Theories of Education/Social Class Differences in Achievement Flashcards
What do Functionalists believe the purpose of education is?
The way to tramission of societys norms and values
which creates of value consensus without which social life is impossible
Society must unite individuals and establish social solidarity.
What is Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore Role Allocation state?
Select individuals for role in society
Believe inequality is necessary to ensure best roles are filled by best people through testing to match them to best jobs
What does Alfred Schutz Expansion of Education Theory state?
Developed the theory of human capital saying that higher spending on education is justified as it produces trained, flexible work force that helps te eccony also they acknowldge social class affects education levels.
What do interactionists believe the role of education is?
That all structural theories are deterministic and they claim individuals have little influence over their life’s. So it focus more on the social ways education interacts with people.
What is a self concept according to interactionist theory?
A persons self concept is a way they see themselves is result of their reaction with others. E.g pupil and teacher interaction.
What is labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy according to interactionist theory?
Teachers make sense and respond to pupil behaviour and label them as smart, disruptive, stupid etc Labelling of students could result in self fulfilling prophecy as student believe what the teacher says and internalises it.
What is the Postmodernist view of education?
Disagree with Marxists idea of large scale production and fordism with society being more flexible and class division no longer important
Society shift from fordism to post-fordism requiring skilled adaptable workers to use advanced tech
Call for Diff education system encourages self motivation and lifelong training to adapt to new work but overall education reproduces diversity not inequality
What are the Internal/External factors in education?
Internal factors: factors within the clasroom/education sytem.
External factors: factors outside the education sytem like home life or wider society.
What is streaming in education?
Different classes called streams where they taught separate from other students.
Research shows self fulfilling prophecy likely as once steamed hard to move up so locked into teachers low expectations and live up to label as underachievers
What are the advantages and disadvantages education streaming?
Adv: Teachers can work closley with students who need help, students can move up or down the streams to their ability.
Disv: Labelling=self fuffiling prophecy in streams, students in lower ability levels may be smarter but held back by their stream.
What is cultural deprivation and how does it affect learning?
Children who are inadequatley socialised at home lack basic “cultural equipment” like language, self disipline and reasoning skills to do well in school.
How could language affect a childs education according to cultural deprivation?
Bernstein says:
Working class students may use restricted code like less decriptive words and slang
middle/upper class would use elaborated code with wide vocab and complex words
What does Sugerman argue the 4 features of the working class subculture that act as barrier for education?
- Fatalism-belief in fate nothing can be done - Collectivism:value being part of group and class - Immidiate gratification:seeking pleasure/reward now - Present time orientation:present more important than future
Argues this difference is because of job security. Middle class jobs more secure and offer long term prospects encouraging time investment for good qualifications whereas working class jobs less secure and no career structure so opportunities peak at early age
What are criticisms of Cultural deprivation theory?
Keddie describes it as a myh and victim blaming, argues working class are culturally diff not deprived and only underachieve in school cause of its middle class values.
Gillbborn and Youdells study into ethnic students and labelling find?
teachers disciplined black students more and misinterpreted their behavoir as aggressive due to their “racialised expectations” making the pupils feel they being picked on and made them act out
Conclude much of conflict between white teachers and black pupils comes from racial stereotypes rather than the pupils actual behaviour
What did Mirza find about internal racism in education?
Studied ambitious black girls, found teachers discouraged their ambition and applying to professional careers
She found there was 3 types of Teachers attitudes:
- Colour blind: believe all pupils are equal but in reality allow racism to happen.
- Liberal Chauvinists: believe black pupils are culturally deprived.
- Overt racists: Believe black pupils are inferior and discriminate.
Girls tried to avoid the affects by being selective about what staff to ask for help and got on work in lesson without fully participating putting them at an disadvantage.
What were the 4 responses Sewell found to teacher labelling of black students?
Rebels: small minority but influential and part of anti school subcultures.
Conformists: largest group, pro school friends, anxious to be stereotyped.
Retreatists: small minority disconected from school and black subculture.
Innovators: 2nd largest group pro education but anti school.
Only a minority fit ‘macho black lad’ stereotype of the rebels but teachers saw all black students in this way contributing to their underachievement
What are the advantages and disadvantages or the labelling theory and pupil responses of ethnic students?
+Shows importance of student and teacher interactions and teacher racism.
-ignores wider society racism and determenistic as assumes all students will self-fufil their label.
Why did Chubb and moe think state run education in the USA failed?
Didjt create equal opportunity and failed needs of disadvantaged groups
Not efficient and doesn’t give skills for the economy
Private schools better quality education as answerable to parents
What did Chubb and moes research find?
Compared research of 60,000 pupils from low income families in state and private schools
found they did 5% better in private schools
What system does Chubb and moe propose to introduce market education?
Families given vouchers to spend on education from school of own choice
Will make schools become supportive of parents wishes and have to compete like businesses
What does the new right believe about education?
State education bad as it has “one size fits all” approach with local consumers having no say in how it’s run=less qualified workforce and worse economy
Propose marketisation of education giving consumer choice to parents
But still believe state provided important roles in national curriculum and framework for schools to compete eg league tables
How did ball criticises the new right approach to education
Competition largely benefits middle class as they can use cultural and economic capital to gain access to better schools
What did Hargreaves’s study into teachers and secondary schools find?
3 stages to labelling in class
Speculation: teacher makes guesses based on appearance/likeability and relationships with other students
Elaboration: looks for evidence that confirms or contradicts judgment
Stabilisation: teacher feels they know pupil and not surprised by what they do and will be students to defy that label
What did Gillborn and Youdel education triage research find?
Teachers use ‘common sense understanding of ability’ which in reality leads to stereotyping of working class and black students
Put them into 3 groups
High ability= achieve without support
Middle ability=achieve with support
Low ability= underachieve no support
What is Bowles and Gintis reproduction theory?
Captalism requires submissive workforce to accept role as exploited and alienated workers.
Education role is to reproduce obedient workforce + accept inequality as inevitable called reproduction theory and class of origin=class of destination
Study of New York high school students found schools reward submissive and compliant personality traits, creative/independent students=low grades where obedient students=high grades
What do Bowles and Gintis believe about meritocracy?
Social class determines success. myth of meritocracy justifies privileges of higher classes to make it seem they worked hard
Blames poverty on individual failing rather than capitalism and myth of meritocracy is taught through hidden curriculum
What did Althusser believe about education and capatalism?
Education acts as ideological state apparatus maintaining rule of bourgeoisie in two ways:
Reproduces class inequality by transmitting values to each generation and failing working class pupils
Justifies class inequalities by making ideologies that persuade working class to accept their place in society to make them less likely to challenge captalism
What does talcott parsons meritocracy theory state?
After primary socialisation (parents) school takes over acting as bridge between familu and society
In families kids treated on particularistic standards (apply to 1 person) but in education judged on universalistic standards (apply to everyone)
Both society and education operate on meritocratic principles so schools are society in miniature preparing us from family to society
What did Douglas find about working class parents attitudes to education?
Placed less value on education and less ambitious in career prospects and interested giving less encouragement.
This resulted in children having lower levels of motivation and achievement
How do working class and middle class attitudes to education differ?
Working class more harsh discipline and give less independence,
do not support child’s learning and leave it to them,
do not see importance of spending money on education resources
Middle class consistent discipline and encourage learning,
encourage activities that support learning eg museams,
had higher incomes so could provide education resources
How does housing affect education achievement
Overcrowded houses means less room for revising or homework and less sleep
Also means lack of play space for developing children
What does Washbrook say about health and housing for working class children?
Children from low income families more likely to be in crowded, damp, unsafe and dirty accommodation
Combined with poor diets this can result in tiredness and illness which makes learning harder and more abscences
