Social Class - Internal Factors Flashcards
Labelling
Labelling someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. Studies show how teachers often attach such labels regardless of the pupils ability or attitude.
Howard Becker - carried out a study of labelling, based on interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers. He found that they judged pupils according to how closely they fitted the image of the ‘ideal pupil’
Pupils work conduct, appearance were key factors
Labelling in secondary and primary schools.
Secondary schools-
Dunne and Gazeley argue that ‘schools persistently produce WC underachievement’ Teachers often seem unconcerned with those who underachieve however felt they could overcome underachievement in MC pupils.
A major reason for this was the teacher’s belief in the pupils home backgrounds.
Primary school-
Ray Rist - study found that teachers used information about the child’s background and appearance to place them into separate groups.
Tigers - Fast learners, MC, clean and neat appearance, seated next to the teacher and showed encouragement.
Cardinals + Clowns - WC, seated away from her and had lower level books to read.
Self fulfilling prophecy
Prediction that comes true simply by having it made. Interactionists argue that labelling can affect a pupils achievement.
Step 1: Teacher labels a pupil and makes a prediction about them.
Step 2: Teacher treats the pupil accordingly acting as if the prediction is already made.
Self fulfilling prophecy
Prediction that comes true simply by having it made. Interactionists argue that labelling can affect a pupils achievement.
Step 1: Teacher labels a pupil and makes a prediction about them.
Step 2: Teacher treats the pupil accordingly acting as if the prediction is already true
Step 3: Pupil internalises the teachers expectations which becomes part of their self image.
Streaming (BECKER)
Streaming involves separating children into different ability groups or classes.
- Each ability group is then taught separately - studies are shown that the self fulfilling prophecy is likely to occur when the child is streamed.
BECKER- shows how teachers do not usually see WC pupils as the ideal student therefore WC students will see themselves in lower streams.
Once streamed it is difficult to move up, children are then locked into their teachers low expectations of them.
This created self fulfilling prophecy in which pupils live up to their teachers low expectations of underachieving.
A to C economy
Gillborn and Youdell-
show how teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to stream pupils.
WC pupils are seen as not having the ability to succeed. As a result are placed in lower streams and entered in for lower tier GCSE’s
Gillborn and Youdell link streaming to exam league tables - They call it the
A TO C economy where schools focus their time, effort and resources on the pupils with ‘potential’ so they can boost the league tables.
Educational triage
Students are categorised into 3 types:
- those who will pass so left to get on with it.
- Those with potential, grade c+
- those who are doomed to fail
The need to gain a good league table position drives educational triage.
Pupil subcultures
Colin Lacey -
Differentiation is the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability. Streaming is a form of differentiation as you separate pupils into separate classes.
Polarisation, process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite poles.
Anti school subculture
Those placed in lower streams suffer a loss of self-esteem
— The school has undermined them and their self-worth by placing them in a position of inferior status. This label of failure pushes for search for alternative ways of gaining status, usually this involves rebelling the schools values of hard work, obedience & punctuality.
They form an anti-school subculture as a means of gaining status among their peers, by example by not doing homework, smoking & truanting
Abolishing streaming - BALL
Stephen Ball text analysis a step further in his study of a comprehensive school that was in the process of abolishing banding (streaming)
— He found that when the school abolish banding, the basis for pupils to polarise was largely removed and the influence of anti-school subculture had declined.
— Although polarisation all but disappeared, differentiation continued teachers continued to categorise pupils differently and were more likely to label middle-class pupils as cooperative and able.
— This positive labelling was later reflected in better exam results suggesting that self-fulfilling prophecy had still occurred. This shows that class inequalities can continue as a result of labelling even without the effects of subcultures or streaming
Pupil responses
Peter Woods argues that other responses are also possible:
Ingratiation: being the teachers pet
Ritualism: going through the motions and staying out of trouble.
Retreatism: daydreaming and mucking about.
Rebellion: outright rejection
Pupils class identities and the school (Habitus)
Habitus refers to learned, taken for granted ways of thinking, being and acting that are shared by a particular social class .
It includes:
- their tastes
- preferences about lifestyles
- consumption
- the outlook on life
- expectations about what is normal or realistic for people like them
A groups habitus is formed as a response to its position in the class structure .
— The school has a middle class habitus this gives middle-class pupils an advantage well working-class culture is regarded as inferior.
Pupils class identities and the school (Symbolic capital and violence)
Schools have got a middle class habitus
— Pupils who have been socialised at home into middle-class tastes gain symbolic capital as they are recognised by the school and are deemed to have worth or value .
— The school devalues the working class habitus so that working class pupils tastes are deemed to be tasteless and worthless.
ARCHER found that working class pupils felt that to be educationally successful they would have to change how they spoke and presented themselves.
— For working-class students educational success is often experienced as a process of ‘losing yourself
Nike identities
Symbolic violence leads to working class pupils creating alternate ways of self-worth status and values they do so by constructing meaning for class identities for themselves they invest heavily in styles especially through consuming branded clothing such as Nike .
— girls created hyper heterosexual feminine styles
— the right appearance earned symbolic capital and approval from peer groups and bought safety from bullying
— at the same time it lead to conflict with the schools dress code reflecting the middle class habitus teachers opposed ‘street’ styles are showing bad taste or even as a threat pupils who adopted street styles risk being labelled as rebels
Class identity and self exclusion
Despite class inequalities in education many more working-class young people now go onto university even here the clash between working-class identity and the habitus of high education is a barrier to success, this is due to the process of self exclusion
