Sociologist theories/research

• Steven Ball's research on teacher expectations:

  He observed that students in the top band were hard-working, the students in the bottom band were poorly behaved.

  He saw that the teachers labelled students in the top band as 'bright' and students in bottom band as 'less able'.

  He argued that students behaviour was a consequence of teacher labelling.
• Emile Durkheim's theory of Education:

  Sees education as serving the needs of society by transmitting society's norms and values. This leads to social cohesion. Functionalist View
• Steven Ball's research on streaming, choice and competition between schools:

  He criticised the marketisation of schools, arguing it led to schools to focus on their most able students.

  He believed that the parents of middle class children sent their kids to good schools, leaving working class and ethnic minority students in low underachieving, underfunded schools
• David Hargreaves theory of labelling:

  He found that the stream a student was placed in affected the way the teacher viewed them. Boys in top stream were labelled as 'academic' and were rewarded by school, as a result they conformed to goals of the school. Boys in bottom stream were labelled as 'failures' which led to them forming subcultures that valued breaking school rules in order to get status from their peers.
• Becky Francis theory of Education:

  Says that boys dominate the classroom and attract more attention from teachers. Although girls achieve better in schools, this success is due to them constructing feminine identities (quiet, orderly, mature).
• Halsey's research on class based inequalities in Education:

  Found out in their 1980 research that middle class boys were 11 times more likely to go to university than working class. This was due to home encouragement and parents attitudes.
• Talcott Parsons theory of education:

  Sees education as being meritocratic as it is based on achieved values. This means it is fair and rewards those based on effort and ability.

  This theory sees that the education system fulfills the function of role allocation by selecting individuals for their future jobs based on achievement. Functionalist View
• Bowles and Gintis' theory of Education:

  Their correspondence theory argued that what students learn in school through the hidden curriculum mirrors what is required of workers in the workplace e.g respect authority.

  They argue there is a myth of meritocracy with pupils being told that their results in school are based on effort, but really its based on social class. Marxist View
• Paul Willis' research on anti-school subcultures:

  Followed an anti-school subculture who rejected the 'lies' of the school system that told them if they worked hard they would get a good job.

  They just believed that most of them would end up in factory jobs like their fathers, therefore school doesn't matter and they focused on enjoying themselves rather than working hard. Marxist View