Internal factors that impact the educational achievement of w/c students

What did Howard Becker (1971) find about ideas of the ideal pupil in 60 Chicago high school teachers?

the work, conduct and appearance of m/c students closely fit the idea of the ideal pupil whilst w/c kids were very far from it.

What did Amelia Hempel-Jorgenson (2009) find about different notions of the ideal pupil in 2 UK primary schools?

One primary school was primarily w/c whilst the other was primarily m/c.

w/c school: the ideal pupil was seen as quiet, passive and obedient- judged based on behaviour.

m/c school: ideal pupil judged based on high academic ability and good personality.

What did Dunne and Glazely (2008) find in 9 English state secondary schools on their treatment of w/c pupils?

Teachers “normalised” the underachievement of w/c pupils and felt they were all lost causes. This heavily contrasted the treatment failing m/c pupils received and one major reason for this was lack of w/c parental interest in various school events like parents’ evening. Furthermore, w/c pupils who performed well were labelled as “overachievers”.

What did Ray Rist (1970) observe about the labelling system in an American Kindergarten?

The classes were split into 3 groups (tigers, cardinals and clowns) and seated on according tables. Tigers were “top set” and tended to be m/c whilst the other 2 were “bottom set” and tended to be w/c. Additionally, bottom set kids were rarely given chances to improve upon or display academic prowess such as being forced to read in groups instead of individually.

Define the self-fulfilling prophecy (SFP) in relation to positive and negative labelling.

POSITIVE SFP (AKA Pygmalion effect): a pupil is labelled as smart and a high achiever and so the teacher treats them accordingly. The pupil internalizes these high expectations, resulting in high achievement.

NEGATIVE SFP: a pupil is labelled as a failure or disruptive and is thus academically neglected, resulting in low achievement as they internalize the idea that they are a failure and therefore give up.

What did Gillbourn and Youdell (2001) find about biases in setting and streaming?

Black and w/c pupils are more likely to be labelled as unintelligent and thus placed in lower sets, denying them virtually any potential to achieve highly.

What is the A*-C economy/educational triage?

This is when schools sort pupils into one of 3 categories:

guaranteed passes- these students are left alone as they will achieve regardless

borderlines- these students are working at high D/low C grades. They receive lots of support to boost them into the A*-C bracket of grades (these are the only grades that matter on league tables)

guaranteed failures- these students are ignored by teachers as the school believes no amount of support can help these kids and resources should be spent elsewhere (usually the borderline kids)

What does Lacey (1970) say about the formation of pupil subcultures?

1. DIFFERENTIATION: teacher labelling and processes such as streaming (both of which are full of racial and class-based biases) make pupils aware of their status based on their academic ability

2. POLARISATION: Students attributed a low status in the school develop strong anti-school subcultures (e.g. Willis’ lads) and students attributed a high status in the school develop pro-school subcultures

What does Woods (1979) say are the 4 main responses to labelling?

a) Ingratiation: being the ‘teacher’s pet

b) Ritualism: keeping your head down

c) Retreatism: daydreaming and mucking about

d) Rebellion: outright rejection of everything the school stands for