class differences in achievement (internal)

• class differences in achievement (internal )

  • labelling

  in secondary

  in primary

  • self fulfilling prophecy

  teachers expectations

  • streaming

  A-to-C economy

  educational triage

  • pupil subcultures

  pro school subcultures

  anti school subcultures

  abolishing streaming

  variety of pupil responses

  • pupils class identities and the school

  habitus

  symbolic capital and symbolic violence

  'Nike' identities

  w/c identity and educational success

  class identity and self exclusion

  the relationship between internal and external factors
• labelling 


  • too attach a meaning/definition to someone
  • teaches often attach labels regardless of pupils actual ability or attitude but stereotyped assumption about their class background
  • pupils work, conduct and appearance were key factors influencing teachers judgment
  • m/c backgrounds were closest to ideal pupil
  • in largely w/c apen aspen primary school, where discipline was a major problem, the ideal pupil was quiet,passive and obedient
  • mainly m/c rowan primary school with few discipline problems, the ideal pupil was defined by personality and academic ability
• labelling in secondary school (Dunne and Gazeley)


  • teachers normalised the underachievement of w/c pupils whereas they believed they could overcome the underachievement of m/c pupils
  • labelled w/c parents as uninterested in their children's education. m.c parent are supportive
  • set extension work for underachieving m/c but entering w/c pupils for easier exams
  • underestimated w/c pupil potential and those who were doing well were seen as overachieving
• labelling in primary schools ( Ray Rist's study )


  • teachers used information about children background and appearance to place them in separate groups
  • m/c (tigers) were fast learners, neat and clean appearance - table nearest to the teacher and showed them encouragement
  • m/c ,the other 2 groups (cardinals and clowns) were seated further away, given lower level books to read and had fewer chance to show abilities
• self-fulfilling prophecy 


  • teacher labels the pupil and makes predictions about them
  • treats pupil by their label like it is already true
  • pupil internalises the teachers labell
• teachers expectations ( Rosenthal and Jacobson)

  • picked 20% pupil and gave them false results as 'spurters' and found a year later that 47% has made significant progress
  • teachers have been influenced by the test result and conveyed these beliefs to the pupils
• streaming 


  • seperating children into different ability groups or classes and taught separately from others for all subject
  • once's streamed its usually difficult to move up to a higher stream
  • m/c benefits from streaming resulting them to develop positive concept, confidence, work harder and improve their grades
• streaming and the A-to-C economy (Gillborn and youdell)


  • teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to stream pupils
  • less likely to put w/c and black pupils as having ability
  • link streaming to policy of publishing exam league tables
  • publishing league tables creates A-to-C economy - puts on effort, focus and resources on pupils they think will ger 5 grades Cs to boost league tables
• A-to-C , categorised into 3 types 


  • those who will pass anyways and can be left to get on with it
  • those with potential, who will be helped to get a grade C or better
  • hopeless cases, who are doomed to fail
• pupil subcultures (colin lacey) concepts of differentiation and polarisation to explain how pupil subcultures develop


  • differentiation - how teachers perceive their , attitude and/or behaviour.those deem 'more able are given high status from being in high stream
  • polarisation - process in which pupil respond to streaming by moving towards one of 2 opposite 'poles' or extremes
• pro and anti school subculture 


  pro- pupil in high streams ( mostly m/c) tend to remain committed to the values of the school an gain status through academic success

  anti - lower streams (mostly w/c) suffer a loss of self-esteem: school undermined their self-worth by placing them in position of inferior status, gain status by inverting school's values and hard word, obediency and punctuality
• abolishing streaming (Ball)


  • when abolishing banding,basis for pupil to polarise into subcultures was removed and influence of anti-school subculture declined
  • differentiation continued (labelling)
  • since education reform act, trend towards more streaming and variety of school types , some have more academic curriculum than others
• other variety of pupil responses (woods)


  • ingratiation - teachers pet
  • ritualism - going through motions and staying out of trouble
  • retreatism - daydreaming and mucking about
  • rebellion - outright rejection of everything the school stands for

  many pupil act differently in lessons with different teachers
• criticism of labelling theory 


  • accused of determinism , assumes pupils who are labelled have no choice but to fulfill the prophecy but this is not all ways true
  • ignores wider structures of power within which labelling takes place, they blame teachers for labelling but fails to explain why they do so
• pupils class identities and the school (Habitus )


  • habitus refers to the ' dispositions' or learned, taken for granted ways of thinking - their tastes and preferences about lifestyles and consumption (fashion and leisure pursuits), outlook on life and expectation about what's normal or realistic for 'people like us'
  • m/c has power to define its habitus and superior and impose it on the education system , schools put higher values on m/c tastes and preferences
  • link to Bourdieu concept of cultural capital
• symbolic capital and symbolic violence 


  • school have m/c habitus, pupil who have been socialised at home into m/c tastes and preferences gain 'symbolic capital' or status and recognition from the school
  • w/c tastes are deemed to be tasteless and worthless
  • symbolic violence reproduces the class structure and keeps the lower classes 'in their place'
  • w/c students may experience the world of education as alien and unnatural
• 'nike' identities 


  • symbolic violence led w.c seek alternative ways to create self-worth, status and value. by investing in 'styles' especially through branded clothes like Nike
  • this was a way of 'being me' without feeling inauthentic
  • pupils identity was also strongly gendered
  • the right appearance earned symbolic capital and approval from peer groups and safety from bullying
  • conflicted school dress codes (labelled as rebels )
  • higher education is unrealistic (w/c does not fit in and is unaffordable and risky investment) and undesirable (doesn't suit w/c preferred lifestyle or habitus)
• w/c identity and educational success (Nicola ingram (2009) )


  • having a w/c identity was inseparable from belonging to a w/c locality. neighbourhood dense networks of family and friends were key part in the boys' habitus (giving him sense of belonging)
  • w/c grammar school boys experienced tension between habitus of their w/c neighbourhood and that of their m/c school
  • symbolic violence - pupils forced to abandon their w/c identity if they want to succeed
• class identity and self-exclusion 


  • w/c girls were reluctant to apply to elite universities, the few who did feld sense of hidden barriers and of not fitting in
  • w/c people think elit universities is not for them, this feelings comes from their habitus , this becomes part of their identity and leads to self exclusion from elite universities
  • girls have strong attachment to their locality
• relationship between internal and external factors

  • w/c pupils habitus and identity is formed externally conflicting m/c habitus, resulting in symbolic violence
  • w/c pupil use restricted speech codes (external) may be labelled by teachers as less able leading to self-fulfilling prophecy
  • wider external factors outside the individual school may effect processes within it, such as streaming.E.G. gcse league tables, allocate funding and close some school down as 'failing'. this external factor that drives the A-toC economy and results in labelling and streaming within schools