Deviant subcultures - anti-school Flashcards
(44 cards)
Anti school subcultures
Students that have negative attitudes towards school. They reject school rules and do not conform to the norms and values that the school uphold. They engage in behaviours that go against school policy and expectations such as truancy, distruption, rudeness to teachers and anti social behaviour
Who researched Black Masculinity and schooling?
Tony Sewell (1997)
Who did Tony Sewell study?
Afro Caribbean boys aged 11-16 in a Comprehensive school in the UK. Many were often raised by lone mothers and lacked a male role model.
What were the boys like in Tony Sewell’s research?
Very vulnerable to peer group pressure including being drawn into gangs and forming anti-school subculture
What forms of masculinity did the boys in Tony Sewell’s research show?
Macho forms of masculinity, wanted respect and often rejected authority figures like teachers and police
What was a comfort zone for the young boys in Tony Sewell’s research?
The subculture of black masculinity and the peer group as they had been rejected by their absent fathers and the education system
What were the 4 types of Afro Caribbean students that Sewell found?
Conformist, Innovator, Retreatist, Rebel (Anti school subculture)
What percentage of Afro-Caribbean boys were conformist students?
0.41
What percentage of Afro-Caribbean boys were innovator students?
0.35
What percentage of Afro-Caribbean boys were retreatist students?
0.06
What percentage of Afro-Caribbean boys were rebel students? (Adopted an anti school subculture)
0.18
What is a conformist student?
They believe education is the root to success and they often conformed to norms and values of the school but were incompatible with the aggressive black street culture
What is an innovator student?
Education is seen as important but school is rejected. Students were anti school but kept out of trouble. They kept their distance from the conformist group and the teachers.
What is a retreatist student?
They were loners and mainly had special education needs
What is a rebel student?
Rejected norms and values of school. Qualifications seen as worthless since they could not help these students get a job because society was seen as too racist and this would prevent them from getting a job. Confrontational, challenging and demanded respect. Brought black street culture into school.
What are the advantages of Sewell’s research?
+ Can be supported by labelling and interactionist theory by Becker. The negative connotations of black street culture have been exaggerated in the media as part of deviation amplification. This contributes to teachers labelling Afro Caribbean males negatively causing self fulfilling prophecy
What are the disadvantages of Sewell’s research?
- Criticised by other sociologists as it seems he is blaming them for their own underachievement at school (absent father figures and black street culture), they believe the real cause is institutional racism
- Criticised as only 18% were rebels and formed the anti-school subculture and majority were positive so results need to be analysed in this perspective
Who researched lads and ladettes?
Carolyn Jackson (2006)
What two projects did Carolyn Jackson’s (2006) research consist of?
The Nuffield foundation, The economic and social research council
The Nuffield Foundation
Investigated boys from two schools in North West England. Year 9 boys given a questionnaire and 25 boys from each school interviewed. (semi-structured)
The Economic and Social Research Council
Studied boys and girls from 6 schools in the North of England
Year 9 given 3 questionnaires and 153 students interviewed (semi-structured)
What did Jackson (2006) want to investigate?
The concept of laddishness and what it means
What does laddishness mean?
Specific forms of masculine behaviour such as drinking and dating a lot. Being popular, having humour, not putting effort into school, being aggressive
What were ladettes like?
They wanted to avoid being seen as swots and they adopted laddish behaviour. Girls rejected the “good girl” model and became feisty and sassy. Teachers found them more troublesome than lads.
