Interactionist views of education

What do interactionists focus on in education?

They do not focus on the effect that education has on other institutions such as the workplace, but they wish to discover how individuals are shaped by the education system.

What does Howard Becker believe about the education system?

He believed there is such thing as an ‘ideal pupil’ which included expectations such as middle class, girl and hardworking. The reason for this is because many teachers come from a middle class background so their views align.

What does Rist (1970) find about education?

Study in a nursery found children are labelled, and were separated into tables working class further away tables and middle class closest. WC labelled as clowns and MC labelled tigers. Which leads to a self fulfilling prophecy

What do Rosenthal and Jacobson find?

Self-full filing prophecy, they administered an intelligence test on students and picked names at random and told them they would have a boost in intelligence and perform veteran, when tested a year later some of the children did perform better on the test.

What did Cicourel and Kitsuse find?

Study in a high school in America, both were educational councillors who decided the fate of students through labelling, found children were judged on ability and even learners who had similar grades would be labelled due to being working class, MC learners labelled as ‘college Material‘.

What does Hargreaves’s describe?

The first year intake arriving as fresh and eager to learn, willing to work hard over the years is a process of ‘differentiation’ where learners are sorted. Leading to polarisation where top students become divided from the bottom.