Class differences in achievement (internal) Flashcards
What is labelling?
Attach a meaning or definition or definition to a pupil
Who developed the idea of labelling?
Howard Becker
What was Beckers study?
-Based on interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers
-Found teachers judged people in according to how closely they fitted into the image of the ‘ideal pupil’
What did Ray Rist find in his study of American kindergarten shows?
The teacher used information about children’s home background and appearance to quickly decide who would be the fast learners - typically the middle class who then received more encouragement. Working class typically labelled ‘clowns’ and discouraged from trying.
What is the self fulfilling prophecy?
Is a prediction that comes true simply by the virtue of it having been made
-Teacher labels pupils
-Treats pupil according to label
-Pupil internalises teachers label and become it
Who tested teacher expectations?
Rosenthal and Jacobson
(told teachers the children who would ‘spurt’ ahead (actually random), 47% of these children significantly improved due to teachers beliefs in them)
What is streaming?
Separating children into different ability groups or classes called streams
What did Becker find about streaming?
Teachers do not see WC as the ideal pupil (see them as lacking and have low expectations of them) - put them in lower streams = self-fullfilling prophecy
What did Douglas find about streaming?
Children placed in lower streams at age of 8 had suffered a decline in their IQ score by age 11 (MC who are placed in top streams experience the opposite)
In their study of two London secondary schools what did Gillborn and Youdell find?
Teachers use stereotypical notions of ‘ability’ to stream pupils - teachers less likely to see WC + black pupils as having ability = being placed in lower steams + entered for lower tier exams
What do Gillborn and Youdell argue the publishing of league tables lead to?
“A-C economy” where schools focus their time, effort and resources on those pupils they see as having potential to boost the schools position in the league table
How does the A-C economy create an education triage according to Gillborn and Youdell?
Schools categorise pupils into 3 types:
Those who will pass anyway and can be left to get on with it
Those with potential, who will be helped to get a grade C or better
Hopeless cases who are doomed to fail (due to labels this is typically WC and black pupils)
How do Lacey’s concepts of differentiation and polarisation explain how pupil subcultures develop?
- Differentiation: process of teachers categorising pupils on their perceived ability i.e. streaming
- Polarisation: process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite ‘poles’
What two subcultures form as a result of polarisation?
Pro-school subcultures
Anti-school subcultures
What did Ball find about abolishing streaming?
(study of comprehensive school Beachside in process of abolish9ing streaming) - after removal of banding the basis for pupils to polarise was largely removed
What Peter Wood suggest as possible responses to labelling and streaming?
Ingratiation (being teachers pet)
Ritualism (going through the motions and staying out of trouble)
Retreatism (daydreaming and messing about)
Rebellion (outright rejection of school and everything it stands for)
What is habitus?
The learned, taken for granted ways of thinking, being acting that are shared by a particular social class including their tasted preferences and consumption, outlook on life and their expectations of norms
Why is habitus relevant to educational success?
The school adopts a middle class habitus and puts higher values on middle class taste and preferences etc - seen as the superior habitus
What is symbolic capital/how is it achieved?
Pupils who gave been socialised at home into middle class tastes and preferences gain symbolic capital/status from the school because it is reflective of the schools system
What is symbolic violence?
Schools devalue the WC habitus and deem it as tasteless and worthless - withhold symbolic capital thus leading to symbolic violence which reproduces class structure and keeps the lower classes in their place
What can symbolic violence lead to, particularly when pupils are unaware its taking place?
Seek alternative ways of creating self-worth, status and value - did so by constructing meaningful class identities for themselves by investing heavily in ‘styles’ especially through branding such as Nike - creates ‘Nike identities’
What problems arose with Nike identities?
- heavily policed by peer groups, not conforming was social suicide (increase in bullying)
- led to conflict with schools dress code (streetwear went against middle class habitus)
- plays a part in rejection of higher education which they saw as unrealistic and undesirable
Who proposed Nike identities?
Archer
What is the relationship between educational success and the WC identity?
Ingram studied two groups of catholic boys from a highly deprived neighbourhood - one group passed their 11+ and went to grammar school, others went to a local secondary
Despite the boys habitus of wearing streetwear etc, WC communities also place a lot of emphasis on conformity
‘the choice is between unworthiness at school or worthlessness at home’ - this can be confusing as it is clear WC must abandon their identity to succeed
