topic two - class differences - internal factors. Flashcards
What is meant by “labelling”?
To attach a meaning or definition to them.
How might teachers label their pupils?
Calling them names such as bright or thick, troublemaker or hardworking.
What are interactionists interested in?
How people attach labels to one another and the effects that this has on those who are labelled.
How have interactionists researched labelling?
Through small scale face to face interactions between individuals such as in classrooms or playgrounds.
What type of sociologist is Becker?
An interactionist sociologist.
What does Becker believe about labelling?
> interviewed 60 Chicago high school teachers.
teachers judged pupils according to the pupil’s work, conduct and appearance.
how closely the student fit an image of the ‘ideal pupil’ influenced how teachers would judge.
How does Becker’s research link to social class?
Teachers saw children from middle class backgrounds as the closest to the ideal and working class children as furthest away from it because they regarded them s badly behaved.
What does Hempel-Jorgensen believe about labelling?
> different teachers may have different notions of the ideal pupil.
↳ may be based on these social class make up of the school.
most students at Aspen Primary School were working class
↳ most ideal pupil was described as quiet, passive and obedient.
➝ defined in terms of their behaviour not ability.
most students at Rowan Primary School were middle class
↳ most ideal pupil was described as interactive.
➝ defined in terms of personality and academic ability.
What does Dunne and Gazeley believe about labelling?
> labelling and assumptions of teachers leads to working class students underachieving in secondary schools.
interviewed in 9 english state secondary schools.
underachievement for working class pupils was normalised by teachers, seemed unconcerned and felt they could do little or nothing about it.
underachievement for middle class was viewed as something they could overcome.
the teachers’ belief in the role of the pupils’ home backgrounds caused this difference
↳ labelled working class parents as uninterested in their children’s education.
↳ labelled middle class parents as supportive in ways such as paying for music lessons or attending parent evenings.
teachers’ response to dealing with underachieving students were different depending on their class
↳ middle class would be set extension work.
↳ working class would be entered into easier exams.
What does Rist believe about labelling?
> children’s home backgrounds and appearance was used to place children into separate groups.
students who sat at the front were those who teachers decided were fast learners, middle class, beat and clean appearance and showed them greatest encouragement
↳ labelled tigers.
students who sat at the back were those who were working class and were given lower level books to read and fewer chances to show their abilities
↳ read as a group rather than individuals.
➝ labelled cardinals and clowns.
What is meant by “self-fulfilling prophecy”?
A prediction that comes true simply because it has been made.
What are the steps to the self-fulfilling prophecy?
❶ teacher labels a pupil and on the basis of this label makes predictions of them.
❷ teacher treats the pupil accordingly, acting as if the prediction is already true.
❸ the pupil internalises the teacher’s expectation which becomes part of their self-concept, so they actually become the type of pupil the teacher believed them to be in the first place therefore the prediction is fulfilled.
What does Rosenthal and Jacobson believe about the self-fulfilling?
> had a new test specially designed to identify those pupils who would ‘spurt’ ahead however it was just a standard IQ test.
↳ ‘spurters’ were really chosen at random.
almost half (47%) of chidlrne who were labelled as ‘spurters’ made significant progress
↳ greater effect on younger children.
supposed tes results influnced the teachers’ beliefs about the pupils
↳ the way they interacted such as bod language, amount of attention and encourgement given had changed.
by accepting the prediction that some children would spurt ahead the teachers brought it about.
random selection showed that if teachers believe a pupil to be a certain type, they can become that type.
What are the issues with the self-fulfilling prophecy?
> can produce underachievement
↳ low expectations that are communicated through their interaction causing the children to develop a negative self concept.
↳ see themselves as failures and give up trying fulfilling the original prophecy.
What is difference between setting and streaming?
Streaming is where children are grouped in different ability groups or classes across all subjects according to their general academic ability whereas setting is where children are grouped by ability according to that specific subject.
