This topic looks as how in school processes such as teacher- pupil relationships, subcultures, banding and streaming and the Hidden Curriculum all relate to class differences in education
- Teacher-Pupil Relationships
Howard Becker: Labelling and the Ideal Pupil – In the 1970s, Howard Becker argued that middle class teachers have an idea of an ‘ideal pupil’ that is middle class. This pupil speaks in elaborated speech code, is polite, and smartly dressed, He argued that middle class teachers are likely view middle class pupils more positively than working class pupils irrespective of their intelligence.
Rosenthal and Jacobsen argued that positive teacher labelling can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the student believes the label given to them and the label becomes true in practise.
- Pupil Subcultures
Willis’ (1977) research involved visiting one school and observing and interviewing 12 working class rebellious boys about their attitude to school during their last 18 months at school and during their first few months at work. Willis described the friendship between these 12 boys (or the lads) as a counter-school culture. Their value system was opposed to that of the school. They Lads attached no value to academic work, more to ‘having a laff’ because they thought that their future work roles in factories would not require them to have qualifications. They saw school as irrelevant.
Mac an Ghail’s study of Parnell School (1994) – Found that there was a greater variety of working-class subcultures that Willis’ research suggested. He found three types of subculture
- The Macho Lads – just like Willis’ Lads
- The Academic Achievers – these were working class kids who were doing well and tended to come from the upper end of the working classes
- The New Enterprisers – these focused on vocational subjects and were interested in business and technology – were still concerned with success rather than rejecting school.
- Class and gender- Boys from different class backgrounds experience school differently
Working class boys are generally under pressure to express traditional anti-school masculinities
Middle class boys are more likely to try hard at school, expressing their masculinity through being competitive in examinations
However, middle class boys still feel some pressure to be seen to not be making an effort in school.
- The organization of Teaching and Learning
Banding and Streaming disadvantages the working classes and some minority groups – Stephen Ball (1980s) found that following comprehensivisation working class children were more likely to be put into lower sets
Bourdieu argues that schools are middle class environments full of teachers with middle class values and tastes.
It has been argued that the absence of working-class teachers with their distinct accents and dialects means that teachers fail to relate to working class children.