CAGE and external based factors on educational achievement

class, age, gender, ethnicity, external factors that cooperatively produce CAGE

who is the main sociologist behind labelling theory

howard becker

outline Rosenthal and jacobson’s test on interactionist labelling in schools

have students an IQ test and told teachers that some were late bloomers, allowed teachers to manipulate the classroom accordingly and cater more for these students I.e. more attention, came back a year later to find out that these children improved better than the other children, showed the affect labelling has on students

streaming

sorting students into sets based on overall academic performance

setting

sorting students into sets on a subject by subject basis

apply SFP and class to streaming and setting

streams and sets usually align with classes, low sets means low self esteem and feeling ,like a failure, usually manifest itself fro primary education so results in an overall negative attitude towards learning, possibly poor attainment as a result

who thought of the A-C economy, what does it link to

Gillborn and Youdell, links to educational triage, shows how teachers only focus on the A-C students as they will benefit League tables and make a larger impact to the economy, use of stereotypes for this on gender race and class

what was Willis’ research on students

foundthat Pro school and anti school subcultures existed within schools, aligned with class and gender, anti school subcultures consisted of young working class males who rejected school and valued work, emerge as a response to labelling as LAD subcultures were the last resort before boys become a triple failure, used these groups to gain status

differentiation

pupils being in the same space yet still being categorised e.g teachers giving out different levels of work

polarisation

groups in school being completely separated e.g m/c Vs w/c in pro school Vs anti school

what are the issues with researching those in anti school subcultures

normally hard to gain consent as parents are reluctant, hard to locate as they are not in school, headteachers are reluctant as it damages their school status

what was Ball’s beach side comprehensive study

study in a comprehensive school, aimed to see the effects of abolishing setting and streaming to see if there was still any labelling, teachers still differentiated and labelled kids, m/c did better in testing, showed that getting rid of streaming doesn’t stop labelling

criticisms of labelling

used as a form to instigate hegemonic control over w/c, some kids reject labels, assumes all students are passive, fails to explain why teachers label students, more of a structural power issue surrounding teacher training

external subcultures in relation to education and class

school possesses a m/c habitus, w/c students find it difficult to align with these values (Bordeiu habitus) and therefore reject school, turn to other subcultures and ways to gain status, possession of Nike identities and other forms of rebellion

on average, what is the attainment gap between FSM and non FSM students

27%

what is the general synopsis of gender differences in educational achievement

girls achieve higher than boys in every aspect of education

what are the external factors that contribute to girls over achieving in schools

feminism, family changes, policy, employment changes, ambitions and attitudes changes

feminism in relation to girls achievement

more legal equal rights to motivate girls, raised expectations and self esteem of women, change in attitudes within the media, more positive images of women in labour and careers

family changes in relation to girls achievement

demolishment of the nuclear family and more women in less conventional family structures e.g single parent families, motivation for women to get careers, less reliance on male breadwinners

policy and employment changes in relation to girls achievement

1969 divorce reform act allowed women to divorce their husbands without his permission, 1970 equal pay act allowed for the same pay to be given across genders, 1975 sex discrimination act diminished employment inequalities

who conducted a study into girls changing ambitions, explain it

sue sharpe, found girls in the 1970s valued family and finding a husband compared to attitudes in the 1990s that focused on education and careers, shift in focus from marriage to careers, girls recognised that education is important to be self sufficient

changing attitudes and ambitions in relation to girls achievement

girls value education more * sue sharpe, success is important to many girl’s identities, girls want to be more self sufficient, girls are more likely to work harder within school and be more organised, have up to 4x more concentration than boys

what are the internal factors that contribute to girls over achieving in schools

equal opportunities, role modelling and sterotyping, coursework, teacher attention, League tables

equal opportunities in relation to girls achievement

schools are more sensitive to gender issues so have more movements and policies to drive equality GIST and WISE, national curriculum is the same across genders, trips and extra curriculars just for girls

what did boaler say about equal opportunities

equal opportunities can remove barriers for girls education, makes the system meritocratic band shows that girls are just better at school than boys

positive role models and sterotyping in relation to girls achievement

more female headteachers and less gendered stereotyping within textbooks, more positive female imagery drives women to success

coursework in relation to girls achievement

coursework targets female characteristics, requires organisation and creativity which is more tailored to girls ALTHOUGH this approach is outdated as there are no more coursework subjects in gcse

teacher attention in relation to girls achievement

girls receive more positive attention than boys are are encouraged to do better, different labelling is different SFP and different outcomes as a result

league tables in relation to girls achievement

boys are more likely to be excluded and seen as problem students (willis’ lads), girls are more likely to be selected as they are more desired

why do boys underachieve in school

ego-driven and quick to give up, poorer primary socialisation as they are told to go out rather than adopt bedroom culture, more laddish subcultures, poorer classroom behaviour and lower teacher expectations

explain the male identity crisis in relation to employment and therefore achievement

less male employment (especially in industry specific roles e.g steel) means boys realise they must do well in school as playing fields are leveled, results in crisis as they are not accustomed to education, fail and reject education and spiral to other means of status e.g crime

what are the issues with male literacy

less male primary school teachers stop men from engaging in primary education, reading seen as a female trait, girls have bedroom culture so read more

solutions to improve boys literacy

reading hour, encouraging more male role models to read, dad’s reading with children, tv personaliities

how does globalisation affect male employment

manual industries move abroad and less practical jobs for men in UK, turn to education but aren’t accustomed to its values

lack of male role models in relation to boys underachievement

lack of male teachers and role models within education, often female teachers find it hard to control a class as boys only adhere to male discipline, yet education system adopts male pedagogy so??

laddish subcultures in relation to boys underachievement

boys in more male centered laddish subcultures which drives them to reject school more often, results in low attainment

outline gender segregation within school options

still are gender segregated subjects, maths physics and stem subjects more aligned with men, literature sociology and languages more associated with women

where is gendered segregation most seen in education

vocational subjects such as engineering and health & social care

what did Skelton et al say about gendered subjects

boys are in more stem subjects and girls are in more soft subjects due to early gender socialisation, aligns with traits as stem is seen as masculine and healthcare is seen as feminine and caring

how do schools contribute towards gender distribution within subject choice

careers advisors drive people towards these roles, usually due to their own socialisation, push towards more vocational subjects that can be applied towards work, based off capitalist needs

what did Colley say about subject perception

some subjects are stigmatised and therefore behaviours are aligned, boys ridicule and reject English, boys take charge in grabbing equipment and ridiculing girls in science

name some arguments that argue for a gender difference in subject choices

gender identity, peer pressure, gendered subject images, gendered careers opportunities, gender role socialisation

how many students are white

80%

what ethnic group makes the least progress within school

white

what students are more likely to be excluded and by how much

black students 1.5 X more

how are black pupils profiled and labelled within schools

labelled as misbehaving and angry, more likely to be referred for anger management and punished for misbehaviour, less likely to be in gifted and talented programmes

what group is most likely to have vocational qualifications, what does this suggest

ethnic minorities, due to having less of a chance to complete higher qualifications (setting, streaming, labelling etc)

what does Black African higher education admissions look like

higher progress towards a degree after a levels and more likely than other ethnic groups to fully complete a degree

what are some challenges of investigating racism

breach of the law so people have to be careful talking about it, teachers have professional fronts so are unlikely to talk about ‘taboo’ topics, schools have to obtain records, parents and students may not give consent or want to be identified as involved in the incident(s)

explain the Noon study on EM employment

study that sent the same application to the top 100 companies, changed name from Evans to Patel and received less helpful responses showing white favouritism

what did Rex say about social exclusion in relation to EM

ethnic minorities are more likely to live in substandard housing that leads to more health complications and therefore worse employment and education, leads to marginalisation and social exclusion

how is primary socialisation an external factor impeding educational achievement

the way people are socialised lead to their social norms, people without mother / father figures are known to struggle more, families that don’t support their children in education are more likely to raise children without qualifications and with anti-school mindsets

evaluate primary socialisation on attainment

parsons argues for universalistic standards at school which level the playing field for students, some students reject the socialisation of their families, not all successful nuclear families raise educated children

how is Murray’s underclass an external factor impeding educational achievement

the underclass are the poorest of the poor and are materially and culturally deprived meaning they do not have the physical or social means to succeed, more lone parent families mean the adequate socialisation is not provided

evaluate Murray’s underclass on educational attainment

not every lone parent child fails, some families are better off being lone parent e.g abusive parents leaving

how is Bordieu’s Habitus an external factor impeding educational achievement

if people do not have the same habitus as British education (middle class), they are more likely to fail, different cultures have different habitus so Asian abitus is more likely to fit with UK schooling, some cultures do not build tolerance to society e.g black culture has low self esteem

evaluate habitus on attainment

not everyone matches the habitus yet still succeeds, black students don’t fail because of self esteem e.g black female London students rejecting their labels, habitus can vary in schools e.g teacher backgrounds

how is cultural deprivation an external factor impeding educational achievement

people do not have the means to be educated e.g language barriers and understanding, those that speak elaborate code are more likely to succeed than those that speak restricted code, informal language at home means less integration into education

evaluate cultural deprivation on attainment

Indian pupils do really well regardless of language barriers, many international students do well, not all that have elaborate code at home do well

how are aspirations an external factor impeding educational achievement

EM are socialised to not have high aspirations leading to lower achievement, high aspirations proposed towards white middle class pupils so they are more likely to achieve, anti-school subcultures and gang culture can enter schools

evaluate aspirations on attainment

highly deterministic as not everyone has the same aspirations that are in the same group, media can influence people in different ways

how is deprivation an external factor impeding educational achievement

those that are poor lack material to be educated, migrants are usually on minimum wage, shift workers can mean parental absence and less support at home, poorer conditions can lead to poor health

evaluate deprivation on attainment

not all deprived children do bad, there are grants and subsidies in place to combat deprivation (FSM, bursaries, uniform policies etc)

what did Sewell say about father’s and gang culture

many Black families are headed by a single mother, absence of a father and heavy gang culture in media encourages boys to enter gangs where they receive the fatherly love

evaluate father’s and black gang culture

society and media is institutionally racist so will propose such profiling in order to advertise groups as such, marginalises and leads to frustration which encourages more of such culture