Topic 2: Relationships and Processes

Question 1

Counter-culture definition and example

Answer 1

When a group of people go against the larger culture’s norms and values
E.G Amish communities in America who prefer a more simplistic life compared to consumerist, technology-consumer life in Suburbs and Cities.

Question 2

Intersectionality

Answer 2

The combinations of social factors that define a person
CAGES- Ethnicity, age, gender etc

Question 3

Shain on subcultures

Answer 3

Studied asian female subcultures in education
Asian girls were often placed in low sets and faced racist abuse and insults, this made them respond and 4 groups formed:
-Girl Gangs: Opposed school culture (Saw it as white and racist). Isolated away from main school subcultures
-Survivors: Conformed to school values to achieve academically despite facing racism and sexism.
-Rebels: Critical of what they believed was unequal gender relations in their home community and subculture of girl gangs. Named ‘rebels’ by teachers
-Faith girls: Gave priority to religion but we’re also well intergrated with other ethnic groups. Followed a ‘survival strategy’ to achieve academic success.

Question 4

Mac an Ghaill

Answer 4

-Studied WC subcultures
-Each subculture has their own definition and version of masculinity and formed a subculture in response
-Crisis of masculitnity
-Identity crisis
-Males question the need for qualifications when the tranditional male jobs they would have gone into no longer exist.

Question 5

Debbie Epstein

Answer 5

-1998
-Ladish subcultures are formed by pressure from other boys
-Students are encouraged to demonstrate their ‘masculinity’
-If they didn’t they would be called ‘sisies’ and become subject to homephobic abuse

Question 6

Michael Ward

Answer 6

-2015
-The ‘boiz’
-Lived in a welsh former coal mining community
-Unemployment was high
-Subverted dress codes, texted in class, disrupted lessons
-Difference between his study and Willis’:
-Lads had no WC job to return to as there was a closure of mines
-Therefore they were forced to stay in school post-16
-4/12 of the ‘boiz’ went to university

Question 7

Briefly outline two reasons why subcultures may form

Answer 7

-Go against conformity (Paul Willis)
-Young boys share fatalistic ideas about school and therefore abandon ideas of success in school
-Align with rules and conform
-‘Ear’ols’ share pro school subculture

Question 8

Gilborn and Youdell

Answer 8

-A-C economy/education triage
-Teachers prioritise the middle grades and are less focused on top or lowest bands

Question 9

Rosenthall and Jacobson

Answer 9

-Pygmalion effect (Self fulfilling prophecy)
1. Our actions towards others….
2. Impact others beliefs about us…
3. Cause others actions towards us…
4. Reinforce our beliefs about ourselves
-Teacher dictates the behaviour and changed theirs first, then the student changes in response

Question 10

Becker

Answer 10

‘Halo effect’
-Teachers for stereotypes, seeing pupils as favourable if they are polite, considerate, helpful, cooperative etc.
-Then teachers believe these students would be favourable in academics.

Question 11

Harvey and Slatin

Answer 11

-2013
-Showed photos of different children who had a range of social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to children who were told to rank them on intelligence from appearance
-Poorer pupils or non-white pupils were labelled as the least intelligent by the children

Question 12

Waterhouse

Answer 12

-Pivotal Identity= core identity that provides a ‘pivot’ that teachers use to interpret and reinterpret classroom situations and behaviour
-This forms pro-school and anti-school subcultures and pupil conflict

Question 13

Sewell

Answer 13

-Teachers are not inherently racist, neither are schools institutionally racist
-BUT teachers form perceptions about black boyd

Question 14

Mirza

Answer 14

-Black teachers showed no favouritism and were liked
-Christian teachers were ‘colour blind’ and ignored racism and expected little from the girls
-Overt racists, stereotyping
-Liberal chauvinists had good intentions but underestimated capabilities as teachers

Question 15

Bordieu

Answer 15

-WC students lack capital and therefore teachers form negative perceptions of them

Question 16

Reay

Answer 16

-Teachers expectations of girls were harsher than boys
-In her study girls behaviour was scrutinised more than boys doing the same thing:
-Girls w poor behaviour were seen as ‘scheming little cows’
-Boys w poor behaviour were viewed as ‘silly and mishchievous’ for the same behaviour

Question 17

Spender

Answer 17

-Boys took up 62% more of teachers time whereas girls were seen as invisible

Question 18

Link between FSM and attainment

Answer 18

From- All State Secondary Schools (1995)
0-10% FSM eligibility= 58% GCSE pass rate
over 60% FSM eligibility= 18% GCSE pass rate

Question 19

How quickly is the gap between FSM and non-FSM closing?

Answer 19

2005-2015
Non FSM improvement= 14.6+ (%)
FSM improvement= 16.5+ (%)
Gap has gone down by 1.9%

Question 20

How many Unis have less than _% of Wc in them?

Answer 20

50% of unis have less than 5% WC in them.

Question 21

__% of unis accepted less than __% of low class people who applied.

Answer 21

50% of unis accepted less than 20% of low-class people who applied.

Question 22

More than _% of Oxford uni students went to private/grammar schools

Answer 22

60%

Question 23

From 20__-20__, only _ of Oxford’s __ colleges made an offer to a black a-level applicant each year.

Answer 23

From 2010-2015, only 3 of Oxford’s 32 colleges made an offer to a black a-level applicant each year.

Question 24

How many years behind are certain students?

Answer 24

Education Policy Institute thinktank-
Most disadvantaged pupils are 2 years behind peers.
Black Carribean students are 22 months behind their peers

Question 25

Why don’t WC students go to university?

Answer 25

Material deprivation
-8/10 rely on parental financial aid for university
Cultural gap
-Lack of necessary cultural capital (Bourdieu), may be intimidating when applying to an unknown culture. E.g north-south divide
Lack of parental support
-WC parents don’t push children to apply or they don’t know how (Douglas on parental support)
Uni fees
-WC discouraged by high tuition fees
-Immediate gratification (sugarman)

Question 26

Ball

Answer 26

Beachside comprehensive
Setting, streaming and banding
WC pupils gravitated towards the lower bands became increasingly disinterested in school and joined ‘anti-school’ subcultures.
Therefore children from lower-income families left school with fewer qualifications, which reproduced class inequalities.