1.1.4 Internal explanations

Question 1

What is the interactionist theory on education/internal explanations?

Answer 1

• They take a social action approach.
• They argue a pupils self concept is influenced by teachers & other pupils.
• They view education as directed by meanings & definitions.
• They believe teachers label students based on expectations & a self-fufilling prophecy may occur.

Question 2

What are Hargreaves et al (1927) indentified stages to labelling?

Answer 2

• Speculation which is when teachers make guesses about the pupil on factors like personality, this view is tentitive so may change.
• Elaboration which is when the hypothesis is tested & the judgement becomes confident.#
• Stabilisation which is when teachers feel that they know the pupil & actions will be evaluated in terms of the pupil.

Question 2

What did Becker (1977) show with his observation?

Answer 2

• Classifications, judgements & evaluations were made in terms of an ‘ideal student’.
• MC pupil were closest to this ideal.
• Teachers perceived pupil & this influences how they interacted wit the student.

Question 3

What did Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) show about the self fulfilling prophecy in their research?

Answer 3

• They examined the effects & consequences of teachers definitions & expectations.
• A standard intelligence test.
• The selected excellent progress group claimed self fulfilling prophecy.

Question 4

What are criticisms of labelling & the self fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 4

• Generalising the effects of labelling.
• Assume pupil are passive when they may resist labels & prove teachers wrong.
• Negative labels may actually motivate students.

Question 5

What is setting & streaming?

Answer 5

• Grouping pupil based of ability.
• Low sets may undermine pupil & discourage them from trying.

Question 6

What did Keddie (1971) show in his research about setting & streaming?

Answer 6

• Teachers taught lower & higher set pupil differently.
• Higher sets were expected to behave better, do more work & received more homework which gave them greater opportunities.

Question 7

What did Ball (1976) show in his research about setting & streaming?

Answer 7

• Top stream students were warmed up by encouragement to achieve highly.
• Lower stream students are encouraged to lower status vocational courses.
• It is often linked to social class.
• Contributes to the underachievement of WC pupil.
• Many WC pupil often rebel against the school.

Question 8

What did Hargreaves (1976) reveal about pupil/anti school subcultures?

Answer 8

• Bottom stream pupil often rebel against the school & develop alternative values in opposition to the school, they form anti school subcultures.
• They’re formed to improve their own self esteem by achieving status in their peer group.
• They’re more likely to be from WC backgrounds.

Question 9

What did Bourdieu’s (1984) research show about pupil class identities?

Answer 9

• He focuses on habitus, which are taken-for-granted ways of thinking that are shaped by social class.
• MC have the power to define habitus as superior & impose it on the educational system.

Question 10

What did Archers study reveal about class identities?

Answer 10

• WC pupil felt that to be educationally successful, they’d have to change themselves.
• They constructed meaningful class identities, such as nike identities.
• Style performances were policed & not conforming was social suicide.

Question 11

What do Gilbourn & Youdell (2001) reveal in their study about marketisation & selection?

Answer 11

• It explains why schools are under so much pressure to achieve a good league table position.
• The educational triage is when schools categorise pupil into 3 sections, those who will pass anyway, those with potential & hopeless cases.

Question 12

What does Bertlett (1993) argue marketisation leads to?

Answer 12

• Cream skimming which is selecting pupil who will gain the best results.
• Silt shifting which is off loading pupil with learning difficulties who are more expensive & get poor results.
• It shows a polarised education system which MC intakes being large at one school being extremely popular & WC schools being low achieveing.

Question 13

What does Bourdieu & Archer say about symbolic violence?

Answer 13

• It is the withholding of symbolic capital.
• Led to the creation of alternative ways of creating self worth, status & value.
• It is earned symbolic capital.

Question 14

What does Rutter et al (1979) show in their research about the school?

Answer 14

• Good schools make a difference to the life of all pupil.
• Emphasis on praise and reward.
• Ethos & atmosphere that have a mixture of abilities within the school.