differentiation is the process of teachers categorizing pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude and / or behavior (eg streaming)
polarization is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite 'poles' or extremes
lacey's study of boys in hightown boys grammar school found that streaming polarized boys into a pro-school and anti-school subculture
polarization-
if a student is labelled negatively they will respond negatively and behave the opposite of what they are given ex. achieve highly if labelled as failure
the student accepts the label-is called
internalise the label-self fulfilling prophecy-believe its true