class differences in achievement - labelling & pupil indentities Flashcards
What is labelling?
The process whereby teachers attach labels to students based on sterotyped assumptions of their class background - Becker
Eg; labelling w/c negatively & m/c possitively
What did Becker find about labelling?
found that teacher’s would label pupils based on how close they came to fitting the image of the
‘ideal pupil’. The pupil’s work, appearance and conduct were key to influencing teacher’s judgements
Who found what about labelling in secondary schools?
Dunne & Gazeley
found that in 9 state secondary schools, teachers ‘normalised’ the underachievement of working-class pupils, and they felt like they could do nothing about it.
However they would overcome the underachievement of middle-class pupils.
This is because they labelled working-class parents as uninterested in their children’s education, but labelled middle-class parents as supportive.
evaluation
How do Marxists criticise the labelling theory?
criticise the labelling theory for
ignoring the wider structures of power within which labelling takes place
Labelling theory
tends to blame teachers for labelling pupils, but fails to explain why they do so.
Marxists argue that labels are not merely the result of teachers’ individual prejudices, but
stem from the fact that teachers work in a system that reproduces class divisions
What is self fulfilling prophercy and what do interactionists argue about it?
This is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it having been made. Interactionists argue that labelling can affect pupils’ achievement by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
How does a self fulfilling prophercy happen?
Step one: the teacher labels a pupil (e.g. intelligent) and on the basis of the label, makes predictions about him (e.g. she will make outstanding academic progress)
Step two: the teacher treats the pupil accordingly, acting as if the prediction is already true (e.g. give her more attention and expecting a higher standard of work)
Step three: the pupil internalises the teachers’ expectation, which becomes part of her self-concept or self-image so that she now becomes the kind of pupil the teacher believed her to be in the first place. She gains confidence, tries harder, and is successful. The prediction is fulfilled
How else can a self fulfilling prohercy work?
If the teacher has low expectations of a pupil, and communicates these expectations in their interactions, these children may develop a negative self-concept. They may come to see themselves as failures and give up trying, thereby fulfilling the original prophecy
How do teachers label students?
Hargreaves, Hester & Meltor
Found that factors such as pupils appearance, how they respond to discipline, how likeable they are, their personality leads to teachers attaching labels to pupils as ‘good’ or ‘bad’
Working class puts more likely to fit the stereotype of the ‘bad’ pupil
Once the pupil has been label, the teachers tend to interpret that students behaviour in terms of their label and they live up to it
What is meant by symbolic capital & symbolic violence and how does it impact achievement of the working class?
Bourdieu
- schools have a middle class habitus, pupils who have been socialised into middle class preferences gain ‘symbolic capital’ or status and are deemed to have value
- school devalues working class habitus (appearance, accent) as inferior
- reproduces the clad structure and keeps lower classes ‘in their place’
Who supports the concept of symbolic capital and symbolic violence?
Archer
Found that working class pupils believed that in order to be educationally successful, they had to change the way they spoke and presented them levers
For working class students, the educational experience is often seen as a process of ‘loosing yourself’
What are Nike identities?
Archer
Symbolic violence led working class pupils to seek alternative ways of gaining status
They did so by investing heavily in constructing class identities with brands such as Nike
Heavily policed by peer groups & gained them approval
Led to conflict with schools values, teaches opposed street style and those who adopted this style were labelled as rebels
