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