Labelling

• labelling 


  • refers to the process of attaching a label to somebody based upon the perception of others
  • for example a teacher may label a pupil as bright or thick, troublemaker or hardworking
  • teachers attach meanings (labels) to pupils regardless of their actual ability or attitude, based on stereotypical assumptions
  • the MC are labelled positively and the WC negatively
• Beckers study - the 'ideal' pupil

  • Interviewed 60 Chicago high school teachers
  • Found they attach labels to pupils depending on how close the match the ideal pupil
  • teachers believed the 'ideal' pupil resembled middle class students
  • Judgements made using pupils' work, conduct and appearance
  • Saw MC pupils as closest to the ideal pupil, and saw WC pupils as badly behaved
• Jorgensen 2009

  • Ideal pupil depends on the overall class of the school
  • in a largely working class primary school where staff said discipline was a major problem the ideal pupil was defined as quiet, obedient and passive,
  • children were defined by their behaviour not their ability
  • in contrast the mainly middle class primary school had very few discipline problems and here the ideal pupil was defined instead in terms of personality and academic ability rathr than being a 'non-misbehaving' pupil
• Dunne and Gazeley 2008

  • argue that schools persistently produce working class underachievement because of the labels and assumptions of teachers
  • their study involved interviews with teachers from 9 state secondary schools
  • found that teachers 'normalised' WC pupils underachievement and didn't think they could do anything about it
  • Thought they could overcome MC underachievement
  • the major reason for this difference was the teachers had different beliefs about pupils' home backgrounds, labelling WC parents as uninterested in their childs education and MC parents as supportive e.g. attended parents evenings
  • this led to class differences in how teachers dealt with pupils they perceived as underachieving e.g. setting extension work for underachieving middle class pupils and entering working class pupils for easier exams
• Rist 1970

  • conducted a study on American kindergarten shows
  • found that teachers used information about pupils' home background and appearance to sort them into groups and seated each group at a different table
  • those who the teacher decided were fast learners were labelled as 'tigers'
  • these tended to be middle class pupils
  • they usually had neat and clean appearances
  • these students were seated at the desks closest to the teacher to show them great encouragement
  • the other two groups the teacher labelled as 'clowns' and 'cardinals'
  • these groups were seated further away form the teacher
  • they were likely to be working class
  • they were given lower-level books to read and given fewer chances to show their abilities