Class differences in educational achievement Flashcards
Internal factors (definition and examples)
Things inside of the school and education system that impact upon educational success.
Teachers
School environment
Educational policies
External factors (definition and examples)
Things outside of the school and education system that impact upon educational success
Money
Food
Home environment
Internal factors effecting class differences in educational achievement
Labelling Self fulfilling prophecy Pupil subcultures Marketisation and selection A to C economy and educational triage Competition and selection
Labelling theory primary school example
Rist
Teachers would use information about the child’s home life to put them into different groups.
Those they saw as ready to learn were taught to read and write (usually middle class).
Those they saw as not ready to learn would be left to play (usually working class).
Labelling theory secondary school example
Becker Teachers use the ideal pupil frame in order to label the students. This usually fits the middle class stereotype well in terms of having neat work, meeting deadlines and looking smart.
Labelling theory status of knowledge example
Keddie
All classes at a school using streaming were taught the same humanities course. However, teachers would use different language and ways of explaining things depending on the stream they were teaching even though they thought they were teaching them in the same way. Those who they saw as having a high status of knowledge (set A) were taught abstract and theoretical ideas. Those who they saw as having a low status of knowledge (set B) were taught descriptive, common sense ideas.
Self-fulfilling prophecy definition
A prediction made about someone becomes true because it has been made. For example, a teacher may presume that a child will do badly, they then treat them differently according to this by marking their work more harshly. This may discourage the student from trying and make the prediction come true.
Self fulfilling prophecy teacher expectations example
Rosenthal and Jacobson Oak community school were given basic IQ tests that the teachers believed would show who would spurt over the next year. 20% of the class were randomly chosen to be spurters. After a year 47% of these students had shown an improvement in their work. Researchers believed that the teacher's attitude towards those students had changed because of the test results, causing the students to improve.
Self fulfilling prophecy streaming example
Douglas
Those placed in a lower stream at age 8 declined in their IQ by 11. Those placed in a higher stream had improved their IQ. Those placed in the lower stream saw themselves as failures because of the stream they have been put in and their teacher’s attitude towards them. This caused them to give up.
Pupil subcultures definition
A group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns, often emerging because of the way that they have been labelled.
Polarisation definition
Pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of the two polar opposites (either pro or anti school subcultures).
Pro school definition
Pupils who remain committed to the values of the school as they are in a high stream and therefore gain status through educational success
Anti school subculture definition
These pupils go against schools values because they have not been able to gain status through educational success. This causes them to have a low level of self esteem and is why they turn to other ways to gain this status.
Lacey’s research
Boys who had come in the top 15% of the town’s pupils who had passed the 11+ exam were soon labelled as failures when they got to the grammar school because of its competitive nature. By their 2nd year they had joined anti school subcultures.
Marketisation and selection
Marketisation brought with it the funding formula where all schools receive the same amount of funds per pupil, league tables and competition between students and schools.
