labelling in secondary schools

• Dunne and Gazeley (2008) argue that schools persistently produce working class underachivement because of the labels and assumptions as teachers.
• Dunne and Gazeley conducted interviews in 9 different state secondary schools and found that teachers normalised working class underachievement they adaopted a fatalistic mindset about w/c students.
• However teachers believed that they m/c pupils could overcome their underachievement
• teachers label w/c parents as uninterested in their child's education but m/c parents are labelled as supportive - eg) by attending parents evenings
• this led to class differences in how teachers dealt with pupils thwy percieved as underachieving by setting extension work for underachieving m/c pupils but entering w/c students into easier exams (foundation papers)
• teachers underestimate w/c pupils potential and those who are doing well were seen as overachieving
• Dunne and Gazeley state that the way teachers explained and dealt with underachievement constructed class differences in levels of attainment