values calling them ‘sissies’
What did Willis’ “lads” anti-school subculture reflect?
- Traditional working class culture they learned from their fathers or other men in the community
- They saw manual work as tough and masculine
- Academic work was seen as effeminate
What is Willis’ lads anti-school subculture therefore an expression of?
- The masculinity they admired
- Their social class and gender
- The expectation of the manual jobs they planned on getting
Where did Mac an Ghaill study and what 3 groups did they identify?
- West Midlands Comprehensive School
- The macho lads
- The academic achievers
- The new enterprisers
Outline ‘The macho lads’ Mac an Ghaill studied.
- Working class boys made up an anti-school subculture
- Saw school as representing hostile authority and making meaningless work demands
- Placed in bottom sets for all subjects and were seen and treated as academic failures. Viewed with suspicion by teachers who made constant demands of them ‘sit up straight’
- Concerned with acting tough, having a laugh & protecting their mates
Outline ‘The Academic Achievers’ Mac an Ghaill studied.
- Male upper working class subculture
- Saw hard work and educational qualifications as the route to success
- Wanted to have a professional career & experience upward social mobility
- Highly regarded by teachers and were expected to do well so were placed in top sets
Outline ‘The New Enterprisers’ Mac an Ghaill studied.
- Chose vocational subjects like business studies
- Saw their future in the high skilled sector of the labour market
Who and where did Ward conduct his study on subcultures?
2008-2010 study amongst a secondary school and college in a former mining community in South Wales
What did the ‘boiz’ in Ward’s study display?
- Traditional working class culture
- Anti-school attitudes e.g wore colourful tracksuits not uniform
- Bullied the Geeks who conformed to school
Who did Ward’s Boiz differ from Willis’ lads?
- The Boiz had few working class jobs to go to and they recognised this so had to continue their post 16 education
- The Boiz didn’t reject academic qualifications and 4/12 went on to uni
Evaluation: Why is the working class subculture explanation for class difference in education not conclusive?
- Some studies show a response to negative teacher labelling and form anti-school subcultures
- Other studies show working class subcultures being pro school and achieving academically
- Some studies show an anti-school subculture but academic achievement
Evaluation: What do postmodernists like Bauman argue about subcultures?
- Reflect individuals cultural identities rather than being a result of teacher labelling or attitudes
- More likely to be based on music and fashion rather than be about class or school attitudes
What was the 4 research methods of Archer for Nike identities.
- Longitudinal interviews with 53 students
- Group interviews with a further 36 students across 6 schools
- Photographic diaries by some students
- Focus groups with teachers, heads of years and Connexions advisors
What year, class and ethnicity were the students studies by Archer?
- Year 10 & 11
- Working class
- Broad range of ethnicities
What was Archer concerned with and what was the aim of her research?
The lower rates of participation in Higher education by working class and minority ethnic students
What identities did young people create in Archers study and what were they based on?
- Based upon the wearing of branded sportswear
- Working class students had ‘Nike identities’
- Middle class ‘Gucci identities’
What did working class students gain from wearing Nike branded clothes?
- Symbolic capital
- A sign of their true identity
- Middle class pupils & teachers viewed it as tasteless
What was the impact Archer found of not being able to afford Nike?
Students would be mocked for wearing lesser brands
What further status could boys and girls gain from their ‘Nike identities’
- Boys: If the brands were associated with sport stars and a type of black masculinity that we used to promote the brands
- Girls: Link to children wearing jewellery
Why did the development of Nike identities lead to conflict?
- Teachers class with students over wearing trainers instead of shoes wearing makeup and jewellery which led them being further marginalised at school
- Saw students wearing street clothes as a threat
- Some teachers feared that the consumer lifestyle of the working class students could leave them into being involved in illegal economic activities
What did the working class pupils that were interviewed by Archer think about uni?
- It was not for them as they wouldn’t put in with the posher or cleverer students
- Unaffordable and a risky investment
- Undesirable because it would not suit their preferred lifestyle or habitus as they didn’t want to live off a student loan. They would be unable to afford the street styles that were important to their identity.
According to Archer did the working class pupils reject or accept education?
- They got the message for education was not for them
- They chose to reject it because it was not seen to fit in with their identity and way of life
What did Archer focus on?
The interactions between working class pupils identities and school. In turn how this
Reduces working class underachievement
