social class - internal factors Flashcards
Becker (1971)
ideal pupil Image matches middle class best, self fulfilling prophecy, self concept, explain…
Dunne and Gazeley (2008)
Interviews with teachers from 9 state schools – they believed home background held WC pupils back and they could do little about it, entering them for easier exams. MC underachievement was met with a more proactive approach, setting extension work with the belief that they could overcome difficulties
what did D+G (2008) conclude?
schools persistently produce WC underachievement because of the assumptions of teachers about underachievement and how to deal with it.
what can be said about the WC and organisation of teaching and learning
WC children are more likely to be placed in lower streams – this communicates low expectations and could create a self- fulfilling prophecy
what did Douglas find?
children placed in a lower stream at age 8 had declined in their IQ score by age 11. By contrast children placed in a higher stream at age 8 had improved their IQ score.
Gillborn and Youdell(2001)
teachers use stereotypical notions of ‘ability’ to stream pupils. They found that teachers are less likely to see WC (and black) pupils as having ability therefre they are placed in lower streams and entered for lower tier GCSE’s this denies them the knowledge and opportunity needed to gain good grades and widens the class gap in achievement. Teacher efforts in relationship to groups may be affected by ‘educational triage’ which is driven by the students likelihood of contributing to the schools position in the league table. Being in the lower sets is likely to result in being labelled a ‘hopeless case’.
the curriculum - what did Keddie find
teachers taught those in higher stream classes differently from those in lower streams. Teachers gave them more and different types of knowledge – which gave them greater opportunities for educational success.
Lacey’s(1970
shows how differentiating students into streams/sets leads to ‘polarisation’ and the formation of subcultures. On the whole, the high streams, largely middle class tend to be pro -school and those placed in low streams, tend to be working class and formed an anti-school subculture. Activities that promote or sabotage academic achievement then follow from these positions
Ingram(2009)
showed how academic success caused a culture clash for WC boys from a deprived area of Belfast. Boys who had passed their 11+ and attended grammar school experienced a tension between the habitus of their working class neighbourhood and that of their MC school – Both demanded conformity, success at school would mean ‘a loss of self’
