The key internal factors linked to class and achievement

In-school factors

Teacher Labelling

Self-fulfilling

prophecyStreaming

Pupil subcultures

Pupils’ class identities

PERCy Paragraph on SFP

Point

• The Self fulfilling prophecy is…

Explain

• It can affect a W/C childs attainment because

Research

• In their study, Rosenthal …

Critique

• However, this idea can be criticised because …

Paired discussionWhat do these 4 terms mean?

BandingStreaming

SettingMixed-ability

Streaming and self-fulfilling prophecy

Streaming – separate pupils according to ability and each group is taught separately.

Self-fulfilling prophecy is more likely to occur when children are streamed.

W/C are labelled by teachers and more likely to find themselves in lower streams – locked into low expectations – written off as no hopers.

• Study of two London secondary schools.

• Teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to stream pupils. Less likely to see WC (and black) pupils as having ability – more likely to be put into lower sets – denied knowledge to gain good grades.

• Publishing exam league tables forces schools to focus on A-C statistics

Educational Triage – ‘A-C Economy’Gillborn and Youdell (2001)

Pupils -Triage

Those who will pass anyway

Borderline C/D students

are targeted for extra help

Hopeless cases – largely ignored

The need to gain a good league table position creates an educational triage and A-C economy.

Pupil Subcultures

A group of pupils share similar values and behaviour patterns. Emerge as a response to labelling.

Lacey (1970)Hightown Boys’

Grammar School

Hargreaves (1967)Secondary

Modern

Ball (1981)Beachside

Comprehensive

Lacey (1970) Hightown Boys’ Grammar School

• Participant and non-participant observation of school life. He observed and taught some lessons and helped with the cricket team.

Differentiation – Streaming is a form of differentiation as it categorises pupils into separate classes. Some pupils are high status – others are low status.

Polarisation – Pupils respond to streaming by moving to extremes or opposite poles.

Pro-school subculture

Pupils in high streams (M/C) remain committed to the school and its values.

Anti-school subculture

Pupils in low-streams (W/C) lose their self esteem.

Being labelled a failure means they must gain status from other activities.

Gain status from sabotaging the system which rejects him.

Cheeking a teacher, Truanting, not doing homework, smoking, graffitti, vandalism.

Hargreaves (1967) Secondary Modern

• Boys here were triple failures.

• Failed the 11+, placed in low streams, labelled as worthless.

• These pupils seek each other out and form

delinquent subculture which guaranteed their educational failure.

Ball (1981) Beachside Comprehensive

• Study of a school that abolishes banding in favour of mixed ability teaching.

• Pupil polarisation disappeared but M/C kids still did better?

• Differentiation between pupils continued, teachers still more likely to label M/C pupils as able.

• Class inequalities continued without the existence of pupil subcultures.

Other Pupil Responses to subcultures Woods (1979)

Teacher’s Pet Ritualism

Retreatism Rebellion

Furlong (1984) pupils may drift in and out of different responses throughout their school career.

Not a fixed response.

Pupils’ class identitiesArcher (2010) interaction between a pupils’ class identity (formed outside school) and school and achievement.

Habitus – ‘dispositions’ or learned behaviour, ways of thinking and acting shared by a class.

Middle class has power to define itself as superior. The education system puts higher value on middle class culture, tastes, values.

Symbolic capital

Middle class students are seen as worthy, having potential.

MC kids have symbolic capital - they share the same habitus as the education system.

Symbolic violence

Working class students seen as inferior, their preferences, clothing, accents and appearance are seen as tasteless.

WC kids see education as alien and unnatural.

To be educationally successful, they felt they had to change the way they talked and presented themselves.

They had to lose themselves to fit into university and professional careers.

Nike Identities

WC kids seek alternative ways of creating self-worth and identity.

Wearing brands becomes a way of being me.

Peers became style police – not conforming was social suicide.

Conflict with school dress code – seen as rebels.

MC see this brand fetish as tasteless – young WC see it as a means of generating their own symbolic capital.

Nike styles – signifies a lifestyle and justifies rejection of HE.

WC get the message that education is not for likes of them and actively choose to reject it as it does not fit their lifestyle.

Class identity and self exclusion

Evans (2009) study of 21 WC girls (A-levels) from South London.

Reluctant to apply for top universities.

Oxbridge not for the likes of us. We would not fit in.

Self-exclusion from top universities – limits options and success.

Plenary: Rank in order of importance. Justify your answer.

In-school factors

Teacher Labelling

Self-fulfilling

prophecyStreaming

Pupil subcultures

Pupils’ class identities

Home Learning

1. Define the term educational triage (2m)2. Briefly explain how pupils’ identities may lead

to underachievement (2m)3. Outline three ways in which pupils may

respond to streaming. (6m)4. Evaluate the view that social class differences

in achievement are the result of what goes on in schools. (20m)