Topic 2-Class Differences in achievement-Internal Factors Flashcards
Labelling
To label someone is to attach meaning or definition to them
-teachers often attach labels to pupils regardless their abilities
-label on stereotypes.
Becker
-Studies 60 Chicago High school teachers
found that they judged people based on how closely their fitted their ideal pupil.Puipls conduct,appearance,and work is what influenced teachers judgement=see WC as lacking in ability and have low expectations of them
Jorgensen-primary schools and discipline
Found that in WC primary schools disciple was a major problem,the ideal pupil was defines as passive,quiet and obedient-children defined by behaviour,not ability.Whereas MC primary school had few disciple problems and therefore the ideal pupil was defines by personality and academic ability.
Dunne and Gazeley:
-schools continuously produce underachievement in WC
-teachers normalised underachievement
=due to labels and assumptions of teachers.
Found from interviews that teachers normalised the underachievement of WC pupils,
teachers felt unconcerned, nothing to little to do WHEREAS for MC the felt they could overcome it.
Rists-studied an american kidergarden show
found that teachers used info from children’s background homes and appearance and placed them in separate groups,sitting them at diff tables
Tigers-Rists
They were the fast learners according to teachers,tended to be MC,neat and clear appearance ,able nearest to her,showed greatest encouragement
Clowns and Cardinals-Rists
sitted furthest away from her,WC,given lower -level books to read ,fewer chances to show their abilities
SFP
Is a prediction that comes true by the virtue of having it be made
Teachers Expectations(Rosenthal and Jacobson)
-shows the SFP
Studied a primary school in california.
-Told the school they had developed a test to identify pupils who would spurt ahead.
-This was untrue as the test was a simply standard IQ test,however the teachers believed what they had been told
-Researchers picked 20% of them at random at the rest of the 80% were put on a disadvantage
-Returned to the school a year later and the ‘spurters’ had made significant progress
-teachers beliefs had influenced the child academically and therefore they had pushed them further while also given them extra help,conveying these beliefs to the pupils
-Shows SPF
Even if teachers didn’t see pupil as their ideal type they could shape them into that.
SPF can lead to underachievement
If teachers have low expectations of certain pupils it can therefore impact the way they communicate these expectations through their interactions and lead to children developing a negative self-concept=see themselves as failures and give up trying
Streaming
Involves separating children into different ability groups/classes called streams.They are then taught separately stream the others for all subjects
MC streaming
Benefits them,placed at higher streams,develop positive self concept as they are ideal pupil for teachers,gain confidence,work harder and improve their grades
Douglas
Found children placed in higher streams at age 8 had improved their IQ by age 11 and children placed at lower streams at age 8 had a decline in their IQs by the age 11
WC streaming
Placed in lower streams-difficult to move up,locked in within teachers low expectations creates SFP as children live within teachers expectations by underachieving
Streaming and the A to C economy(Gillborn and Youdell)
Found teachers are less likely to see WC(and black) pupil as having ability
=more likely to be placed in lower streams and entered for lower tier GCSEs,this denies them the knowledge needed to gain good grades and widens the gap in achievement.
-Link A to C to the exam league table-students must gain 5 and above grade A to C in their GCSEs to have a good league position
Streaming and the A to C economy
this is a system where schools focus their time,resources on pupils who have the potential to get 5 grade Cs to boost their schools league table
Educational Triage(Youdell)
-Those who will pass anyway and can be left to deal with it
-Those with potential,who will be helped to get a grade C or better
-Hopeless cases,who are doomed to fail
Pupil subcultures
A group of people who share similar values and behaviour patterns-often emerge as a response to the way pupils have been labelled
Laceys-Differentiation
-Such as streaming
The process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability,attitude,behaviour
The pro-school subculture
Placed in high streams
-tend to remain committed to their values of the school
-gain status through academic success
The anti school subculture
Placed in lower streams
-labelled as failures,seek alternative ways to gain approval-going against school values and teachers
Laceys-Polarisation
The process at which pupils respond to streaming by moving to opposite poles- anti school and pro school
Woods-found 4 types of responses to labelling and sreaming
-ingratiation=teachers pet
-ritualism=staying out of trouble
-rebellion=rejection of school
retreatism=daydreaming
Criticms of LT
-Too deterministic=assumes pupils who are labelled have no choice but to fulfill the prophecy
-Marxists argue labelling stems from teachers work in a system that reproduces class division
Understanding
negatively labelled=placed in lower stream=fulfilling the prophecy=joining anti school subcultures=guaranteed failure
Habitus
It includes their tastes and preferences about lifestyle and consumption,their outlook in life.MC define their habitus better=schools have a middle class habitus
Symbolic capital-gaining status
MC gains it due having the MC habitus they fit in and gain status and recongnition from school=deemed as worthy
Symbolic violence
WC tastes is defined as worthless therefore make the class to look at other alternatives of gaining symbolic capital.
Archer
-Found that WC had to ‘lose themselves’
in order to gain educational success-changing their appearance,looks.
-This unables to access posh MC unies and professional careers as they are ‘not for the like of us’
NIKE identities
-SV led to them to seek alternatives ways of gaining status and value
-they constructed a heavy styles identity,such as consuming brands like NIKE.
-Not conforming to this would be a social suicide.
-The right appearance earned SC from peer groups and inhibited bullying.
-HOWEVER bought conflict with school as they had a MC code dressing and therefore saw this street style as a threat -pupils labelled as rebells
-.Archer argues that schools MC habitus stigmatizes(discredit) WC identities.
NIKE identities-unrealistic and undesirable unis
UNREALISTIC-not for people like them but for rich and clever people as they would not fit in therefore seen as unaffordable and risky investment
UNDESIRABLE-doesnt suit preferred lifestyle or habitus.eg-dont wanna live in a student loan as they would be unable to afford the street life which gave them identity
Ingram
-Studied 2 groups of WC catholic boys from the same deprived neighbourhood in Belfast.
1 group passed their 11+ exam and went into a grammar school,
the other group had failed and gone to a local secondary school.
The grammar school had a strong MC habitus- high expectations and academic achievement WHILE secondary school had a habitus of low expectations of its underachieving pupils.
Found WC were inseparable from their root-gave them a sense of belonging.
Boy experienced great pressure to fit in as their was tension with the MC habitus-they were made to feel worthless from what they used to wear.
Class identity and self exclusion(Evans)
Studied a group of 21 WC girls from south London comprehensive school studying for their A-levels.Found they were reluctant to apply to elite universities such as Oxford and the few that did apply felt that there was was hidden barriers and that they didnt fit in.Found girls had a strong attachment to their local areas,only 4 of them indented to move away.Study shows how it devalues the choices and experiences of WC as worthlesss
Reay
self excluding narrows your options of a good uni and limits WC success
The relationship between internal and external factors
-WC pupils habitus and identities formed outside school may conflict with the schools MC habitus=to symbolic violence+people feel education its not for the likes of them.
-WC using restricted speech code(EF) may be labelled by teachers as less able=SFP(IF)
-POVERTY(EF)-may lead to bullying and stigmatisation by peer groups
Furlong-crtiques woods
Many people are not permanently committed to one response but move in between acting diff in diff lessons with diff teachers.
Internal Factors
-Labelling
-The Self-fulfilling Prophecy
-Streaming
-Pupil Subcultures
-Pupils’ Class Identities and the School
-Nike identities
