Topic2 Pupil Identities Flashcards
What does habitus mean
Social class affects your ways of thinking, ideas, values, preferences that are shaped by social class
What does symbolic capital mean
MC believe their habitus is superior and it should gain status and recognition from the school. MC habitus is valued over WC habitus
What does symbolic violence mean
WC are made to feel like they need to change their lifestyle and choices to be successful. However, they find this hard and so believe education is not for them as education does not except their views or make them feel part of the education system
What does Archer et al focus on
The interaction between wc pupil’s identities and school and how this produces underachievement
As many wc students felt symbolic violence, what did this lead them to create
Alternative ways of creating self-worth, status and value. They did so by constructing meaningful class identities by investing in ‘styles’ especially by wearing branded clothing such as Nike
Archer et al- although student’ appearance’s conflicted with the school dress code, what did students earn
Symbolic capital
What did Archer argue that the schools’s mc habitus leads teachers to do
Interpreting the ‘street’ style of wc pupil’s as evidence of bad taste and therefore they stigmatise wc pupil’s identities
Archer et al- what may wc pupils choose from education as a result of having ‘nike’ identities and educational marginalisation
Self-elimination or self-exclusion , in other words, not only do they ‘get the message’ that education is not for the likes of them, but they actively choose to reject it because it does not fit in with their identity or way of life
What did research by Evans find out
That the clash between wc identity and the habitus of higher education is a barrier to success- partly due to a process of self-exclusion e.g. not applying to elite universities as they are ‘not for the likes of us’
In 2013 how many girls from poor families achieved 5 or more GCSEs
40.6% of girls from poorer families achieved 5 or more GCSEs where as 67.5% of those not on FSMs
According to feminists such as Archer et al …
What is the one reason for the differences in girls acheivement
It is due to the conflict between wc girls’a feminine identities and the values and ethos of the school. In the study of wc girls she used the concept of symbolic capital to understand this conflict
Archer et al- what are the 3 strategies that girls followed for creating a valued sense of self
- hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
- boyfriends
- being loud
What does Archer say that is a wc girl’s dilema
Archer argues that wc feminine identities and educational success conflict with one another and the former leads to underachievement in the latter. They are therefore faced with a dilemma of either gaining symbolic capital from their peers by conforming to a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity or gaining educational capital by rejecting this
What did Evans find out (2)
- Evan’s research on 21 wc sixth form girls in a south London comprehensive school found that even they may be disadvantaged by their gender and class identities
- she found that girls wanted to go to university to increase their earning power to help their families rather than themselves
Research by Evans-
What does the ‘caring’ aspect of wc feminine identity produce
It produces a desire to live at home with their families while studying.
What does Connell argue that school reproduces
That school reproduces ‘hegemonic masculinity’: the dominance of heterosexual masculine identity and the subordination of female and gay identities
What do feminists argue
That experiences in school act as a form of social control to reproduce patriarchy
What are the 5 ways that school reproduces patriarchy
- verbal abuse
- male teachers
- male gaze
- double standards
- female peer pressure groups- policing identity
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-verbal abuse
What does Connell man by a ‘rich vocabulary if abuse’
It is used by pupils to police one another’s sexual identities through negative labels. Name-calling puts girls down if they behave in a certain way and act ad a form of social control to make them conform to male expectations
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-verbal abuse
What does Lees note
That boys call girls ‘slags’ if they appear sexually available, but there is no equivalent term for males
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-verbal abuse
What did Mac An Ghaill find out
That anti-school working class boys’ subcultures use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity. They called the other wc boys who worked hard, ‘dickhead achievers’ or ‘gay’ for being friendly towards teachers or girls
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-teachers
What did Haywood and Mac an Ghaill find
That male teachers reinforced gender identities by telling boys off for ‘behaving like girls’ and ignoring boys’ verbal abuse to girls
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-teachers
What do Askew and Ross argue
That male teachers’ behaviour can subtly reinforce gender e.g. ‘rescuing’ female colleagues from disruptive classes
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-the male glaze
What is this
It is a visual form of social control where male pupils and teachers look at girls ad sexual objects. Boys who don’t participate in this form of surveillance may be labelled as ‘gay’- also a form of social control
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-double standards
What does this mean
Where moral standards are applied to one group reflecting patriarchal ideology.
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-double standards
What did Lees find out
That boys boast about their sexual exploit and conquests, but label girls’ negatively for the same behaviour
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-female peer groups- policing identity
What did Archer find out
That wc girls gain symbolic capital by performing a hyper-heterosexual identity. Female peers police this identity and girls risk being called a ‘tramp’ if they fail to conform.
Ways in which school reproduces patriarchy
-female peer groups- policing identity
What did Ringrose find out
That wc girls faced a tension between an idealised feminine identity (loyalty to peer group) and a sexualised identity (competing for boys). ‘Slur shamming’ and ‘frigid shaming’ are social control labels used to police each other’s identities
