Class differences in achievement (2) internal factors

Question 1

state the 4 internal reasons for class differences in achievement

Answer 1

• labelling
• streaming
• pupil subcultures
• pupil identities

Question 2

define labelling

Answer 2

where teacher attach meanings (labels) to pupils regardless of their actual ability or attitude

Question 3

state the stereotypical assumption about the levels of MC pupils and WC pupils

Answer 3

• MC are labelled positively
• WC negatively.

Question 4

labelling: what did Becker (1971) do to study labelling

Answer 4

Studied labelling by interviewing 60 Chicago high school teachers

Question 5

labelling: what did Becker (1971) find in his study

Answer 5

found teachers attach labels to pupils depending on how close the match the ideal pupil.
- judgements were made using pupils’ work, conduct and appearance
- teachers saw MC pupils as closest to the idea pupil, and saw WC pupils as badly behaved

Question 6

labelling: what did Hempel-Jorgensen (2009) argue?

Answer 6

the ‘ideal pupil’ depends on the overall class of the school

Question 7

labelling: Hempel-Jorgensen (2009) state the two schools that were compared and how the ideal pupil is defined in each school

Answer 7

• WC primary school (Aspen primary school) ideal pupil is quiet, obedient and passive, defining them by behaviour instead of ability.
• MC primary school (Rowan primary school) - ideal pupil is defined by personality and academic ability, instead of just a “student who is not misbehaving” at the WC school.

Question 8

labelling: what did Dunne & Gazeley (2008) believe

Answer 8

schools reproduce WC underachievement
because of teacher’s labels and assumptions

Question 9

Labelling: how did Dunne and Gazeley (2008) carry out their study

Answer 9

Interviewed 9 schools

Question 10

Labelling: what did Dunne and Gazeley (2008) find

Answer 10

found teachers normalised WC pupils’
underachievement and didn’t think they could do anything about
it, all while thinking they could overcome MC underachievement.

Question 11

Labelling: state the reason for Dunne and Gazeley’s findings and state what this causes?

Answer 11

Reason: teachers have different beliefs about pupils’ home
backgrounds, labelling WC parents as uninterested and MC parents as supportive.
- causes class differences
- in class where the teacher will address and help MC underachievement and do nothing for WC pupils.

Question 12

Labelling: what did Rist (1970) find in their study?

Answer 12

• found teachers use info about pupils’ home background/appearance to sort them into groups, seating each group at different tables
• she labeled the groups:
• ‘Tigers’- were MC ‘fast learners’ who have a clean appearance. They received the most help and
  attention.
  • ‘Cardinals & Clowns’- WC groups were given lower level books and ability work. They received less help/attention and were seated further away from the teacher.

Question 13

Labelling: define self fulfilling prophecy ?

Answer 13

a prediction that comes true by virtue of it having been made

Question 14

Labelling: state the process of self fulfilling prophecy? (4 steps)

Answer 14

1. Teacher labels pupil (EG: trouble-maker) and makes a prediction based on this (EG: pupil will underachieve).
2. Teacher treats pupil like the label and acts like the prediction already came true (EG: ignoring/not helping the pupil)
3. Pupil internalises the teacher’s expectation of them, and it becomes part of their self-image. (EG: pupil gets no help, so resigns themselves to being a trouble- maker)
4. The prophecy is now fulfilled.

Question 15

Labelling: Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) state what they did and how their study shows the self fulfilling prophecy at work

Answer 15

Study of US primary school shows the prophecy at work.

• They told the school that they had a new test designed to identify those pupil who would ‘spurt’ ahead
• Their experiment made pupils do a regular IQ test, but told teachers the ‘special’
  test had identified spurter pupils who would do really well.
• A year later- the randomly picked pupils had actually improved academically. This is because the teachers labelled the pupils as achievers and gave them more encouragement and support than other pupils. This led to a self-fulfilling prophecy where the pupils succeeded academically.

Question 16

Define streaming

Answer 16

sorting children into groups (‘streams’) based on their ability, so they can be taught separately.

Question 17

Is the process of self fulfilling project more likely to happen when pupils are streamed

Answer 17

Yes

Question 18

Streaming: what does Becker’s ideas about the ‘idea pupils’ say about working class pupils

Answer 18

WC pupils aren’t seen as the ideal pupil, they are seen as badly behaved

Question 19

Streaming: as a result of Becker’s ideas about the ideal pupil, what does this mean for working class pupils and streaming

Answer 19

makes it harder for them to move up streams, as teacher expectations put them in the lower ones.
This causes a self-fulfilling prophecy where the pupil lives up to the expectation of underachieving.

Question 20

Streaming: as a result of Becker’s ideas about the ideal pupil, what does this mean for middle class pupils and streaming

Answer 20

benefit from streaming, as teacher expectations place them in high ability groups, boosting their self-concept and helping them succeed.

Question 21

Streaming: what does Douglas say

Answer 21

children placed in a lower stream at age 8 had suffered a decline in their IQ score by age 11 + and children placed in a higher stream at age 8 had improved their own score by age 11

Question 22

Streaming: state Gillborn & Youdell (2001)’s study and what did the study show.

Answer 22

study of 2 high schools
- shows how teachers use stereotypes of ‘ability’ to stream pupils
- WC/black pupils- seen as low ability, so
are placed in low streams and entered for foundation papers.
This denies them the knowledge and opportunities needed to get better grades.

Question 23

Streaming: how did Gillborn & Youdell (2001) link streaming to exam league tables

Answer 23

• schools need a good position to attract pupils and funding, which is based on how many A-C grade pupils get.
• This means schools will focus on pupils with the potential to get a grade C or better so the table position is boosted.

Question 24

Streaming: how does Gillborn & Youdell define educational triage

Answer 24

Where pupils are sorted into those who will pass anyway, borderline pupils (can get a C, so receive the most resources/help), and hopeless cases who will fail regardless.

Question 25

Streaming: what process did Gillborn & Youdell coin

Answer 25

The educational triage

Question 26

Streaming: as a result of Gillborn & Youdell’s educational triage, what does this mean for WC and black pupils

Answer 26

mostly labelled as hopeless cases, and are therefore put in low streams. This makes a self-fulfilling prophecy where these pupils end up failing.

Question 27

Streaming EVALUATION: Gillborn & Youdell

Answer 27

• show how teacher
  labelling/stereotypes combined with streaming causes a MC/WC achievement gap.
• they don’t explain that pupils are not passive puppets, and that the prophecy isn’t always fulfilled.

Question 28

defne pupil subcultures

Answer 28

groups of pupils who share similar values/behaviour patterns.

Question 29

pupil subcultures: what do subcultures emerge in response to and as a reaction to?

Answer 29

emerge in response to labelling and as a reaction to streaming

Question 30

pupil subcultures:According to Lacey (1970), how do pupil subcultures develop?

Answer 30

• Differentiation- the process of teacher categorising and labelling pupils based on how they see their behaviour/ability/attitude.
• Polarisation- process of pupils responding to streaming by moving to one ‘pole’/extreme.

Question 31

pupil subcultures: why is streaming considered a form of differentiation

Answer 31

gives high status to ‘able’ pupils and an inferior status to less able pupils in lower streams.

Question 32

pupil subcultures: what did Lacey find - polarisation

Answer 32

at a boys grammar school, Lacey found streaming polarised boys into a pro school and an anti school subculture.

Question 33

pupil subcultures: describe a The pro-school subculture (Lacey)

Answer 33

• Were mostly MC pupils placed in high streams, and were committed to and shared the school’s values.
• Gaining status- in the approved manner (academic success).

Question 34

pupil subcultures: describe a The anti-school subculture (Lacey)

Answer 34

• Were mostly WC pupils placed in low streams, and had low-self esteem due to the school giving them an inferior status.
• label of failure pushed them to get status by inverting school values like obedience and being on time.
• Status was also gained through peers, by cheeking teachers, not doing homework, etc.
  (Led to a fulfilled prophecy of failure)

Question 35

pupil subcultures: what did Ball(1981) study

Answer 35

studied a comprehensive that was switching from streaming to teaching mixed-ability groups

Question 36

pupil subcultures: with streaming abolished, what did Ball (1981) find in his study

Answer 36

found anti-school subcultures declined, and the basis for polarisation is removed

Question 37

pupil subcultures: despite streaming being abolished, what did Ball say still occurred

Answer 37

differentiation still occurred, teachers still categorised pupils and labelled the MC more favourably.

Question 38

pupil subcultures: overall, what did Ball (1981) suggest

Answer 38

class differences continue due to teacher labelling, as streaming removes the issue of subcultures.

Question 39

pupil subcultures: what did Woods (1979) argue - criticism (Lacy)

Answer 39

argues there are many responses to labelling/streaming than just 2 subcultures

Question 40

pupil subcultures: what’s does Furlong (1984) add on about the ideas of Woods (1979)

Answer 40

pupils aren’t fixed in one response, it can change between certain lessons and teachers.

Question 41

pupil subcultures: state the 4 responses that Woods (1979) identified in response to streaming/ labelling

Answer 41

• Integratiation- being a teacher’s pet.
• Ritualism- go through the motions, stay out of trouble.
• Retreatism- daydreaming & messing about.
• Rebellion- outright rejecting everything school stands for.

Question 42

State a Marx evaluation point for labelling and streaming

Answer 42

it’s not teacher’s individual prejudices, it’s that their own job stems from a system that reproduces class inequality.

Question 43

EVALUATION: Describe how labelling/ streaming may be deterministic

Answer 43

assumes pupils will passively accept label

Question 44

Pupil identities: define habits

Answer 44

This is the learned and taken-for-granted ways of thinking, being or acting in a social class

Question 45

Pupil identities: state what type of habits school have and what may MC pupils who have this type of habitus have

Answer 45

Schools have a MC habitus, so MC pupils who are already socialised into it at home have symbolic capital

Question 46

Pupil identities: define symbolic capital

Answer 46

Status/recognition from the school that they’re superior.

Question 47

Pupil identities: what do schools do to the habitus of the WC

Answer 47

school devalues WC habitus, seeing their tastes, such as clothing, as tasteless and worthless = WC pupils feel alienated and unnatural

Question 48

Pupil identities: define symbolic violence

Answer 48

withholding of symbolic capital

Question 49

Pupil identities: state what Archer said about WC pupils in response to symbolic capital and symbolic violence

Answer 49

WC pupils felt they had to ‘lose
themselves’ in the MC’s habitus in
order to succeed educationally

Question 50

Pupil identities: state what symbolic violence led to the creation of and describe

Answer 50

• Symbolic violence led WC pupils to finding other ways to obtain worth and status.
• They did this by constructing class identities revolving around fashion and brands such as Nike.
• These style performances were policed by peers, so not conforming was ‘social suicide’.
• The right appearance gained pupils symbolic capital from their peers, as education already denied them of it

Question 51

Pupil identities: as a result of Nike identities, what did this mean for schools habitus vs identities

Answer 51

the school’s MC habitus clashed with WC identities as it went against rules and dress codes, and risked pupils being labelled as rebels

Question 52

Pupil identities: state what Ingram (2009) studied and what they did in their study

Answer 52

studied 2 groups of WC boys in the same deprived neighbourhood:
- One group passed the 11+ and went to grammar school
- the other failed and went to a local high school.

Question 53

Pupil identities: state what Ingram (2009) found about the habitus of the 2 groups in their study

Answer 53

• WC grammar boys- had MC habitus of high expectation and academic
  achievement.
• WC local boys- had the school’s habitus of low expectations and educational failure.

Question 54

Pupil identities: state what Ingram (2009) found in their study

Answer 54

found the WC identity is inseparable from the WC habitus
- habitus put emphasis on conformity and this can cause other WC boys to experience symbolic violence.

Question 55

Pupil identifies: despite more WC pupils going to uni, what may there be a barrier to WC pupils

Answer 55

Even though WC pupils go to uni more now, the clash between their WC identity & HE habitus is a barrier to their success.

Question 56

Pupil identities: what did Evans (2009) study and state what she found

Answer 56

studied 21 WC girls who were doing A-levels,
- she found they didn’t applied to elite unis, and the ones who did were worried about hidden barriers and not ftiting in.

Question 57

Pupil identities: state what the study of Evans (2009) means for WC pupils

Answer 57

means WC students will self exclude themselves from elite spaces like Oxford as they believe they won’t fit in with the Habitus