Responses to streaming

Lacey (1970)

• Differentiation

  • Categorisation of pupils by teachers according to perceptions of ability based on attitude and behaviour

    • E.g. streaming

• Polarisation

  • Pupil response to streaming by moving towards one of two poles (extremes)

    • E.g. pro- and anti-school subcultures

Furlong (1984)

• Pupil response to differentiation changes by

  • Lesson

  • Teacher

Woods (1979)

• Responses to streaming

  • Ingratiation- pro-school conformity with eagerness to please teachers and win favour with them

  • Compliance- conformity, but for what they can get out of school in like exam success not for enjoyment

  • Opportunism- those who try to gain both teacher and peer group approval, moving between which ever is more beneficial at the time

  • Ritualism- lack of interest and engagement, but appearing to conform to avoid trouble

  • Retreatism- not actively opposed to school values but indifferent: messing about, distracted, indifferent to exam success, not involved in school or any subcultures

  • Colonisation- accept school for what it offers them but rejects for things it forbids, take opportunities to have fun and express hostility as long as they avoid trouble

  • Intransigence- troublemakers with indifference to school and lack of care about the consequences of non-conformity

  • Rebellion- outright rejection of schooling and values, involvement in anti-school subculture

Hargreaves (1967)

• Studied low stream boys in a secondary modern school

  • Had failed 3x

    1. 11+

    2. Streaming exams/been put in low streams

    3. Labelled as ‘worthless louts’

• Solution

  • Seek other similar pupils

  • Form a group where high status came from flouting rules (create a subculture)

  • Delinquent subculture guarantees educational failure and social success

Ball

• Looked at examples of abolition of banding

  • Basis for polarisation removed

  • Influence of anti-school subculture declined

  • Differentiation continued, with s-f p occurring