Sociology: Internal Factors In Class Achievement

Front 1

Explain labelling for the achievement of children.

Back 1

To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. For example, teachers may label a pupil as bright or thick, troublemaker or hardworking. Teachers do this to pupils regardless of pupils actual values or attitudes. Instead it's based on stereotyped assumptions about class background. Lower class labelled negatively and upper class labelled positively.

Sociologists argue that schools persistently produce working class underachievement because of the labels and assumptions of teachers.

In secondary school, teachers label working class parents as uninterested in their children's education but labelled the middle classes parents as supportive. This leads to how teachers deal with their pupils.

In primary schools, teachers can use information from children's home background and appearance to place them in separate groups.

Front 2

Explain how the self fulfilling prophecy can affect achievement.

Back 2

A self fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true simply by the virtue of it having been made. The self fufillin prophecy can cause an advantage and a disadvantage.

Front 3

Explain how streaming can affect children's achievement.

Back 3

The self fulfilling prophecy is most likely to occur when children are streamed this is because the pupils tend to live up to the teachers expectations. This is when children are separated into different ability groups. Each ability group is then taught separately from the others for all subjects. Teachers tend to not see the working class pupils as ideal pupils as they see them as lacking ability and having low expectations. Therefore they are placed in lower streams.

Schools need to achieve a good league table position if they are to attract pupils and funding. Due to this, teachers focus their time, effort and resources on those pupils they see as having potential to get five grade Cs and so boost the schools leave position table.

The educational triage is categorising pupils into 3 categories: -the ones that'll pass and can be left to get on with it

-those with potential who will be helped to get a grade c or better

-those who are helpless and are doomed to fail.

The ones that are helpless are mainly labelled as the lower class and black pupils. This can therefore lead to the self fulfilling prophecy.

Front 4

How does pupil subculture affect educational achievement?

Back 4

Differentiation is the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitudes or behaviour. Polarisation is the process in which pupils respond to streaming and stereotypes.

Pro school subculture are mainly pupils placed in upper streams. They tend to remain committed to school values and gain status through an approved manner.

Anti school subculture are mainly those placed in low streams who tend to be working class. The school has undermined their self worth by placing them in a position if inferior status. This failure leads them to find another way of gaining status such as rejecting school values and obedience.

Pupil responses to things such as labelling or streaming include ingratiation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Many pupils may act differently to different classes. This could be due to teachers or pupil encouragement.

Front 5

How do pupils class identity and the school affect educational achievement?

Back 5

Habitus is the shared way of thinking, learning and acting by a particular social class. It includes tastes and preferences, expectations and lifestyles.

Symbolic capital is the gain of status and recognition from the school. This is usually seen in the middle class pupils.

Symbolic violence is when society defines the lower class' taste and preferences as inferior. This causes a clash between the middle and working class habitus.

Nike identities show the relationship between working class identity and educational failure. Symbolic violence leads Working class kids to find other ways of creating self-worth, status and value. This was done through making meaningful class identities for themselves by investing heavily in 'styles' like Nike. But this style conflicted with school dress codes - reflecting the schools' middle class habitus. The schools middle class habitus stigmatises working pupil's identities. These styles and identities were also a reason for Working class rejection as it was unrealistic and undesirable. This leads to Working class kids choosing to eliminate or exclude themselves from school as it doesn't fit in with their identity.