Topic 2; internal factors that influences educational achievement - social class Flashcards
what is labelling and what sociologist came up with the idea?
Becker - teachers judge pupils based on the idea of how closely they fit the ideal pupil; those who receive negative labels are likely to feel demotivated and thus under perform due to the deferred time away from them
what is self fulfilling prophecy?
those who are given positive labels, they react to it by creating a positive self concept, which means they are motivated to work hard and improve their grades
what sociologist conducted a study based on self fulfilling prophecy?
Rosenthal and Jacobson - teachers treated those who were falsely identified as ‘spurts’ differently; 47% of those who were identified as ‘spurts’ progressed significantly as teachers were more likely to pay attention to them and be more willing to give them feedback
what is streaming and what sociologist came up with the idea?
Gillbourn and Youdell - teachers labelled working class students as less intelligent, resulting in them being placed in lower streams; thus they are more likely to underachieve as their ability to learn will be limited because they are learning easier material than those in the higher streams
what are pupil subcultures and what TWO sociologists came up with the idea?
Lacey - differentiation and polarisation
Hargreeves - triple failures
what does differentiation mean (Lacey)?
form of streaming; those placed in higher streams will gain higher status
what does polarisation mean (Lacey)?
pupils respond to streaming by either joining a pro school or anti school subculture
what are triple failures (Hargreeves)?
- they failed their 11+
- placed in lower streams
- labelled as ‘worthless louts’
their solution to this was to create a group which provided status to those who flouted the school rules and guaranteed their educational failure - deviant behaviour in working class boys (status frustration)
what are the features of a pro school subculture?
a group of students who accept and conform to the school ethos; work hard and cooperate with teachers to achieve their academic goals
what sociologist discovered two pro school subcultures among working class students?
Ghaill
- the academic achievers - focus on traditional academic subjects to gain academic success
- the new enterprises - deny the usefulness of traditional academic subjects and instead aspire to do well in alternative, more practical subjects such as business and computing
what are the features of an anti school subculture?
a group of students who reject the school ethos; develop negative attitudes towards teachers, display rebellious and disruptive behaviour
what sociologist came up with the idea of an anti school subculture?
Willis - laddish subcultures
- working class boys viewed educational success as pointless as they were set on going into manual labour jobs requiring low skills and they valued ‘having a laugh’ more important
what are Nike identities and what sociologist came up with the idea?
Archer - working class pupils who invest in Nike identities is not only a cause of their educational marginalisation but also how they choose to express their preference for a different lifestyle; as a result working class students may choose to self eliminate from education
