achievement Flashcards
(71 cards)
1
Q
What is social class?
A
- Social class is the division within society based on status and wealth
- It is the strongest predictor of achievement
- There is major differences between the levels of achievement between the working class and middle class
2
Q
What are the two types of factors within education?
A
- External Factors
- Internal Factors
3
Q
What are external factors?
A
- Factors outside of school such as the family or neighborhood which the school has little control over
- These can be due to both material and cultural explanations
4
Q
What is a material explanation?
A
- Social and economic conditions
- This can be in terms of what resources and things you have to equip you outside of school
5
Q
What is a cultural explanation?
A
- Values, attitudes and lifestyles outside of school
6
Q
What are the different material factors?
A
- Poverty = Children from low income families are more likely to live in damp and overcrowded accommodation. These factors can culminate to lead to a poor diet and sickness.
- Poor Diet and Ill Health = This can lead to sickness which can lead to tiredness at school making it difficult to learn and therefore falling behind
- Lack of Money for hidden costs = For things such as uniform, trips, stationary and books which all have an impact on the child in school
- Poor Environment = Their home may not be clean enough therefore catching germs leading to absences
- Cost of Travel = Students may have to pay for transport to school which may lead to them needing to take days off to avoid spending extra money
- Part time work = This may cause conflict between the demands of schoolwork and paid work
- Damp, overcrowded housing = These students may not have a clean, comfortable space to revise where it is quiet and clean
- Lack of financial support for school = Due to living in a deprivation area, they may not be able to support the school financially and with their time
7
Q
What are the five different cultural explanations?
A
- Parents attitudes to education
- Parent’s level of education
- Subcultural explanations
- Language Codes
- Cultural Capital
8
Q
How does parental attitude towards education impact educational achievement?
A
- See and Davis found that high parental interest leads to better exam results than those children whose parents who show no interests
- Middle class parents are more likely to frequently visit the school, taking an interest in their education and further education of staying after compulsory education
- However the age of leaving school has now increased so more people are staying in further education, but university is not compulsory so it still is benefitted by middle class students
9
Q
How does parental level of education impact educational achievement?
A
Middle class parents tend to be higher educated so are more confident guiding their child academically, it also means they are able to buy better cultural experiences and have money to help their children
10
Q
How does subcultural explanations impact educational achievement?
A
- Perry and Francis suggest that class subcultures can affect educational achievement
- Middle class have deferred gratification and are socialized into effort, ambition and educational successes. This also helps them succeed as they understand the importance of hard work and effort
- Deferred gratification is the understanding that hard work over your educational time will lead to high achieving rewards
- This promotes middle class students working hard for a longer time to achieve better grades
- However working class have jobs which do not require educational qualifications and lead to present time orientation with a lack of future planning
- They are taught immediate gratification of getting pleasure instantly rather than working hard for a better reward, they also are taught fatalism which is an acceptance of the situation rather than an attempt to change it
- This means children are socialized into values and attitudes which do not encourage ambition and discourages hard working to achieve long term goals
- This can lead to failure in school due to a lack of effort due to seeing no reward after a short period of hard work
11
Q
How does language code impact educational achievement?
A
- Bernstein stated that their is restricted and elaborated code which can effect children’s educational success
- Elaborated code is detailed information, good english and to be grammatically correct
- Students do better if they understand elaborated code as it helps them understand the questions in exams, this is a middle class culture of speaking correctly
- Restricted code is using informal language, shorter sentences and slang when writing or speaking which causes educational underachievement as they would not get marked highly in exams for writing like this
12
Q
How does culture capital impact educational achievement?
A
- Bourdieu suggests that middle class possess three of the following which helps with achievement in school
- Cultural capital which is where you have cultural experiences outside of school that helps you do better in school as you already understand these things
- This can be things such as museums or holidays
- Educational Capital is where the most educational experience you have, the better you will do such as higher attendance and better schools with fits with middle class students
- Economic Capital is the amount of money you have which will affect other capitals
- These can all lead to academic success in individuals ways which allow you to gain higher grades
13
Q
What is evaluation of cultural explanations for social class?
A
- They ignore in school factors causing underachievement
- They ignore practical difficulties of parents attitudes to education such as not being able to go to school due to other priorities
- It also criticizes school as it has a middle class culture but should they change this to ensure there is not a culture clash
- There is compensatory education to make school more equal for working class students
14
Q
What are internal factors?
A
- Factors within school can affect the progress of a pupil
15
Q
What are the six different internal factors?
A
- Teacher Stereotyping, which leads to labelling and the self-fulfilling prophecy
- Streaming
- Halo Effect
- Pressure from league tables
- School Ethos
- Student Subcultures
16
Q
How does teacher stereotyping lead to social class underachievement?
A
- Teachers may hold an idea of an ideal pupil and what they expect them to do
- This can be students who are hardworking, rule following and well behaved
- This can lead to higher achieving as it creates a label of the student
- They may label a student of doing better or worse in exams
- This will affect their view of the student and how they think they will achieve
- This can be seen in Rosenthal and Jackson’s Pygmalion in the classroom of the students being labelled as high and low achievers
- This creates the self-fulfilling prophecy of how the student sees themself which they internalize and then achieve depending on their label
- Social class may depend on how the teacher sees the student which can then effect the label
17
Q
How does streaming lead to social class underachievement?
A
- Students will be put into bands for subjects based on what they could achieve
- They will stereotype results in lower sets
18
Q
How does pressure from league tables lead to social class underachievement?
A
- Schools may face pressure to achieve best grades so help the students that are more likely to do well
- They are judged on GSCE’s and A-Levels so may pressure certain students to make them achieve higher
19
Q
How does the halo effect lead to social class underachievement?
A
- A teacher may see students who look smart such as well dressed and then assess the students to do well and to be a hard worker
- They may also see the student as cooperative, positive and helpful so therefore more likely to support them
20
Q
How does school ethos lead to social class underachievement?
A
- The norms are taught through the hidden curriciulm which praise having a pro-school attitude
- The ethos teach students that they are restricted within their social class
21
Q
How does student subcultures lead to social class underachievement?
A
- Students can form both a pro and anti school subculture
- If they are in an anti-school subculture they are more likely to get placed in lower streams as labelled as being defiant to authority
- They may also support students who are in a pro-school subculture
- Use Paul Willis’ Learning to Labour study
22
Q
What is the difference between gender achievement?
A
- Girls tend to outperform boys at all levels of educational attainment
23
Q
What are six reasons for girls achieving higher than boys?
A
- Feminism
- Equal Opportunities
- Growing ambition
- Girls work harder
- Girls mature earlier
- Gender differentiated primary socialization
24
Q
How does feminism mean that girls do better?
A
- It is now a choice to educate and they have an opportunity to prove themselves
- Improving rights and raising expectations of women
25
How does equal opportunities mean that girls do better?
- They now have law and pay to prevent discrimination against women
- Girls now have the same opportunity in education
- There is an equality act to allow women in work
- However there is still a pay gap
26
How does growing ambition mean that girls do better?
- Girls now have an aspiration to work and changed their priorities
- There is less gender stereotyping and more ideas of new careers for women
- They have positive role models of women in work
- Evidence = Sue Sharpe’s study ‘Just like a Girl’
27
How does girls working harder mean that girls do better?
- There are stereotypes of girls working harder which they then fulfill
- Burns and Bracey argue that girls work harder
- There is peer pressure in friendship groups
- Girls often have a pro-school subculture
28
How does girls maturing earlier mean that girls achieve higher?
- Biologically, girls mature earlier
- Girls do better in exams because they understand the responsibility
29
How does gender differentiated primary socialisation mean that girls achieve higher?
- Girls have better language skills as mothers tend to talk to babies more than boys
- Girls are taught by their parents to conform to more formal standards of behavior
- They are less likely to misbehave in the classroom and therefore pay more attention
30
What is an evaluation of girls overachievement?
- One weaknesses is that social class is likely a bigger indicator as working class girls do worse than middle class boys
31
What are seven explanations for boys underachieving?
1. Lower expectations
2. Boys are more disruptive
3. Toxic masculinity and anti learning subculture
4. Decline in the traditional male unemployment opportunities
5. Feeling and behaving differently
6. Different leisure time
7. Boys do not like reading
32
How does lower expectations lead to underachievement of boys?
- Boys have a self-fulfilling prophecy of lower standards
- This means they have lower expectations so don’t put as much pressure on themselves to achieve better
33
How does anti-learning subculture lead to underachievement of boys?
- There is peer group pressure of becoming a breadwinner
- They have a crisis of masculinity and therefore reject feminine values
34
How does boys being more disruptive lead to underachievement of boys?
- Generally, boys are naughtier than girls
- Boys are able to dominate in the classroom
35
How does a decline of traditional male unemployment lead to underachievement of boys?
- Lack of male jobs meaning they lack self esteem and work
- This creates a male identity crisis
- Evident in the Paul Willis’ study
36
How does boys feeling and behaving differently lead to underachievement of boys?
- Boys have a lack of control and therefore behave differently
- Boys also overestimate their ability
37
How does different leisure time lead to underachievement of boys?
- Boys do not talk about their emotions therefore do not express their stress
- They also have different gender time
38
How does boys not liking reading lead to underachievement of boys?
- Boys do not read as much and therefore do not develop better language skills
39
What is an evaluation of boys underachievement?
- The reduction in coursework means that boys are starting to close the gap
- The shift to improve achievement has now moved to boys achievement meaning they are encouraged to engage boys within their classroom
40
What is gendered subject choice?
- There is a difference between the subjects that girls and boys choose at every level of education, boys choose traditionally masculine subjects such as science and girls choose traditionally feminine subjects such as humanities
41
What are five reasons for gender subject choice?
1. Gender Socialisation
2. Subject Counselling
3. Subject Image
4. Gender Identity
5. Gender Career Opportunities
42
How does gender socialisation impact gender choice?
- There is primary socialization which teaches certain roles for them to follow, this fits with gender stereotypes
- Lobban found there was stereotypes of gender in the home and being encouraged to play with different toys
43
How does subject counselling impact gender choice?
- Career advice can push gender stereotypes on the children
44
How does subject image impact gender choice?
- Colley suggested that the gender perceptions of subjects are important influences
- Subjects can be seen as feminine or masculine which contributes to what students choose to do
45
How does gender identity impact gender choice?
- Subject choice is influenced by peer pressure to avoid negative comments from peers
- However this does not explain subject choice in same sex schools
46
How does gender career opportunities impact gender choice?
- They have female and male jobs which they choose subjects to correlate to
- These jobs are mirrored from within the house
47
What is schooling and gender identity?
- Socialization plays a big part in forming our identities, this is about how we see ourselves and how others define us
- Individuals are not passive during socialization, they have free will to choose what influences we allow to affect us
- Students adopt behaviors which conform to gender stereotypes of gender appropriate behaviors
- Pee groups also form gender identities in the school setting
- They will punish people who fail to conform to traditional gender norms
48
What five things did Francis argue reinforced gender identity?
1. Gendered verbal behavior
2. Gendered physical behavior
3. Gendered pursuits
4. Gendered classroom behavior and power
5. The role of teachers
49
What is gendered verbal behaviour?
- Boys dominate and drown girls out in the classroom
- They also ridicule and interrupt girls
50
What is gendered physical behavior?
- They have separate gender groups who have different physical behavior
- Girls are invisible to boys while boys are confrontational
51
What is gendered pursuits?
- Girls focus on their appearance and conform to the construction of femininity
- Boys have double standards for girls
- Boys also sexually exploit girls
52
What is gendered classroom behavior and power?
Girls support boys in class while they face ridicule or abuse for their femininity
53
What is the role of teachers in reinforcing gender identity?
- Teachers follow gender stereotypes and have different expectations
- Teachers ensure appropriate gender behaviors
54
What are three external factors for ethnic differences in achievement?
1. Cultural Deprivation
2. Material Deprivation
3. Racism in wider society
55
What is the difference in ethnic achievement?
- On average, whites and Asians do better than black pupils, however there are significant differences among Asians (Chinese and Indian pupils achieving above national average, but Pakistani pupils achieving below national average)
56
What is the cultural deprivation theory?
- This theory sees underachievement of ethnic groups as a result of inadequate socialization in the home
- This results in a lack intellectual and linguistic skills which is a major cause of underachievement
- This means they cannot develop reasoning and problem skills which are required in school
- Language spoken within the home may be inadequate as it is disjointed and ungrammatical (Speech Codes)
- Being socialized into mainstream culture instils children with values of ambition and competition which is needed for deferred gratification
- Evidence shows that black children are socialized into a subculture of fatalism meaning they do not have the right attitude for school
57
How does family structure impact cultural deprivation?
- Family structure could fail to socialize children adequately
- Charles Murray argues that many black families are matrifocal which leads to a lack of male role model creating a cycle of cultural deprivation
- An evaluation of this example is Reynolds, stating that not all black families are matrifocal, they have a range of diversity of family types within the Caribbean Islands
- Tony Sewell would argue that it is not a lack of male role model but lack of a nurturing father who provides tough love, they also see brutal images in the media and music
- However, Asian families place higher emphasis on education placing high work ethic onto school and performing well
- Working class students have less aspiration and therefore less likely to attended university
58
What is the evaluation of cultural deprivation?
- Others have argued that black boys underachieve due to racism
- Schools need to provide a ethnic minority culture into the curriculum which would provide a multicultural and anti-racist education
59
What is material deprivation?
- Material deprivation refers to the lack of physical necessities which are seen as essential such as low income and substandard housing
- Ethnic minorities are more likely to face these problems due to having lower paid jobs as they may struggle to find employment
- They may live in economically depressed areas with high unemployment and cultural difficulties such as language skills and foreign qualifications
- This is reflect in the number of children from ethnic minorities who claim free school meals
60
What is an evaluation of material deprivation?
- It could be argued that social class is still more important than ethnicity
- Chinese girls achieve better than middle class white students
61
How does racism in wider society affect ethnic achievement?
- There is a chain of reasoning to support racism in wider society
- Parents may experience discrimination, therefore likely to find a lower paying job which then leads to poverty and material deprivation, then causing underachievement
- Racism in wider society can create lower self esteem which will lead to poor motivation and behavior
62
What is an evaluative study of racism?
- Vincent et al interviewed black middle class parents, they used strategies to overcome negative stereotypes
- Some challenges they faced were institutional racism and low expectations
- They had to overcome their own negative experience of education and were aware of potential race issues
- They were able to alter their behavior to avoid aggressive behavior
63
What is a statistic about interal factors and ethnic achievement?
- Internal factors play a big role in achievement as black Caribbean boys start as one of the most high achieving groups and then leave as the lowest
64
What are four internal factors for ethnic underachievement?
1. Labelling and teacher racism
2. Pupil Identities
3. Pupil responses and Subcultures
4. Institutional Racism
65
How does labelling and teacher racism affect ethnic achievement?
- Teachers often see black and Asian students through stereotypes as disruptive and passive, this label then leads to teachers treating ethnic minority students differently
- Gillborn and Youdell found teachers held racialized expectation of these students meaning they disciplined them faster than others, they see their behavior as threatening and challenging authority leaving the students to feel they held negative views about them
- This may explain why they feel they are excluded from school and placed in lower seats
- Teachers are often going to label Asian students as having a poor grasp of English therefore using more basic language with them. They can also feel isolated when teachers mispronounce their names, this creates a barrier between students and teachers
66
What are and how do pupil identities impact ethnic achievement?
- Teachers often define pupils as having stereotypical ethnic identities, as seen from Louise Archer
- Teachers categorise students based on ethnic identities and stereotypes which shapes their identity
- Ideal pupil identity
- Pathologized pupil identity
- Demonized pupil identity
- This stereotype can lead to different ways of dealing with students in school
67
What are the three pupil identities?
Ideal pupil identity
- White
- Middle class
- Masculine
- Showing natural ability but also determination
Pathologized pupil identity
- Asian
- Feminized
- Oppressed sexuality
- Viewed as a hard worker but lacking natural ability
- Over achiever
Demonized pupil identity
- Black or white
- Working class
- Hyper sexualized
- Viewed as unintelligent
- Peer led
- Under achiever
68
How do pupil responses and subcultures impact ethnic achievement?
- Students respond to teachers labels in different ways
- They may have a self fulfilling prophecy and respond negatively to negative labels such as an anti-school subculture
- Mary Fuller found that black girls reject their stereotype and work hard to achieve good grades, they appeared to not need approval from teachers but instead for exam results
- Tony Sewell has also found that black boys are not a problem despite teacher stereotyping, he identified four groups
69
What are the four groups that Tony Sewell found?
1. Rebels - they are visible and influential black pupils who are in an anti-school subculture
2. Conformists - they are the largest group who accept school goals
3. Retreatist - Tiny minority who hate rebels but are withdrawn from school
4. Innovators - The second largest group who are pro-education but anti-school
70
How does institutional racism impact ethnic achievement?
- Discrimination is built into society and how institutions operate
- Roithmayr labelled the critical race theory is that racism is so ingrained in all of society referring to it as locked in inequality meaning there is no deliberate desire to be racist but it is a part of society due to the lack of challenging it can continue
71
What three ways are the education system institutionally racist?
1. Marketisation = Schools promote themselves more to certain students and exclude ethnic minorities through inaccessibility
2. Ethnocentric curriculum = The national curriculum is based on the beliefs of fundamental British values whereas other cultures being ignored. Ball argues a concept of Little Englandism. Focussed on British history excluding other ethnic minority cultures
3. Staffing = Schools will not employ teachers who cannot speak good English such as ethnic minorities
