To label someone is to attach a meaning or definition to them. Studies show that teachers often attach labels to pupils regardless of their ability or attitude, but instead based on stereotyped assumptions about their class background, labelling working-class pupils negatively and middle-class pupils positively. Howard Becker carried out an important study on labelling and found that teachers judged pupils according to how closely they fitted an image of the ‘ideal pupil’. We can see how the process of labelling can affect pupils by looking at Aaron Cicourel and Johm Kitsuse’s study of educational councillors. The study found that the counsellor judged pupils largely on their social class; this therefore put them at a disadvantage as middle-class students were placed on higher level courses.
However, not only just the pupils are labelled, the knowledge they are taught can also be labelled. Nell Keddie (1971) found, both pupils and knowledge can be labelled as high or low status. Moreover, streaming separates pupils into different ability groups that are taught separate things for all subjects. Studies show that the self-fulfilling prophecy is most likely to occur when children are streamed. Working class pupils tend to be labelled negatively and teachers tend to see them as lacking ability and therefore have low expectations of them hence they will be in the lower stream.
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
I feel it is important to take into account the personalities of the children, as learning may be inhibited if one child is particularly domineering or intimidating. It is also necessary to look at the subject being taught and be flexible in the grouping of children. I personally feel that for subjects such as Literacy and Numeracy, where there is pressure for academic success the children should be split into ability groups. I feel by working in ability groups, the children are still able to support each other and there is still a hint of Vygotsky’s ZPD theory being practised, as there is still a range of abilities within an ability group and the more able of one particular ability group, can support the others in the group. It is important to remember that no one child is the same as another, even if they are classified as being of similar ability.
The processes that take place within the school are classification of pupils, labelling, typing and the self-fulfilling prophecy, banding and streaming and pupil subcultures and identities. Within the school there are major social class, gender and ethnic differences in how pupils do, with much debate about the reasons for these differences. Many sociologists argue that the processes and the factors within the school are the main cause of differences in the educational achievement of different social groups. The positive and negative labelling of pupils by teachers can have important effects on pupil’s performance, this is a good example of how the differences in the educational achievement of different social groups effect in different ways. Hargreaves interviewed teachers and did a classroom observation.
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.
A teacher’s appreciation and acceptance for diversity will help them enable children to child gain a positive self-concept. In doing so a child may succeed better academically and socially. Taken in the right concept and not replacing one set of heroes with another a teacher will develop an appreciation that can only be achieved through knowledge about many cultures. Cultural diversity is there to make a child feel included and to have positive self-image of
Society thrives on the philosophy of allowing children to do what they want when they want. When in reality these students are often are acting up or failing grades to get attention from parents and mentors. Neo-Scholasticism allows students to become internally motivated. Students who have internal as well as external motivation to finish school will be less likely to drop out of school. While, factors such as constant absentness, unwanted behaviors, and low grades influence drop-out rates, school that have stricter guidelines and repercussions for the factors might make students think twice about their actions.
Also, because the teachers have middle class values as well, the cultural deprivation theorists believe that they will have a bias against the working class kids and therefore they will not be able to teach them properly since their values and cultures conflict. Compensatory education is a policy that was designed to deal with the problem of cultural deprivation, by providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas. Compensatory education programmes were introduced to intervene early in the socialisation process to compensate children for deprivation they experience at home. The most comprehensive programme was Head Start. It involved health care, social services, and education.
In a school situation a teacher can change students’ behavior by adjusting the learning style to the learners level. One of the most known teaching technique is associating students good behavior with the rewards.This can be as simple as giving them a smile, saying "well done,” or awarding a prize. Reinforcing appropriate behaviors can make positive results since children tend to continue or repeat an action that is rewarded. Rewarding technique helps children learn to listen, to complete work, and to behave appropriately, but the most important factor in the learning process is the teacher.The Brazilian educator Paulo Freire writes in his book “Teachers as Cultural Workers - Letters to Those Who Dare Teach” that, “Educators need to know what happens in the world of the children with whom they work. They need to know the