Examine the Importance of School Factors on Pupil’s Educational Success (20 Marks)

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It goes without saying that school factors play a decisive role in the success or otherwise of school students. In the 1970’s, Michael Rutter argues that the ethos of the school was the key to educational success. During the 15 000 hours spent in school, high expectations of teachers, consistency and preparation for lessons all counted towards the achievement of the students. He argues that this was the case even where student’s home backgrounds were different. Interactionists focus on what actually happens in schools, in the classroom, between staff and students and among students themselves. For interactionists, what happens in the classroom is socially constructed-this means that the negotiation and interactions are created by the individuals themselves. Roles and expectations are not fixed but are constantly changing to meet new situations. Hargreaves demonstrated through his research that teachers assess pupils from the moment they meet them. They do this through three stages-speculation, elaboration and stabilisation. By the final stage teachers believe that they ‘know’ the pupil well enough to label them as a success or a failure. Interactionists have shown us that labels are ‘sticky’. Once labelled, pupils find it difficult to shake off the image. When labelled as troublemaker or failure, a self-fulfilling prophecy is likely to occur. Rosenthal’s and Jacobson’s research demonstrated the importance of teacher expectation for pupil achievement. Even though there were ethical and methodological problems with problems with their research, they showed how the self-fulfilling prophecy took place. Another important study is Rist’s research of a Kindergarten class. The teacher had labelled her 5 year olds by the end of the first week and this labelling lasted for their time throughout primary school. Pupils were labelled as bright or otherwise on the basis of

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