As it says in Item A, a subculture is a group of pupils who share similar values and attitudes. Some subcultures are pro-school, while some are anti-school. An unstructured interview is when the interviewer has freedom to vary the questions they ask. There are a number of strengths and weaknesses of using unstructured interviews to interview children, and they will be examined below. Unstructured interviews allow the interviewer to build rapport with the pupils, unlike questionnaires where there is no chance to build rapport because the researcher has limited contact with the pupils.
Some students who are labelled as not being intelligent will work really hard to ensure that they move up or achieve more than was expected of them. Labelling also creates competition, this works with setting and streaming as students constantly try to get into the next set up or maintain their place in their set as it is ‘not safe’. Finally, sociologists may disagree as they would say that there are many factors as to why a student may underachieve. They would say that there are other things that are more important including the home background of the child. If the child’s parents are not educated then it can be said that they may not understand the school system and may not support the school.
Assess the strengths and limitations of unstructured interviews for the study of pupil subcultures A subculture is a group of people within society who share norms, values, beliefs, and attitudes that are in some ways different from or opposed to the mainstream culture e.g. an anti-school subculture formed by pupils in lower streams. In this essay I will be asses the strengths and limitations of unstructured interviews for the study of pupil subcultures. An unstructured interview is that mainly open ended questions with no fixed set questions that produces qualitative data and is free flowing like a guided conversation. There are a number of strengths and limitations of using unstructured interviews to study pupil subcultures.
This may mean that the pupil will open up and could explain their feelings and emotions towards the subject of streaming, and the reasons why they ‘develop a negative image’. A few advantages of using unstructured interviews when studying the effects of steaming are that the informality of the interview allows the interviewer to gain the trust of the interviewee which is important in this example. Pupils at school will not feel comfortable explaining their time at school if the interviewer is very formal and makes them feel intimidated whereas by using an unstructured interview it allows the pupils
Whn using lab experiments to study labelling in education, it is done in a school. Possitivists will say this is generelizable as it is representative of the target population. this is because they are more objective and scientific and they study everyone as a group. In conclusion, maybe a triangulation should be used to study labelling. this is because lab experiments are good at controlling variables, keeping it reliable and representative.
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. The self-fulfilling prophecy is another internal factor that can be linked to social class differences in achievement. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it being made. Some sociologists argue that labelling can effect pupil’s achievement by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. This can be seen in a study of a primary school by Rosenthal and Jacobson.
This leads to an ethical question of, is giving an intelligence test ethical? In some cases I feel it is, and in some it is not. It all depends on how equal teachers will treat their students. Not all teachers are capable of being fair to everyone after knowing how intelligent they are. In cases of that it might be best for scores to be kept private, known just to parents and the student.
'Questioning enables teachers to check learners' understanding. It also benefits learners as it encourages enitgagement and focuses their thinking on key concepts and ideas.' (Kyriacou 1995 in Desforges 1995, pg. 126) I am of the opinion that the idea children should work in mixed ability groups is not always a viable option. 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.
Therefore, the question is what effect does school climate have on a student's decision to leave school early. Literature Synthesis Student & Family Dynamics The individual student and their family have often been thought to be the main cause of students dropping out. The family unit is the first interaction students have with expectations and examples of how to behave. Parents that lead non-conventional lifestyles can increase the issues of at-risk students. Family support has been found to be crucial for student success in school.
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.