social class&attainment-education

• What does the government class any disadvantaged pupil as?

  Any pupil eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years
• What is the percentage of attainment between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils?

  26.7%
• What is this based on?

  5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE including english and maths.
• Who did Babb et al say was most likely to achieve lower in education?

  -Parents with low/no qualifications

  -State educated over independent
• Who researched into the best predictor of achievement?

  Webber and Butler
• What did they find?

  That the best predictor of achievement was the type of neighbourhood the pupils lived in.
• Who developed the labelling theory?

  Interactionism
• How do we know this?

  Because their work is based on studying the interactions between individuals. They look at the processes within schools.
• What do they look at?

  How individuals label each other and how the lads affect the behaviour of those who who have been labelled.
• Define labelling?

  The process of attaching meanings to individuals or groups based on stereotypes.
• Give 3 example of factors that could lead to a negative label?

  -Appearance

  -Their personality

  -Deviant or not
• What are labels often linked?

  A pupils social class
• Define master status?

  The most obvious thing about an individual
• What may someones master status control?

  The way they are identified by the public
• When might a self-fulfilling prophecy occur?

  When someone's beliefs and expectations influence their behaviour and create reality.
• How dos this effect the education system?

  Working class are seen as poor learners, they become victims of the self-fulfilling prophecy and take on the role expected leaving the middle class to dominate top sets.
• Who researched into the effects of labelling?

  Rosenthal and Jacobson
• What was their study?

  They went to a school and did IQ tests on all pupils, they told the teachers it was a "spurters" test and then observed the teachers expectations of pupils behaviour. All the children were selected at random. (spurters make more progress)
• What did they find?

  That the "spurters" did make more progress over that year so labelling and self fulfilling prophecy did occur.
• What did Becker argue?

  That the 'ideal pupil' was nearer to middle class.
• What does the success of a label depend on?

  How often the label is used, if it is used publicly or privately and if other teachers support the label.
• Define setting?

  When pupils are put into different groups for different subjects depending on their ability.
• Define streaming?

  When pupils are put into one specific stream, all top sets, middle sets and so on depending on the different subjects.
• What did Ball find regarding sets?

  That WC is more likely to be put into bottom sets even when their measured ability was the same as MC.
• Why may this impact the attainment gap?

  Behaviour in the lower sets deteriorated so teachers had low expectations of these groups and directed them towards lower sets however expectations of higher sets were higher and they were pushed towards academic success.
• Why will it disadvantage WC to be in lower sets?

  Lower sets are not given the same access to knowledge as upper sets necessary for education success. they are capped at grade C
• What did Keddie find?

  Lower sets content was simplified whereas higher sets were taught abstract concepts so this gives them greater opportunity. He found misinterpreted exam questions were often taken as an attempt to disrupt so were dismissed.
• Who did research into anti-school subcultures?

  Willis
• What did willis find?

  That a secondary school in the midlands had developed an anti-school subculture which rejected the values of the schools. He found pronounced class divisions.
• What did the subcultures consist of?

  The 'lads' were largely from unskilled backgrounds and were hostile towards the 'ear''oles' who were most likely middle class.
• Why did this effect their education?

  Because they saw little point in school work as they expected to get manual labour jobs which they saw as proper jobs as opposed to middle class jobs that were effeminate
• What are evaluation points of this?

  -Labelling often sounds deterministic; all based on other peoples attitudes whether you succeed or fail, not everyone excepts their label.

  -Mostly focussed on male peer groups.

  -Focus too much on the education system.
• What are the two types of Out of school factors?

  -Material Deprivation

  -Cultural factors
• Define Material deprivation?

  The inability to afford basic resources and services such as sufficient food and heating.
• What does this usually effect?

  Material deprivation generally has a negative effect on educational achievement.
• What did Britland (2013) find?

  Found that parents who can't afford private education usually tend to pay for private tutors.
• When may these be used?

  Not on in exam season but also in the summer to make sure their children don't fall behind.
• What did Ball say?

  That families with money have greater choice as they may move to places with better schools.
• What did Hirsch say?

  That better off backgrounds had more advantages.
• What kind of advantages?

  They had a more stable home life so can do homework more productively and they may also have structures after school activities.