Unit 3 - Section B: Differential Achievement - Social Class - Inside: Pupil Subcultures Flashcards
Mac an Ghail
‘The Making of Men’ - predominantly WC, inner-city industrial area in Midlands. Range of subcultures - boys from WC backgrounds followed father’s footsteps in traditional working class, manual labour job roles. ‘Macho Lads’ - ability to perform heavy, physical, manual labour work allowed them to shape WC identity. De-industrialisation led to crisis of masculinity. Changes in job market and decline of traditional jobs, saw shift toward part-time jobs, ‘suited to lifestyles of women’. For those who couldn’t gain jobs, had option of: becoming upwardly mobile to gain new WC, white collar jobs. Face prospect of low paid work. Face long term unemployment. Did not have academic qualifications to move into new working class jobs - did not see value of study, followed fathers footsteps into manual labour. Women became, the main breadwinner, for first time. Reinforced crisis of masculinity as couldn’t display WC masculinity.
Willis
‘Learning to Labour’ - ‘Lads’ formed distinctive ‘counter-school subculture’ - opposed values and norms, felt superior to more conformist pupils (labelled ‘earoles’), little interest in academic work, ‘having a laff’. Identified with adult, non-school world, by smoking, drinking, sexist and racist attitudes. Saw manual work as superior to mental work. ‘Shop Floor’ - counter school subculture helped prepare them for boredom and monotony of work - adopted similar distractions. Strong hegemonic masculinity, peer group was anti-school, ‘earole’ group (conformist) seen as less masculine. Fathers often came from background where manual labour was the norm and education wasn’t valued, felt destined to follow in father’s footsteps. Those who underachieved in school more likely to form anti-school subculture, school environment often reinforces hegemonic roles.
