Class differences in achievement internal factors Flashcards
(23 cards)
Describe beckers study of labelling
Howard Becker carried out an important interaction list study of labelling based on interviews with 60 Chicago high school teachers he found that they judge peoples according to how closely they fitted an image of the ideal pupil.
Peoples work conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teachers judgement. M/c seen as ideal pupils
Describe Amelia Hempel Jorgensen’s study of two English primary schools ( labelling)
In the largely working class Aspen primary school with staff said discipline was a major problem. The ideal people was defined as quiet passive and obedient children were defined by their behaviour not ability.
The mainly middle class Rowan primary school had very few discipline problems and hit that ideal people was defined in terms of personality and academic ability
Describe done and Gazeley study about labelling in secondary schools
They argue that school persistently produce working class under achievement because of the labels and assumptions of teachers
A interviewed nine English state secondary schools teachers normalise the underachievement of WC pupils seemed unconcerned by and felt they could do little or nothing about it
A major reason for this was the teachers belief in the roles of pupils home backgrounds labelled working class parents as uninterested in their children’s education
This led to cross differences and how teaches dealt with peoples they perceived as underachieving
What is the self fulfilling prophecy?
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes through simply by virtue of it having being made interaction lists argue that labelling can affect peoples achievement by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
Teacher labels are people and makes predictions on them
Treats people accordingly by acting as if the prediction is already true
Internalises teacher and intern this becomes part of his self concept or self image
Describe Rosenthal and Jacobson’s study of Oak community school in California
California primary School
They told the school that they had a new task specifically designed to identify those peoples who would spurt ahead . this was untrue because the task was just a normal standard IQ test although the teachers believed what they had been told.
Researchers tested all students but pick 20% of them at random and told the school that they would be spurters
They returned a year later and found the almost half 47% of those identified as Spurters had indeed made significant progress
What is streaming
Separating children into different ability groups or classes called streams. each ability group is then taught separtely from the others for all subjects.
becker-w/c pupils more likely to be in lower stream
douglas found that pupils placed in lower stream at age 8 had suffered a decline in ther iq score by 11
m/c benefit from streaming. more positive self concept, gained confidence and work harder. improved iq score by age 11
Describe gillborn and youdell streaming and the A-to-C economy
study of two london secondary schools shows how teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to stream pupils. They found that teachers are less likely to see w/c pipils as having ability placing them in lower streams and lower tier gcses.
links to publishing for league tables. rank each school by exam peformance.creaating an A-C economy in schools where schools focus time effort and resources seen as having the potential to get five cs and so boost the schools league table position.
Describe gillborn and youdell’s educational triage/A-to-C economy
Argue that the A-C economy produces educational triage. schools categorise pupils into three groups.
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.
hopless cases doomed to fail.
teachers do this using a stereotypical voew of w/c pupils and they are are more likley to be labelled as hopeless cases- producing self fulfilling prophecy.
teachers beliefs about pupils are used to segregate them into lower streams/sets where they recieve less attention, support and resources.
Describe lacey’s concepts of polarisation and differentiation
Attempts to explain why subcultures form.
differntiation: the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they percieve their ability attitude/behavior. e.g streaming.
polarisation: process in which pupils respond to differentiation by moving towards one of two opposite poles/extremes.
Study of hightown boys grammar schoo.s streaming polarised boys into pro and anti school subculture
Describe laceys pro and anti school subcultures
Pro school subculture- pupils places in high streams, high status, high expectations, positive labels and sterotypes, self fulfilling prophecy, halos. remian commited to the values of the school.
anti school subculture: placed in lower streams, low self esteem and expectations, low status less attention. often w/c pupils. school ahs undermined their self worth. as a result pupils look for an alternative way of gaining status e.g peers and rebellion.
Describe hargreaves concepts on setting streaming and anti school subcultures
observational, questionairre, informal conversations.
secondary modern school. boys in lower streams were triple failures, they has their 11+ exam and were placed in lower streams and labelled as worthless. halo effect- labelling leads tp certain students being given imaginary halos.
Describe Ball’s study on abolishing streaming
3 year study on beachside comprehensive.
ball found that when the school abolished streaming, the basis for pupils to polarise into subcultures was largely removed and the influence of anti school subculture declined.
however differentiation continued and teachers still categorised pupils differently. Positive labelling reflected in exam results sugessting self fulfilling prophecy
Describe the variety of pupil responses according to peter woods
more responses as a result of teacher labelling including,
ingratiation- teachers pet
ritualism-going through motions and staying out of trouble.
retreatism- daydreaming and messing around
rebellion- outright rejection of everything the school stands for.
john furlong observes many pupils are not permanentley commited to any one response
Describe boudieus concept of the habitas
Habitas refers to the dispositions or learned taken for granted ways of thinking, neing and actinf that are shared by a particular class. it includes their tastes and preferences about lifestyle and consumption.
middle class habitas is considered superior and imposed in education. schools places higher value on m/c tastes etc.
because school reflects m/c habitas w/c pupils are inferior.
Describe boudieu’s symbolic capital and symbolic violence
because schools have a middle class habitus, pupils who have been socialised at home into m/c tastes gain symbolic capiral or status/recognition from the school.
the school devalues the working class habitas sp that w/c pupils tastes and lifestyles is seen as inferior. Boudieu calls this withholding of symbolic capital ‘symbolic violence’ which reproduces class sructure and keeps lower classes in their place.
archer found taht for w/c pupils to be sucsessful they felt they had to change how they spoke and presented. educationa sucsess is a process of losing ypirself. ‘not for the likes of us’
Describe archer’s nike identities
Symbolic violence led w/c pupils to seek alternative ways of creating self worth , status and value. They did so by constructing meaningful class identities by investing heavily in styles- brnaded clothing like nike.
- pupils wear brands to be them
- girls adopted hhyper heterosexual femnine style
- style policed by social groups ‘social sucide;#’ the right appearance earned symbolic capital and approval from peers
also led to conflict with schools dress code, reflecting schools/mc habitus teachers opposed street styles as bad taste or a threat.
How does archers nike styles/identites play a part in w/c pupils rejection of higher education
unrealistic: was not for people ‘like us’ bur for richer posher cleverer people and they would not fit in. unaffordable and risky.
undesirable: would not suit their preffered lifestyle or habitus. student loan meant they couldnt afford street styles.
w/c pupils may choose self elimenation or self exclusion from education. actively try to reject it because it does not fit in with their idenity
Describe ingram’s study of two groups of w/c catholic boys
two groups of w/c catholic boys from the same deprived area. One group had passed their 11+ and gone to grammar the other group failed. Grammar school had a strong m/c habitus . w/c communities place great emphasis on conformity and the passed boys experienced a tension between school m/c habitas and w/c habitus.
e.g callum coming into school in track suit choice between “wothlessness at school or at home”
Describe sarah evans study of 21 working class girls from south lodnon comprehensive
21 w/c girls london comprehensive studying for alevelreluctant to apply for elite unis such as oxbridge and those who did felt hidden brriers of not fitting in.
girls had a strong attatchment to locality and only 4 planned to move away from home to study,
reay- distant unis narrows options of many working class pupils and limits their sucsess.
Describe rists study labelling in primary schools
observation of american kindergarden.
teachers used information about their pupils home backgrounds as well as judging their appearance to place students in separte groups fast learners- tigers seated nearer teachers and other 2 groups cardinals and clowns
Describe keddies study-unequal acsess to classroom knowledge
secondary schools
difference in knowledge distribution. teachers give m/c high status knowledge, abstarct infro, theoretical, detialed and warmed up, full curriculm.
descirbe cicourel and kitsuse counsellors and labelling
careers counsellors assesed students largely on social background/class, in jduging suitablity for certain courses and occupations
