topic 4; education

Marxist view on education

• cultural capital, some children being able to learn from new experiences while some cannot which gives the privilege people an advantage in education

• Correspondence theory, public schools teaching children to be workers while private schools teach the higher class children to be more successful

Functionalist views on education

• secondary socialisation, children being taught the norms and values

• Social solidarity, students feel part of a bigger society; a sense of “togetherness”

• Role allocation, being matched to the correct job for your abilities

• Meritocracy, education being fair and equal and giving everyone an equal chance to be successful

Labelling

When teachers make assumptions and judgements based on first impressions or little information

Meritocracy

Education is fair and equal and everyone has an equal chance to succeed

Cultural capacity

Experiencing and learning things through travelling and having experiences

Hidden curriculum

Norms and values we acquire in school without knowing

Formal curriculum

When we learn from the subjects in a school, skill and information has to be taught

Ascribed status

Status that other people give you because of some thing you cannot change

Achieved status

Status you have earned yourself, can be positive or negative

Crisis of masculinity

Loss of traditional status and roles among men, with the rise of feminism

Correspondence theory

Schools correspond to the needs of the workplace. The working class being taught to be workers while the upper class are taught how to be more successful

Transmission of norms and values

Where a society, culture or group passes it’s shared rules, beliefs and values to the next generation

Becky Francis: marxist

A Marxist who states the working class parents want the best for their children but may lack confidence, social skill or networks to work the system

Patriarchy

Male-dominated society

Social mobility

The movement of a person or family up or down a social hierarchy

Pierre bourdieu

A Marxist who believes your ability to experience affects your education. E.g a child who can afford to have more experiences will achieve more than a child who cannot

Emile Durkheim

A functionalist who believes children learn norms and values, their place in society and what is expected of them in school,

Talcott parsons

A functionalist who believes school acts as a bridge between particular norms and values at home and universal norms and vakues of wider society

Bowles and Gintis

Marxists who believe Schools correspond to the needs of the workplace, teaching the working class to go to working jobs while higher class to go ahead and lead

Social cohesion

A sense of unity and shared bond between other members of your culture

Feminists views on education

• men are more likely to get top positions in teaching, for example more men are head teachers while more women are teacher

• There are still gendered subjects like d+t for boys and food tech for girls

• Boys dominate the classroom and attract more attention by being loud and disruptive

Education reform act 1988

A law that states girls and boys should be able to follow the same courses

Peer pressure

Pressure to do something in order to be liked, accepted, or to fit into a certain group

Sue lee

Found double standards for being sexual active. Girls are shamed and made fun of for being sexually available while boys are not and are even praised for it

State school

Funded by the state and which provides it’s educational services for free

Public Schools

These are the highest status and most expensive private schools (fees have to be paid to go there)

Private schools

Pupils pay fees to attend. The school set their own fees and so are associated with upper and upper-middle class

Becky Francis: feminist

Found boys dominate classrooms by being loud and disruptive, giving them more attention

The national curriculum

Boys and girls in state school should follow the same course

Interactionalist views (labelling theory) on education

• children labelled ‘more able’ academically performed better at the end of the year

• Teachers base labels on ability, appearance, conforming to discipline and rules, enthusiasm to work and relationships with others

• Students in ‘top groups’ behaved better, worked harder and made more progress than ‘lower groups’ because of lowered expectations

The self-fulfilling prophecy

When the student lives up to the label they have been given and starts to act in that way

Nell Keddie: labelling

Believes that because children in learning supports group were allowed to talk more, given simplier knowledge and not set homework or stretched, they had lower expectations so achieved less

Stephen Ball: labelling

Found students in ‘top groups’ behaved better, worked harder and made more progress compared to ‘lower groups’ who had lower expectations

David Hargreaves : labelling theory

Believes teachers base labels on ability, appearance, confirming to discipline and rules, enthusiasm for work and relationships with others. Over time, the labels become more firmer

Rosenthal and Jacobson

Found primary students labelled by teachers as ‘more able’ performed better at the end of the year than those that weren’t

Howard Becker

Believes teachers hold an image in their head of the ‘ideal student’ based on performance, attitude, appearance and behaviour

Paul Willis

Studied 12 boys in secondary school who called themselves ‘the lads’. They mocked good students and misbehaved. They said it was because they knew when they finished school, despite what grades they got, they would go work at the factory their dad worked at and their grandad worked at.

David Hargreaves: subculture

Found boys in top classes were succeeding academically and formed pro-school subcultures, while boys in lower classes were failing and formed anti-school subcultures

Anti-school subculture

Replacing the schools value with their own values and goals

Pro-school subcultures

Fully reflecting the schools value

Advantages of setting classes

• Learn at your pace

• Will be on the same level as the rest of the class

Disadvantages of setting classes

• Labelled negatively, can then experience the self-fulfilling prophecy

Advantages of streaming or banding classes

• better opportunities to succeed and achieve your best

• You can stretch yourself

Disadvantages of streaming or banding classes

• may feel rushed for learning

• Lower self-esteem is everyone else gets it but you

Nell Keddie: setting and streaming

Students in lower sets could talk more and didn’t get homework set which meant they achieved less

Stephen Ball: setting and streaming

Students in top bands were labelled ‘bright’ and encouraged to do well. This meant they achieved more and filed the self-fulfilling prophecy

Setting

When students are in different classes in different subjects according to their ability in that specific subject.

Streaming or banding

When the students are with the same class in all subjects on the basis of general ability

Mixed ability classes

Where students are placed into classes randomly, not based on ability or knowledge in any class

Is private, independent education a choice we should allow in the British school system?

Yes:

-We should be able to spend money on better education for our children

-Scholarships are given to talented students

It gives better facility and education

No:

-Gives ruling class advantage to maintain their class position

-It’s an unequal and unfair system

-Every child should receive a good education, regardless of social class

In-school factors explaining the difference in educational achievements between different social classes

• teachers, by the job they do, are middle class. Therefore the culture, language and curriculum used in school are all middle class by nature

• Students in lower sets were labelled more negatively and were given lower expectations

• Students in high-classes are labelled more positively while students in lower-classes were labelled as more negatively

Cultural factors explaining the differences in educational achievements between different social classes

• middle class parents might have been more successful in education so value it more and set higher expectations for their children

• Cultural depreciation, where some children are not supported or lack the experience to help them achieve more in education.

• Being able to afford experiences similar to school like museums or zoo trips means you have an advantage at knowledge

The material factors explaining the differences in educational achievements between different social classes

• high income can mean more money to spend on extra tuition, revision resources, books, school trips etc

• Poor quality, damp, cold an overcrowding housing or poor diet can mean students are tired and unable to concentrate, miss school due to illness n can’t complete homework

• Students could be bullied for not being able to afford stuff

The old boys network

Networks and contacts with other former private schools students to gain better jobs and opportunities

In-school factors

The difference in educational achievements between different social classes linked to the child’s school

Cultural factors

The difference in educational achievements between different social classes linked to family values, expectations and language

Material factors

The difference in educational achievements between different social classes linked to money

Why do girls outperform boys?

• feminism, girls can reject traditional roles

• Laws, gender discrimination is illegal and opportunities increases

• Education reform act and the national curriculum, girls can learn the same subjects as boys so get better opportunities

Sue Sharpe

Conducted two surveys in 1970 and 1990. Found girl’s priority changed from being those of a traditional housewife to an independent women

Carolyn Jackson

Sociologist who found being “cool” is important to boys and being a “good student” can be seen as “uncool”

Why do working class children underachieve

-some cannot afford to spend money on extra tuition, revision resources, books, school trips, internet access and computers

-some cannot afford school trips or have ill-fitting or second hand clothes can face bullying which can lead to reluctance in attending school ad less confidence

-Some teachers often label students who are working class as less intelligent, troublesome and lazy compared to middle-class students

Why do children from higher social classes achieve

• middle class parents might have been more successful in eduction so value it more and place higher expectations on their children to do well

• They can afford better experiences for their children like books, visits to museums or galleries and a culture or values that are similar to that of schools

• Middle class parents have higher social capital, meaning they understand how the education system works and how to negotiate with teachers to gain the best chances for their children

Why do boys underachieve

• primary school is feminised, more female primary teachers so there are no male role models

• Curriculum and teaching is more girl friendly, school is more verbal skills and coursework than physical and competitive so girls do better

• Crisis of masculinity, men no longer have a cut out role in society so don’t know what to do after education which can be dis motivating

• Peer pressure, boys experience peer pressure more commonly and are also more likely to experience “ladish” anti-school subculture

• Labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy, some teachers may see boys as more troubling so label them as troublesome, causing them to live up to that