Social Class and Achievement

Question 1

What in school factors affect social class and achievement?

Answer 1

Teacher labelling

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Setting/streaming/exam tiers

Pupils subcultures

Pupil identities

Middle class curriculum

Marketisation

Question 2

What is a label?

Answer 2

A definition of an individual or a group

Question 3

What did Becker find out about teachers image of an ‘ideal pupil’?

Answer 3

Teachers use their image of an ‘ideal pupil’ as a benchmark to compare all other pupils

Middle class were the closest to this image and working class furthest away

Question 4

Why might teachers have labelled the MC closest to the ideal pupil and the WC furthest away?

Answer 4

Teachers tend to assume that working class pupils are less bright and less well behaved which gives them negative labels and means WC are further away from the ideal pupil

Question 5

Why might teacher labelling lead to MC achievement?

Answer 5

Teachers tend to assume that MC pupils are more hardworking and bright and therefore will give them more attention and help so that they do better in exams

Question 6

Why might teacher labelling lead to WC underachievement?

Answer 6

Teachers won’t give the working class any attention as they assume they aren’t as hardworking or bright as the MC

Question 7

When does a self-fulfilling prophecy occur?

Answer 7

When people act in ways expected of them i.e their label is fulfilled

Question 8

What are the 4 stages of the self-fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 8

1. the teacher labels the pupil
2. the teacher acts on the label
3. the pupil internalises the label creating their self concept - how they now see themselves
4. the self fulfilling prophecy occurs - the label had been fulfilled

Question 9

What is a subculture?

Answer 9

A small group within society which has its own norms and values

Subcultures appear in schools and can influence how successful s pupils is

Question 10

What is differentiation?

Answer 10

The process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude and/or behaviour

Question 11

What is polarisation?

Answer 11

The process of which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of the two ‘poles’ or extremes

Question 12

Why might differentiation and polarisation lead to different types of subcultures?

Answer 12

Pupils placed in high stream tend to remain committed to the values of school whereas those placed in lower streams suffer a loss of self esteem because the school has undermined their self worth by placing them in a position of inferior status and they adopt the anti-school subculture

Question 13

What do those with a pro school subculture tend to gain?

Answer 13

Tend to gain their status through academic success and their values are those of the school

Question 14

What do those with an anti school subculture tend to do?

Answer 14

Tend to invert the schools values of hard work, obedience and punctuality

Question 15

Why might pupil subcultures lead to social class differences in education?

Answer 15

Different subcultures will have different norms and values towards education and the middle class who tend to be put in high streams will have a pro school attitude and work hard to achieve

Those placed in low streams may have a anti school attitude and therefore wont work hard to achieve

Question 16

What is setting?

Answer 16

Where pupils are placed in ability groups for particular subjects

Question 17

What is streaming?

Answer 17

Where pupils are put into one ability group for all their subjects

Question 18

Why could setting and streaming explain the underachievement of WC pupils?

Answer 18

WC pupils tend to be placed in the lower sets/stream were they aren’t expected to behave as well or do as much work and the teachers don’t give them more educational knowledge which therefore gives them less opportunities to succeed

Question 19

Why could setting and streaming explain the achievement of MC pupils?

Answer 19

The MC tend to be placed in the higher sets/streams where they get better teachers who will give them more work and educational knowledge that will allow them to have more opportunities to succeed

Question 20

What is a ‘sexy Nike’ appearance? (Archer)

Answer 20

Refers to how working class pupils feel they have to change how they talk and present themselves in order to be successful, worthy and valued

Question 21

Why does the ‘sexy Nike’ appearance create symbolic capital for working class girls?

Answer 21

It creates symbolic capital because the ‘sexy Nike’ gave them status and recognition from their peers

Question 22

Why would the ‘sexy Nike’ lead to conflict with schools?

Answer 22

Would lead to conflict with schools because it went against the schools dress codes and they therefore regularly get into trouble

Question 23

Why might the ‘sexy Nike’ appearance lead to the underachievement of working class girls?

Answer 23

Could lead to working-class girls underachievement because they will have been labelled as troublemakers by their teachers and they therefore won’t want to spend time helping them

Question 24

What habitus does education have?

Answer 24

Education has a middle class habitus

Question 25

Why does education having a middle class habitus lead to symbolic capital for the middle class?

Answer 25

Leads to symbolic capital for the middle class because the education system values their culture and they feel they belong there

Question 26

Why does education having a middle class habitus lead to symbolic violence for the working class?

Answer 26

Lead to symbolic violence for the working class because education doesn’t value their culture

Question 27

What do the working class seek from their peers?

Answer 27

Working class seek symbolic capital from their peers

Question 28

What does the working class seeking symbolic capital from their peers create?

Answer 28

Creates conflict with the school and reduces their chances of success

Question 29

What curriculum does education have? What is it based on?

Answer 29

Education has a middle class curriculum created by middle class people and based on middle class knowledge

Question 30

Why might a middle class curriculum put middle class pupils at an advantage?

Answer 30

Might put middle class pupils at an advantage because it is based on middle class knowledge and is therefore familiar to them

Question 31

Why might a middle class curriculum lead to working class underachievement?

Answer 31

Might lead to working class underachievement because the curriculum is based on MC knowledge and is unfamiliar to them which put them at a disadvantage

Question 32

Why might marketisation of education lead to top performing school to ‘cream skim’ pupils?

Answer 32

Might lead to schools ‘cream skimming’ because the most popular schools with the best grades are oversubscribed and want the beat pupils who will do well in exams and achieve the best grades

Question 33

Why does schools ‘cream skimming’ benefit the middle class?

Answer 33

‘Cream skimming’ benefits the middle class the most because the most popular schools will select middle class students as they are often seen as more hard working and more likely to achieve better results

Question 34

What is an A-C economy?

Answer 34

A-C economy is where schools are judged on the number of A-C grades achieved

Question 35

Why had an A-C economy created an education market?

Answer 35

A-C economy has created an education market because schools who achieve the highest percentage of A-C grades will attract more new parents and students

Question 36

What is material deprivation?

Answer 36

lack of money and the things money can buy

Question 37

Why might material deprivation lead to underachievement in education?

Answer 37

Might lead to underachievement in education because many live in economically depressed areas with high unemployment and low wage rates

Question 38

What is racism?

Answer 38

Prejudice and discrimination against groups on the basis of ethnic differences

Question 39

What is discrimination?

Answer 39

Treating people differently because they are members of a particular social group

Question 40

Why might discrimination in wider society lead to underachievement for some ethnic groups?

Answer 40

Discrimination may lead to underachievement for some ethnic groups because it may lead to them feeling like there is little point in trying to succeed since their chances in life are reduced by racism

Question 41

What does cultural deprivation refer to?

Answer 41

Refers to the lack of values, language, attitudes and skills necessary for educational success

Question 42

Why might having English as a second language lead to educational underachievement for some ethnic groups?

Answer 42

May lead to underachievement for some ethnic minority students because they don’t speak the language at home and they therefore don’t practice or hear it at home which creates a barrier to success and places them at a disadvantage

Question 43

Why might the lack of a male role model at home lead to the underachievement of Black Caribbean boys?

Answer 43

Lack of a male role model may lead to underachievement because it makes it difficult for them to adapt to the demands of school

Question 44

Why might the lack of a male role model have a positive impact on the achievement of black Caribbean girls?

Answer 44

Lack of male role model might have a positive impact because it provides a positive female role model and they want to be independent like their mums, motivating them to study harder

Question 45

Why isn’t education valued by gypsy boys and girls?

Answer 45

Education isn’t valued by gypsies because success at school isn’t necessary to achieve their goals

Question 46

Why might gypsies not valuing education lead to their underachievement?

Answer 46

Not valuing education may lead to gypsies underachievement because they won’t try to succeed and earn good grades because the jobs they want after school don’t require qualifications

Question 47

Why is cultural deprivation a myth?

Answer 47

Cultural deprivation is a myth as it is not possible to be deprived of your own culture

Every ethnicity has a culture and are culturally different, not deprived. They underachieve because the education system is ethnocentric