social class sociologists for class

Question 1

Jeffries

Answer 1

by age 7, those who experienced childhood poverty had significantly fallen behind those who hadn’t in maths, reading, other tests

Question 2

Howard Becker

Answer 2

interviewed 60 teachers in chicago, found they shared an image of the ‘ideal pupil’ who conforms to middle-class behavioral standards… students from middle-class backgrounds were closest to the ideal whilst those from working-class were furthest from it, and likely to be negatively labelled

Question 3

Rosenthal & Jacobson

Answer 3

randomly selected 20% of primary school pupils at a US school, gave teachers false info about their IQ scores. teachers told one group was bright and another was not. pupils re-tested a year later and found that pupils performed in line with info that had been given to teachers. criticised for being unethical

Question 4

Gillborn & Youdell (2)

Answer 4

teachers tend to expect more from middle-class students. saw black-caribbean boys, whatever their class, as less able and more disruptive.
A-C economy and educational triage system also

Question 5

Tony Sewell

Answer 5

black caribbean boys made up 32% of a student population, yet 85% of those excluded

Question 6

Lacey

Answer 6

subcultures formed due to streaming. bottom stream pupils formed anti-school subcultures

Question 7

Margaret Fuller

Answer 7

afro-caribbean girls negatively labelled by racist teachers; kicked back and worked alone and succeeded

Question 8

Douglas (2)

Answer 8

IQ of pupils deemed less able and placed in the bottom stream fell over time, whereas those in the top stream increased
measured parental interest by the number of times parents visited schools and said working-class are less interested in their children’s education so kids are less motivated and less ambitious

Question 9

Stephen Ball (2)

Answer 9

social barbarism - streaming allows wealthy parents to separate their children from ‘others’ whom they consider socially and intellectually inferior. leads to greater class inequality
setting goes against principles of comprehensive schools as selection of pupils still occurs based on perceived abilities

Question 10

Paul Willis

Answer 10

‘the lads’ formed an anti-school subculture to help them deal with the low status ascribed to them in school

Question 11

Michael Ward

Answer 11

identified an anti-school subculture called ‘the boiz’ who lived in a former coal mining community in the south wales valleys. anti-school attitudes, saw little point in continuing education past 16

Question 12

Martin Mac an Ghaill (2)

Answer 12

identified an anti-school subculture called the ‘macho lads’, rejected schools values and authority and saw school as unsuitable for ‘real men’
identified ‘the geeks’ academic achievers who saw hard work and educational achievement as the road to success. came from upper-working class backgrounds

Question 13

Emily Tanner

Answer 13

children from poorer families less likely to attend after-school clubs due to costs. working class may be in jobs as well as education

Question 14

David Bull

Answer 14

families in poverty are more likely to be in deprived areas where 90% of schools are failing, leading to poor education

Question 15

Sugarman

Answer 15

working-class subculture socialised to short-term hedonism
fatalism: acceptance of situation instead of working to improve it
immediate gratification: working-class students encouraged to see only short-term goals. get job now. middle-class see the value of deferred gratification
collectivism: loyalty to the group rather than emphasis on individual achievement

Question 16

Hyman

Answer 16

working-class place a self-imposed barrier to improving their position, placing low value on education because they don’t value achieving high status jobs and believe they don’t benefit from education… so they don’t try. education is only a prelude to getting a manual job

Question 17

Bernstein

Answer 17

language has a major impact on achievement. working-class in east london use a restricted speech code, schools use elaborate. textbooks, teachers, exam papers, etc. middle-class excel

Question 18

William Labov

Answer 18

harlem speech codes were just as complex as white speech codes, just different.

Question 19

Pierre Bourdieu -> capital

Answer 19

education system based on culture of dominant classes. middle-class at an advantage as they have the right cultural capital. working class don’t have access to cultural capital.
economic capital gives advantage too.

Question 20

Pierre Bourdieu -> habitus

Answer 20

habitus: social class’s habitual way of thinking, acting and being. middle-class habitus is positive towards education. middle-class imposes its habitus on the school system. working-class habitus may be nike identity

Question 21

Reay et al

Answer 21

cultural differences between classes affected choice of university. working-class wouldn’t apply for red brick

Question 22

Putnam

Answer 22

social capital: networks and relationships bring success