Using material from item A and elsewhere assess the view that social class differences in educational achievement are the result of school processes such as labelling. Some sociologists would explain the social class differences in educational achievement as being caused by internal factors. These are factors within schools and the education system that could cause these differences. One internal factor is labelling. To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them.
Payne states that impoverished students face inequality at school, insinuating that the school should be responsible for helping to provide for these students so that they can have a better education. Gorski sees that responsibility lies most likely with us, who can aid teachers in offering a hand, as they are underpaid and are not able to do much on their own. The two authors have clashing ideas as to why students are in poverty: Payne believes that the impoverished students are lazy and have their own set of
“For Once, Blame The Student” The article “For once, blame the student” by Patrick Welsh expresses the idea that American students are falling behind academically not because of the common excuses themselves. I agree with the article and have seen through first-hand experience as a student that a large portion of American students have lost the internal motivation and determination needed to succeed academically, i.e. my 7th period. In “For once, blame the student” Welsh talks about the way students who have emigrated to the United States often do better in school than the middle and upper class American students. Welsh says the reasoning behind the emigrated student’s success is the self determination and motivation to do well in school, as well as hard work exerted by the students.
Outline some of the reasons pupils form subcultures A subculture refers to a group of pupils who share the same values and behaviour. Pupil subcultures can be either pro or anti-school. It is argued that middle class pupils are generally part of pro-school subcultures and working class pupils and pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are part of anti-school subcultures. Firstly, sociologists such as Becker argue it is a result of negative labelling He found that the teachers emphasized characteristics such as conduct and language before they got to ability. Becker concluded that it was much easier for middle class students to meet this ideal since they are better dressed and spoken than their working class counterparts.
Labelling is where a teacher (or another adult) will give a student a name that is in relation to their personality or ability. This can be positive or negative, for example, bright boy or troublemaker. Underachievement can be said to be anything under a C grade for GCSE’s or not meeting your target grade. Some sociologists agree with the statement as they say that students feel that teachers will determine their future. If they are labelled as being ‘stupid’ early on in their career then they will be placed in the lower sets and streams.
One of the arguments of co-education is the idea that it provides too many distractions for students. Several scholars have argued that these distractions have led to less attention on school work and class participation, due to girls and boys trying to impress each other. Furthermore, it has also been argued that students who are intimidated by the opposite sex may also be affected by low performance and low grades. Many educators believe that single-sex education does not enforce any type of gender-based stereotypes or adolescent subculture. Due to this, single-sex schools have been established to combat these issues.
Assess the importance of school factors such as racism and pupils’ responses to racism in creating ethnic differences in educational achievement The differences in educational attainment between different groups of pupils have been a major focus of much sociological research. These differences can often be seen to be largely due to different social class, but also gender or ethnicity. Social class is the most significant and dominant factor when looking at these differences, but ethnicity also has a relative impact on educational achievement Education has a key role to play in eradicating racism and valuing diversity and it a responsibility for all educational establishments, including those with few or no ethnic minority pupils. Promoting racial equality demands a whole school approach and commitment from all those who are involved in the life and work of their school. Racism is linked to the educational achievement of minority ethnic groups, however the connections are complex.
Some schools that are already taking only boys or girls such as boarding or private schools have proved that their achievements are way high when they are separate. Scholastic Aptitude Test scores are quite different, and their further performances such as in college showed how they have prepared and achieved in formal institutions. Each boy and girl can create synergy effects when they are being with same sex because they are easily to access and share about scholastic issues. Above the subsequent argument, the second reason is about the circumstance of education. Many schools are decided whether they are leading schools or not based on so-called mood or circumstance.
Your conclusion is that small class size indeed causes better grades. Wrong, because there is a fundamental problem with this conclusion; you did not account for 'intervening variables'! Could there be an intervening variable that is effecting this relationship between class size and student performance? Actually there can be many factors which are influencing this relationship. How about the influence of the teacher?
In schools cheating has become so socially acceptable that students think that it is okay to cheat. Schools lack a strong moral code that makes the student’s feel that they need to abide by it. With more people doing it, more people think it might be justified to cheat because others are doing it. Students “cheat because they see others who cheat and they think that they will be unfairly disadvantaged. The cheaters are getting 100 on the exam, while non-cheaters may only get 90’s”.