Subcultures

Definitions

Pro-school - a group of students that share the same norms and values, following n + v of the school, and has a positive effect on their educational achievement

Anti school - a group of students that share the same norms and values, rejecting the n + v of the school and has a negative effect on their educational achievement

Subculture - a group of children that share the same norms and values but are different from mainstream norms and values

Hargreaves: school counter culture (AO1)

Carried out research in an English boys comprehensive school

Found that the lower stream school boys rejected academic values and standards of behaviour expected by the school

Developed a counter culture

Analysis (AO3)

Can still be applied to British schools

Subcultures can be formed based on setting / streaming

Relevant to society as it has been found in both comprehensive and grammar schools (Lacey)

Evaluation (AO3)

Lacey found similar culture in grammar schools

Streaming put students off learning regardless of class they came from

Ball also found that differentiation continued as still labelled, as M/C are more likely to be labelled as cooperative so they had better exam results

Ball found that when schools abolished streaming, basis for students to polarise also was removed, so did anti school subculture

Woods (AO1)

Argues that previous studies of subcultures are too simplistic

There are other responses separate to pro-school and anti school subculture

Colonisation

Ingratiation

Retreatism

Compliance

Rebellion

Opportunism

Intransigence

Ritualism

Eager to please teachers

Favourable attitudes towards school

Conformist

Accept rules and discipline, for example 1st year students

See school as useful but don't have a positive / negative opinion towards school

More likely to be positive

Pupils who fluctuate between seeking approval from teachers and from power groups

Go through motions of coming into school but with no real engagement or enthusiasm

Negative

Pupils who are indifferent to the school's values and exam success

Messing about and daydreaming

Don't want to challenge authority

Try to get away with as much as possible

Express hostility towards school, for example later years of schooling

Avoid getting in trouble

Trouble makers

Indifferent to school

Not bothered about conformity

Actively reject school values

Devote effort to achieve deviant goals

Evaluation (AO3)

Identifies problems in previous research in subcultures in schools

Different types of subcultures that can be applicable to different classes, ages, genders, & ethnicities

Mac an Ghaill (AO1)

Carried out his own research on types of subcultures within schools

The Real Englishmen

The Academic Achievers

The Macho Lads

The New Enterprisers

The Gay

Highly valued education

W/C background

Focused on traditional subjects (maths + sciences)

W/C background

Saw school as a way to gain social mobility

Focused on business + ICT

Exploited / took advantage of businesses their school had contact with

M/C background

Anti school + against school values

Rude to teachers

Achieved highly due to social and cultural capital

W/C background

Anti school + against school values

Performed badly

Anti school

Saw school as homophobic (language use, dress code, subject choice)

Formed as a safety net to thrive through school

Evaluation (AO3)

Hollingworth & Williams

White anti school subcultures are now seen as chavs rather than lads

M/C have a wider variety of subcultures, which Mac and Ghaill did not include

Ward

He identified an additional subculture for W/C pupils 'geeks'

They rejected W/C culture as they achieved high grades, winning teacher's favour

Almost all went to uni