Topic 2 - Class Differences in Achievement Flashcards
labelling,self fulfilling prophecy,streaming,a to c economy, pupil subcultures, class identities.
what is labelling
to attach a meaning or definition, teachers may label a student as bright, thick or troublesome
what do teachers label upon
they label pupils based on stereotyped assumptions about their class THEY LABEL WOPRKING CLASS NEGATIVELY AND MIDDLE CLASS POSITIVELY.
beckers interactionist study of labelling
60 Chicago high school students , teachers judged accordingly on how they fit the ‘ideal pupil’
Jorgensen primary school study
teachers labelled the ideal pupil as quiet, passive and obedient- judged on their behaviour, not ability
Labelling in secondary schools - Dunne and GAzely
schools persistently produce WC underachievement , teachers normalised the underachievement of WC pupils,
THEY BELIEVED THEY COULD OVERCOME THE UNDERACHIEVEMENT OF MC.
teachers would set extension tasks for underachieving middle class pupils and entered WC for easier exams
wc pupils who were doing well were seen as overachieving
Rays rist
primary school
teacher used information from pupils home backgrounds and appearance to place them into separate groups, depending on ability
tigers, clowns and cardinals
why is the self fulfilling prophecy significant
teacher attaches label to student, teacher treats accordingly, student internalises label which becomes part of his self image
Rosenthall and Jacobson ( selkf fulfilling prophecy)
test to identify spurters, even though they were given a standard IQ test
they return to the school a year later and the spurters had made progress
why is rosenthall and jacobsons study significant ?
it shows us an interactionist principle : what people believe to be true will have real effects
it also shows us that the SFP can also produce underachievement as teachers portray their beliefs about students based on interaction
outline the definition of streaming
separating children into different groups, based on their ability
why is it hard for streamed pupils to move up
as they @get the image’ that their teachers believe that they are faliures as teachers have shone their view on them
Do middle class benefit from streaming ?
yes as they are likely to be placed in higher streams , they gain confidence and work harder on their grades
Gillborn an youdell link streaming to exam league tables, why ?
exam league tables create the A-C economy - where teachers put time into students that theyu know will achieve higher grades and boost the schools exam league table position
Gillborn an youdell link streaming to exam league tables, why ?
exam league tables create the A-C economy - where teachers put time into students that they know will achieve higher grades and boost the schools exam league table position
def differentiation
when techers catergorise pupils based on their abilty or behaviour qw
def differentiation
when teachers categorise pupils based on their ability or behaviour
Def polarisation
pupils respond to streaming by moving towards two poles - poro school subculture and the anti school
the pro school subculture
pupils that are placed in high streams- usually MC, commited to the values of the school.They have good goals,enjoy school, have regular attendance and enjoy school
the anti school subculture
placed in low streams (wc), suffer a loss of self esteem
SCHOOL HAS PLACED THEM INTO INFERIOR STATUS
gain status status from their friends eg: truanting.They dislike school, flout its rules
what are the types of pupil responses
ingratiation,ritualism,retreatism and rebellion
what is ingratiation
being the teachers pet
def ritualism
staying out of trouble
retreatism
day dreaming, mucking about
rebellion
rejection of what the school stands for
furlong
there are different types of response, acting differently with other teachers
what is a habitus
is a for granted way of thinking , thinking and acting that are shared by a particular social class, mc can define its habitus as superior, placing it on the education system so the school holds middle class values
A02- this could be the reason why middle class feel alienated
what is this :
refers to the harm done by denying someone status and value, defining their culture as worthless
symbolic violence
what is this :
status, recognition and a sense of self worth that we gain from others
eg : wc girls gain —— by performing a Nike identity
symbolic capital
Evans
wc girls from south London studying for their a levels, Reluctant to apply for places like Oxbridge universities
where does this come from
it comes from their habitus, they think about whether they would fit in
streaming
is an extreme and institutionalised form of labelling , it puts students of similar ability into one group
Lacey describes streaming as ‘differentiation’, streaming often creates the self fulfilling prophecy
streaming (ao2)
those placed in lower streams may be denied access to the same curriculum eg ( being put in for higher exams)
Lacey - lower stream students follow or join anti school subcultures because the school deprives them of a status. Therefore, students create a status hierarchy , gaining status from their peers
use material and cultural deprivation
Nike Identites
symbolic violence leads to pupil’s creating alternative identities and gain symbolic capital ( status and recognition
How would students conform to the use of nike identities?
they would wear brands that were in style , without them they would feel inauthentic. Pupils identities wer strongly gendered
the right appearance earned symbolic capital and approval from peer groups and lead them away from bullying.
do nike identities play apart in the rejection of higher education for working class students?
yes, they saw it as unrealistic as school was not for ‘people like us’, university was seen as risky and unaffordable
going into higher education was also seen as undesirable as it would not fit their desired lifestyle that would give them their identity
working vclass identity and educational success
ingrtam found that ‘fitting in’ was very difficult for wc boys
