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[INTERNAL] CLASS DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVEMENT - Coggle Diagram
[INTERNAL] CLASS DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVEMENT
LABELLING
Refers to attaching a meaning to somebody e.g teachers labelling a student as hardworking or a troublemaker
studies show that teachers attach labels regardless of he pupils actual ability or attitude
instead they base it on stereotyped assumptions bout their class background, labelling w/c pupils negatively and m/c students positively
BECKER found that from his study of 60 Chicago high school teachers, they judged pupils according to how closely hey cited an image of the 'ideal pupil'
pupils work, conduct and appearances were key factors influencing teachers jusgements
middle class students were closer to the ideal, and w/c students farther away from it as they regarded them as badly behaved
LABELLING IN SECONDARY SHCOOLS
DUNNE & GAZELEY found hat in 9 English state secondary shcools, teachers normalised the underachievement of w/c pupils seemed unconcerned about to and felt there was little could be dont to change it
whereas they believed they could overcome the underachievement of muffle class pupils
A major reason for this difference was the teachers belief in the role of the pupils home background
they labelled w/c parents as uninterested their children's education
they labelled m/c parents as supportive
this led to class differences in how teachers dealt with pupils they perceived as underachieving
they set extension work for the underachieving m/c students but entered w/c pupils into easier exams
LABELLING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
RIST'S study of an American kindergarten shows that labelling occurs from the outset of a Childs educational career
he found that the teacher used information about the Children's home background appearance to place them in separate groups, seating each group at a different table
those the teacher decided were fast learners tended to be middle class and had a neat and clean appearance
she labelled them 'the tigers'
she seated them a the table nearest to her and showed them the greatest encouragement
The other 2 groups were seated further away
she labelled them the 'cardinals' and the 'clowns
these groups were more likely to be working class
they were given lower level books to read, and fewer chances to show their abilities
Accused of being deterministic, assumes pupils who've been labels have no choice but to fulfil the prophecy, inevitably failing
FULLERS 1984 study shows this isnt always the case
THE SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
Interactionalists argue that labelling can affect pupils achievement by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
STEP 1: the teacher labels the pupil, and makes predictions about them
STEP 2: The teacher treats the pupil accordingly acting as if the prediction is already true
STEP 3: the pupil internalises the teachers expectation, which becomes part of their self-concept
they actually become the kind of pupil the teacher believed them to be in the first place
TEACHERS EXPETATIONS
ROSENTHAN & JACOBSON showed the self-fulfilling prophecy at work in their study of a Californian primary school
they told the School they had a new test specifically designed to identify pupils who would 'spurt ahead'
this was untrue, it was a simple standard IQ test
The researchers tested all pupils, picked 20% of them at random, and told the school they were 'spurters'
returning to the school a year later, they found that almost half of those identified as 'sputters' had made significant progress
ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON suggest the teachers beliefs about the pupils had been influenced by the test results
the teachers has conveyed these beliefs to the students through the way they interacted with them e.g body language, amount of attention etc
This demonstrates the self-fulfilling prophecy - simply by accepting the prediction that some pupils would spurt ahead, the teachers brought it about
STREAMING
Streaming involves separating children into different ability groups or classes called 'streams'
each ability group is then taught separately from the others for all subjects
studies show that the self-fulfilling prophecy is likely to occur when students are streamed
As Becker shows, teachers usually dont see w/c students as ideal pupils
they tend to see them as lacking ability and have low expectations of them
as a result w/c children are more likely to find themselves in a lower stream
Once streamed its hard to move up to a higher stream- children are more or less locked into their teachers low expectations of them
children in lower streams get the message that their teachers have written them off as no-hopers
This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the pupils live up to their teachers low expectations by underachieveing
e.g DOUGLAS found that children placed in lower streams at age 8 had suffered a decline in their IQ score by age 11
M/C students benefit from streaming- they are likely to be placed in higher streams, reflecting their teachers view of them being the ideal pupil
As a result they developed a more positive self-concept, gained confidence worked harder and improved their results
STREAMING & THE A-TO-C ECONOMY
A study of 2 London secondary schools by GILLBORN & YOUDELL shows how teachers use stereotypical notions of 'ability' to stream pupils
they found teachers are less likely to see w/c students as having ability
as a result these pupils are more likely to be placed in lower streams and entered for lower-tier GCSEs
this denies them the knowledge and opportunity needed to gain good grades and widens the class gap in achievemnt
GILBORN & YOUDELL link streaming to the policy of publishing league tables
These rank each school according to its exam performance
schools need to achieve a good league table position to attract pupils and funding
Publishing league tables created what GILLBORN & YOUDELL call an 'A-TO-C economy in schools
this a system in which schools focus their time, effort and resources on those pupils they see as having the potential to get 5 grade c's, therefore boosting the schools league table position
EDUCATIONAL TRIAGE
GILLBORN & YOUDELL argue that the A-to-C economy produces educational triage
schools categorise students into 3 types:
1) those who will pass anyways and can be left to get on with it
2) those with potential, who will be helped to get a C or better
3) Hopeless cases, who are doomed to fail
Teachers do this using a stereotypical view of w/c pupils as lacking ability
they are the ones most likely to be labelled as 'hopeless cases' and simply 'warehoused' in bottom sets
this produces a self-fulfilling prophecy and failiure
PUPIL SUBCULTURES
A pupil subculture is a group of people who share similar values and behaviour patterns
it can often emerge as a response to the way pupils have been labelled, and in particular a response to streaming
LACEY:
DIFFERENTIATION: the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude or behaviour
Streaming is a form of differentiation as it categorises pupils into separate classes
POLARISATION: the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of 2 opposite 'poles'/extremes
Lacey found streaming polarised boys into a pro-school and an anti-school subculture
PRO-SCHOOL SUBCULTURE
Pupils placed in higher streams (largely m/c) tend to remain commited to school values
they Gain status in the approved manner, through academic success
ANTI-SCHOOL SUBCULTURE
Those placed in lower streams suffer a loss of self-esteem- the school has undermined their self-worth by placing them in a position of inferior status
this label pushed them to search for alternative ways of gaining status
usually this invlolves inverting the schools babies of hard work, obedience and punctuality
such pupils form an anti-school subculture as a means of gaining status among peers.g by truanting, nor doing homework, smoking etc
However although joining an anti-school subculture solves the problem of lack of status, it creates further problems for such pupils
it means they are likely to also become a self-fulfilling prophecy of educational failiure
PUPILS CLASS IDENTITIES
HABITUS
Refers to the dispositions, or learned, taken-for granted ways of thinking , being and acting that are shared by a particular social class
it includes their tastes and preferences about lifestyles and consumption, their outlook on life
its formed as a response to its position in the class structure
the middle class have the power to define its habits as superior and impose it on the education system
as a result the school puts a higher value on middle class tastes and preferences
because the schools has a m/c habits, it gives m/c students an advantage and working-class culture is regarded as inferior
SYMBOLIC CAPITAL & SYMBOLIC VIOLENCE
Because schools have a m/c habits, pupils who've been socialised at home into m/c tastes and references gain 'symbolic capital'
this is status/recognition from the school, deeming them to have worth & value
By contrast, the school devalues working-class habits so w/c tatted e.g in accent or clothing, are deemed to be tasteless & worthless
BORDIEU calls this withholding of symbolic capital 'symbolic violence'
by defining the w,c and their tastes & lifestyles as inferior, symbolic violence reproduces re class structure and keeps the lower class in their place
ARCHER found that w/c pupils felt that in order to be educationally successful, they would have to change how they talk & presented themselves
thus, for w/c students, educational success is often experienced as a process of'loosing yourself'
NIKE IDENTITIES
Many W/C students were conscious that society & school looked down on them
this symbolic violence led them to seek alternative ways of creating self-worth, status & value
they did this by constructing meaningful class identities for themselves by investing heavily in styles
especially through consuming branded clothes such as nike
style performances & the right appearance earned symbolic capital and approval from peer groups and brought safety from bullting
how've it led to conflicteith the schools dress code- teachers opposed 'street' styles, and labeled them as rebels
ARCHER claims that w/c pupils investment in nike identities is not only their cause of marginalisation by the school, but expresses their positive preference for a different lifestyle
As a result, w/c pupils may choose self-exclusion from education