education - class differences in achievement - internal factors Flashcards
(5 cards)
labelling theory
•to label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them
•student ends up acting to accordance to their label
becker - labelling theory
•becker carried out research based on interviews with 60 teachers
•he found that they judged pupils according to how close the pupils fitted to their ‘ideal pupil’
•teachers used information about the children’s home background and appearance- middle class children were seen as the ideal pupil
streaming
•streaming refers to splitting pupils into groups based on their ability
•ball found that the pupils in top streams tend to be from the higher social classes
•mixed ability classes avoid worsening gaps in pupil achievement, but studies have shown that teachers still hold low expectations for lower ability students, and lower their level of teaching to suit them
the self fulfilling prophecy
•labelling can cause the self fulfilling prophecy
•studies show that ‘what teachers believe, pupils will achieve’. teachers believe middle class students are bright (therefore they will succeed), working class pupils are likely to be labelled negatively, thus fail
pupil subcultures
•a subculture is a group whose beliefs, values and attitudes differ to some extent of the wider society. pupils may form their own subcultures in response to labelling
•pro school subcultures - usually formed by pupils in higher streams. they except the schools values and goals of hard work, regular attendance, respect for their teachers etc.
•anti school subcultures - are often those in the lower streams. they reject the schools values and often invert them. they dislike school, disrespect teachers, avoid doing school work
e.g willis ‘the lads’ - studied a group of boys who formed an anti school subculture. he found ‘the lads’ deliberately disrupted lessons as a way of gaining respect from others within the subculture
