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Sociology Education: Social Class - Coggle Diagram
Sociology Education: Social Class
Internal
The Self- Fulfilling Prophecy
1) Teacher labels a pupil and based on this a prediction is made
2) The teacher treats the pupil accordingly by acting the prediction is true
3) Pupil internalises the teachers expectation which becomes part of that pupils self image or self concept and becomes the student the teacher believed them to be
Rosenthal and Jacobson :
California primary school they told the teachers they had a specific test that would test the school's population to identify the spurters but it was actually an IQ test. The teachers believed what they were told. Rosenthal and Jacobson randomly picked 20% of the school's population to be the spurters and told the school. When they returned a year later they found 47% of the 20% had made significant progress because the teachers had given them more resources, more attention and encouragement. However this was highly unethical as vulnerable groups were involved (children) and there was no consent as they didn't know they were being tested
Streaming
When pupils are separated into different perceived ability groups, sets or classes called streams. They are taught separately in their groups and the self fulfilling prophecy is more likely to happen
A-To-C Economy = How teachers place pupils into streams based on perceived ability of them being able to get a Grade C or above. Teachers are more likely to place middle class pupils in the higher streams based on their perceived prophecy of that pupil whereas the working class are more likely to be placed into the lower streams and will be entered into the lower tier GCSE'S. This also encourages the schools to prioritise the Grade C'S and above pupils to improve overall exam results
Ball
Abolishing Streaming = A comprehensive school was in the process of abolishing sets and streams in favour of teaching mixed ability groups this made the polarisation into pupil subcultures less but differentiation continued as teachers still categorise pupils differently.
Educational Triage = schools will categorise pupils into three types
1) Those will pass despite any circumstances
2) Those with potential who will get a Grade C or above
3) Hopeless cases
Functionalist would say the A-To-C Economy is not meritocratic and damages school's positive functions such as social solidarity
Marxist would say that the A–To-C economy is a mechanism that reproduces class inequality and serves capitalist interests.
Labelling Theory
When teachers attach names or definitions to pupils based on their social class, gender or ethnicity despite academic ability. The working class get the labels such as thick or stupid whereas the middle class are more likely to get labels such as hardworking or bright
Becker = Found that an American high school teachers were judging pupils according to how closely they fitted the image of an ideal pupil which was the middle class. The working class were given less resources
Rist = Found that an teacher from an American kindergarten school was using the pupils home backgrounds and appearance to place them in separate groups and seating those groups at different tables. The teacher decided the fast learners tended to be middle class and sat them on the tables of the tigers which were closer to the teacher the working class were placed further away on the table of clowns. This created competition that created winners and losers as the closer you were to the teacher decided how much resources you got or teachers attention
Chinese and Asian Pupils are labelled as passive so they do not get the same attention as white middle class and Black Caribbean pupils are more likely to be labelled negatively due to institutionalised racism
Functionalists believe role allocation is fair, so labelling is not the main cause of achievement differences.
(Marxist)Labelling theory blames individual teachers instead of the education system that reproduces inequality
Feminists would say that it overlooks how teachers reinforce gender stereotypes
External
Compensatory Education
Governmental policies and programs designed to tackle the effects of cultural and material deprivation.
The aim of it is to compensate for what children may lack and help them start school with an equal footing
It also helps to narrow the class gap in attainment
Support children's language, literacy and social skills before and during school
USA - Operation Head start in the 1960's provided extra classes, home visits and healthcare. It tried to develop language skills, confidence and motivation before formal education
UK - Sure Start since 1998 onwards focused on children under 5 in deprived area. They offered childcare, early education and parenting support. It aimed to improve health, literacy and emotional development
It can help but can't fully overcome the structural inequalities of material deprivation and cultural differences
Material Deprivation
Housing - Some working class families may be living in poor damp cold accommodation and it might be overcrowded. With overcrowded housing there is less space for children to study less room for educational activities. There may be disturbed sleep. Overcrowded housing run the risk of accidents. This may mean the child may be off school more for being ill. Whereas middle class pupils have the money to afford housing that can cater to all the needs of the members in that household
Diet and Health -
Howard = Young people have lower income of energy, vitamins and energy. This weakens the immune system and creates poor energy levels. This can result in absences due to illness and difficulty concentrating in lessons
Bourdieu: Three types of capital
1) Cultural = The knowledge, attitudes, values, behaviour and language of the middle class. Their culture is a type of capital because it gives an advantage to those who posses it.
2) Economic = The wealth and material resources that families can use to support their children's education some parents use their economic capital into (3)educational capital by sending their child to a private school.
Leech and Compos conducted a study in Coventry and found that middle class parents are more likely to be able to afford a house in the catchment area of a school that is highly placed in exam league tables. This is known as "selection by mortgage" because it drives up the cost of houses near to successful schools and excludes working class families
Internal
Habitus
Dispositions or learned taken for granted ways of thinking, being or acting shared by a particular social class
The middle class have the power to define it's habitus as superior and and impose it onto the education system. Whereas the working class habitus is seen as invaluable and have to conform to the middle class
Habitus can be dress style or body language
Symbolic Capital
Symbolic Violence
Symbolic capital is people who have been primarily socialised by the family into middle class tastes and preferences
Symbolic Violence reproduces the class structure and keeps the lower class in their place
Pupil Subculture
Groups of students who develop shared norms, values and behaviour patterns in response to their experiences in school.
This emerges as a result of labelling which creates polarisation ( pupils response to differentiation by splitting into two groups) and differentiation.
Middle class value from polarisation whereas working class may resist authority to gain status from peers
Pro school = Ingratiation - being the teacher's pet
= Ritualism - going through the notions to get out of trouble
Anti school = Retreatism - Daydreaming and mucking about
= Rebellion - outright rejection of everything schools stands for
Some pupil subcultures may be Nike identities or Hyper Feminine heterosexual identities . The right appearance earns the pupil symbolic capital and approval from peer groups this also brings safety from bulling as well
External
Cultural Deprivation
Working class children underachieve in education because they lack language skills, values, attitudes and knowledge that middle class families are more likely to pass onto their children. Working class parents may place less emphasis on education. It is highly controversial as Marxists believe it blames working class families for their children's failure not the education system
Language
The middle class speak in the elaborate code and have an advantage in education as school and exams use the elaborate code which means the middle class pupils are already fluent so are more likely to succeed
The working class speak in the restricted code so they are more likely to be placed on the lower tier GCSE'S as they lack the understanding of the elaborate code it is argued the restricted code is inadequate
Hubbs Tait et al research into how parents use language that challenges their children to make their cognitive skills to develop educated parents the middle class are more likely to do this whereas the working class are more likely to use simple statements to their children
Bernstein believes that working class pupils fail because school fail to teach them how to use the elaborate code not because they are culturally deprived
Parent's Education and Parenting Styles
Douglas = Working class parents place less value on education so they are less ambitious for their children they gave them less encouragement and took less in their education like not going to parent's evenings meaning they are less likely to talk about their child's progress which can restrict the child to get higher grades as they may not know where they can improve. This gives their children less motivation
Berstein and Young - Middle class mothers are more likely to use their pay check on buying their children educational toys, books or activities that stimulate intellectual development whereas the working class may lack that opportunity meaning the working class pupils lack those skills developed in the family that the middle class would have Middle class children benefit from enriched learning but the working class income is spent on necessities or non educational goods so children miss out on educational enrichment
The myth of cultural deprivation
Keddie = Victim blaming explanation it dismisses the idea that failure at school can be blamed on a culturally deprived family background. A child can't be deprived of it's own culture and argue working class children are not culturally deprived but culturally different