Topic 2 - Internal Factors Flashcards
(29 cards)
What are the 5 internal factors within schools that effect education of different classes?
Labelling SFP Streaming School Subcultures Pupil Identity
What is labelling?
Attatching a definition to somebody.
Eg, teachers may label a student as ‘bright’ and ‘hardworking’, or prehaps ‘trouble’ and ‘low ability’
Evidence suggest teachers label students based on STEREOTYPES of what is and isnt the ideal student
What was Becker’s investigation on labelling?
Labelling in Secondary School -
Used interviews of 60 high school teachers. She found that MC children are closer to the stereotypes of an ‘ideal’ pupil.
Found that teachers stereotype students based on their work, conduct & appearance
What was Hargreaves theory on labelling?
The Halo Effect - suggests that students are given imaginary halos from first impressions and stay with them though out their educational career. Future interactions with teachers are based on these halo’s
How do counsellors label?
Cicourel & Kitsuse found that counsellors assessed students largely off social class and race. MC students tend to be referred to higher ability classes and academic subjects
What did Rist find about labelling in Primary schools?
Labelling begins at the start of a childs educational career.
Home backgrounds & appearance are what people are judged by.
“Cardinals&Clowns” - WC children are usually given lower skill books
What did Keddie find about unequal access to classroom knowlege?
Teachers sometimes rank people in terms of knowledge giving different students different level skill work
What is a self fufilling prophecy
A prediction that becomes true, purley on the basis of it being made.
Labelling can affect pupils achievement by creating an SFP
What are the 3 steps of a SFP?
I
- Teacher labels pupil and makes predictions
- Teacher interacts with student based on label
- Pupil internalises the label, prediction & teachers expectations & it becomes part of their self concept. The pupil ‘becomes the label’ and ‘fufils’ The prophecy.
What evidence did Rosenthal & Jacobson have on SFP?
Unethical Field Study -
Gave a school a new ability based test that can identify those that would ‘spurt’ ahead: the teachers believed it.
They chose a random 20% and labelled them as ‘spurters’ to the teachers. 1 year later they found half had made significant progress.
R&J suggested the teachers interacted differently with the ‘spurters’ & conveyed their high expectations onto them.
What is streaming?
Separating children into different ability groups or classes called ‘streams’
Self fulfilling prophecy is likely to occur when children are streamed
What is the triage system?
Sorting students into three different categories:
A) those who will pass anyway
B) borderline C/D pupils who are targeted for help
C) Hopeless Cases
What are the effects of streaming for WC and MC ?
WC children are more likely to be put in lower streams which locks their teachers low expectations of them. Children in the lower streams get the hint that teachers have labelled them as hopeless cases and this creates a SFP.
MC pupils tend to benefit from streaming. They are more likely placed in higher streams and develop a more positive self concept, confidence, work harder and improve their grades.
What is a pupil subculture?
A group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns. - Pro and Anti
What are Lacey’s 2 concepts to explain how pupil subcultures develop:
Differentiation and Polarisation
What is differentiation(Lacey on pupil subcultures )
The process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability and attitude.
Streaming is a form of differentiation - those deemed as ‘more able’ are placed into higher streams, vice versa
What is Polarisation? (Lacey- pupil subcultures)
Process where pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one or two opposite ‘poles’.
In his study or boy’s grammar schools, he found streaming polarised boys into pro or anti school subcultures
Whats a pro school subculture?
Pupils placed in higher streams (mainly MC) tend to remain committed to the values of the school. They gain status in their approved manner through good academic success
What is an anti-school subculture?
Those placed into lower streams (mainly WC) tend to suffer a loss of self esteem. The school has undermined their self worth, putting them in a position of inferior status = them searching for alternative ways of gaining status
What are the Woods 4 other possible pupil responses to labelling and streaming?
Ingratiation - being teachers pet
Ritualism - staying out of trouble and going through the motions
Retreatism - daydreaming and mucking about
Rebellion - complete rejection of everything the school stands for
What do labelling theorists believe?
They are AGAINST labelling
What does Furlong say about pupil responses?
He states that some pupils are not committed permanently to any one response, but may act differently and change types of responses - acting differently in lessons with different teachers
What are the criticisms of labelling theorists?
Critics believe labelling theories are deterministic - and assume that pupils labelled have no choice but to fufill ll the prophecy and will always fail.
Mary Fuller shows this is not the case.
They ignore the wider structures of power within the labelling. They blame teachers but don’t explain.
Marxists argue labels aren’t the result of teachers individual prejudices, but stem from the fact that teachers work in a system that reproduces class division
What are the 5 factors of pupil identity?
Habitus Symbolic capital & violence Nike identity WC identity & educational success Class identity and self exclusion
