pupil subcultures affecting educational achievments

What are pupil subcultures ?

• A group of people who share similar experiences values and behavioural patterns.

• Subcultures emerge as a result of labelling and is a reaction to streaming

Polarisation and differentiation - Colin Lacey

• Came up with a concept to explain how pupil subcultures develop

• Differentiation = process in which teachers categorise pupils according to how they view their attitude abilities and behaviour

• Polarisation = process in which pupils will respond to streaming by moving towards one of the two opposite poles or extremes

Pro and anti school subculture

• Pro = high streams / sets

• Largely m/c

• Gained status through academic work

• Respect values of the school

• Anti = low streams / sets

• Largely w/c

• Search for alternative ways to gain status

• values are the opposite of schools

how do students respond to steaming

• ingratiation = being the teachers pet

• Ritualism = going through the motions and staying out of trouble

• Retreatism = daydreaming and mucking about

• Rebellion = rejecting everything the school stands for

Streaming - Gilborn and Youdell

• w/c pupils that were labelled as hopeless cases would live up to their label and underachieve by developing a self fulfilling prophecy

• This is because people live up to that label and stop trying at school