Class Differences in Achievement -
Internal Factors
Labelling
To label someone is to attach a
meaning/definition to them
Studies show that teachers often attach labels
regardless of the pupils' actual ability/attitude
Labelling in Secondary Schools
Becker carried out an important
interactionist study of labelling
He found that they judged pupils according to
how closely the fitted the image of the 'ideal
pupil'
Pupils' work, conduct and appearance
were key factors influencing teachers'
judgements
Cicourel & Kitsuse's study of educational counsellors
Shows how labelling can disadvantage W/C students
Counsellors play an important role in deciding
which students get onto courses that prepare
them for higher education
Found inconsistencies in the way counsellors assessed students'
suitability for courses
Labelling in Primary Schools
Labelling occurs from the outset of a child's educational
career
Rist's study found the teacher used information about the child's
home background & appearance to place them in separate groups
She decided the fast learners, named 'tigers', tended to be M/C, having
a neat & clean appearance
Seated these at the table nearest her, showing them
greatest encouragement
Other 2 groups - the 'cardinals' and 'clowns' - were seated further away
These groups were more likely to be W/C
Given lower-level books to read, fewer opportunities to demonstrate their
abilites
Sharp & Green studied Mapledene, a 'child-centred' primary school
Children were allowed to choose activities for
themselves & develop at their own pace
The teachers believed that children who were not ready to learn should be
allowed to engage in 'compensatory play'
Findings support interactionist view that children from different class
backgrounds are labelled differently
Argue the negative labelling of W/C children results in inequalities
between social classes
High & Low Status Knowledge
Studies show how labelling of W/C pupils puts them at a disadvantage
Studies show that labelling can be applied to the knowledge that they
are taught also
Keddie found both pupils and knowledge can be labelled high or low
status
Comprehensive school classes that were observed were
streamed by ability
However, all streams followed the same humanities course &
covered the same course content
Teachers believed they were teaching all pupils in the
same way
When teaching A stream, they gave them abstract theoretical, high status & knowledge
When teaching C stream pupils, they gave descriptive, common sense, low status
knowledge, related to more everyday experience
Gillborn & Youdell
Found that W/C and black pupils are less likely to be perceived as having ability, and more likely to be
placed in lower sets and entered for lower-tier GCSE's
Denies them the knowledge and opportunity needed to gain
good grades
Widening the class gap in achievement
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of having it been
made
Interactionists argue labelling affects pupils' achievement by creating a
self-fulfilling prophecy
Step 1: Teacher labels a pupil (e.g. being very intelligent), makes predictions about
him/her
Step 2: Teacher treats the pupil accordingly, acting like the prediction is already true (e.g. by giving more
attention & expecting higher standard of work)
Step 3: Pupil internalises the teacher's expectations which becomes part of their self-concept/self-image, so becomes the kind of pupil
the teach believed them to be
The prediction is fulfilled
Teachers' Expectations
Rosenthal & Jacobson show the self-fulfilling prophecy at work
Told Oak Community School they had a new teset specially designed to
identify those pupils who would 'spurt' ahead
This was untrue, because the test was simply a standard IQ test
They suggest that teachers' beliefs about the
pupils had been influenced by the suppose test
results
Teachers had then conveyed the beliefs to the pupils through
how they interacted with them
This demonstrates the self-fulfilling prophecy
Simply by accepting the prediction that some children would spurt ahead
The study findings illustrate an important interactionist principle:
What people believe to be true will have real life effects - even if the belief was
not true originally
The self-fulfilling prophecy can also produce under-achievement
Streaming & The Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Streaming involves separating children into different ability groups or classes
called 'streams'
Each ability group is then taught separately from the others
for all subjects
Becker shows teachers do not usually see W/C children as
ideal pupils
They tend to see them as lacking ability and have low
expectations of them
As a result W/C children are more likely to find themselves put in a
lower stream
Once students are streamed, it is usually difficult to move up to a higher stream
Children are more or less locked into their teachers' low expectations of them
Children in lower streams 'get the message' that their teachers have written them off as
no-hopers
This creates the self-fulfilling prophecy in which pupils live up to their teachers' low expectations by
under-achieving
By contrast, M/C pupils tend to benefit from streaming
They are likely to be placed in higher streams, reflecting teachers' view of them as ideal pupils
As a result they develop a more positive self-concept, gain confidence, work harder and improve their grades