Pupil identities and Habitus Symbolic capital and violence Labelling: Becker - ‘ideal pupil’ The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Becker devised this idea which ↑ a prediction that comes
- Bourdieu (1984) Schools are very middle class involved common features in true by virtue of having it
↑ Talked about Habitus. places. Working class students the students that teachers been made.
It is basically the ways of thinking which change cannot legitimate status in acted favourably towards.
depending on what social class you belong to; e.g. what schools and gain symbolic
sort of stuff you like to buy, what sort of lifestyle you capital as their habitus is - HOWEVER…
aspire towards etc. different and does not This was a very long
align with the schools. time ago. A more 1. Teacher labels pupil. Based on this
- Middle Class Habitus recent study found the teacher will make a prediction.
Going to be based around success and therefore The school teachers’ idea of
more desirable in terms of educational achievement. devalues this pupil 2. The teacher treats the pupil in
- Working Class Habitus this habitus. depended on accordance to their prediction, acting
Vice versa from Middle Class This is a the general as if their prediction is already true.
(One is not better than the form of social class
other, but the M/C has the symbolic make-up 3. Pupil internalises teacher’s
Subcultures power to impose it on the violence. of the expectation which becomes their
education system due to school. self-concept or self-image, so they
superiority.). feel the need to act to become the
Pro-School Anti-School way their teacher believed them to be
in the first place.
- Actively engage in - Does not engage in
school activities school activities Education -
- Take part in - Does not take part in Class and
extracurricular clubs any clubs Achievement
- Status through - Status through (Internal Streaming Streaming is one of the ways in which schools organise
academic success rebellion students in accordance to their ability.
Factors)
- Values match with - Values go against the A number of different factors are said to influence which
that of the school school’s stream a child gets put into.
- Maintained - Actively tries to However, many
engagement in disrupt lessons sociologists believe it has
lessons The A-C Economy a lot to do with how well
Criticisms of they fit into the image of
In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s government the ‘ideal pupil’.
introduced policies with the intention of making Streaming
schools compete with one another.
Therefore some schools now had incentive to prioritise Due to how sociologists truly think it works, it
some students over others. in turn creates a self-fulfilling prophecy,
Pupils typically leading working class students
(often male and from ethnic minorities) down
Since grades A-C were prioritised, it meant
a path to underachievement.
that schools would ensure that any students
in the C range stayed there, and students Triage
achieving Ds needed to be pushed up.
In addition to this, isn’t it utterly
Outside of that; academic students with As and Bs were unethical to ‘write off’ certain students?
left alone alongside students with grades E and U Those who C and D grade
being left in the dust; they were too far gone and it Hopeless
will pass pupils (need
didn’t matter now. cases
anyway extra help!)
Becker devised this idea which ↑ a prediction that comes
- Bourdieu (1984) Schools are very middle class involved common features in true by virtue of having it
↑ Talked about Habitus. places. Working class students the students that teachers been made.
It is basically the ways of thinking which change cannot legitimate status in acted favourably towards.
depending on what social class you belong to; e.g. what schools and gain symbolic
sort of stuff you like to buy, what sort of lifestyle you capital as their habitus is - HOWEVER…
aspire towards etc. different and does not This was a very long
align with the schools. time ago. A more 1. Teacher labels pupil. Based on this
- Middle Class Habitus recent study found the teacher will make a prediction.
Going to be based around success and therefore The school teachers’ idea of
more desirable in terms of educational achievement. devalues this pupil 2. The teacher treats the pupil in
- Working Class Habitus this habitus. depended on accordance to their prediction, acting
Vice versa from Middle Class This is a the general as if their prediction is already true.
(One is not better than the form of social class
other, but the M/C has the symbolic make-up 3. Pupil internalises teacher’s
Subcultures power to impose it on the violence. of the expectation which becomes their
education system due to school. self-concept or self-image, so they
superiority.). feel the need to act to become the
Pro-School Anti-School way their teacher believed them to be
in the first place.
- Actively engage in - Does not engage in
school activities school activities Education -
- Take part in - Does not take part in Class and
extracurricular clubs any clubs Achievement
- Status through - Status through (Internal Streaming Streaming is one of the ways in which schools organise
academic success rebellion students in accordance to their ability.
Factors)
- Values match with - Values go against the A number of different factors are said to influence which
that of the school school’s stream a child gets put into.
- Maintained - Actively tries to However, many
engagement in disrupt lessons sociologists believe it has
lessons The A-C Economy a lot to do with how well
Criticisms of they fit into the image of
In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s government the ‘ideal pupil’.
introduced policies with the intention of making Streaming
schools compete with one another.
Therefore some schools now had incentive to prioritise Due to how sociologists truly think it works, it
some students over others. in turn creates a self-fulfilling prophecy,
Pupils typically leading working class students
(often male and from ethnic minorities) down
Since grades A-C were prioritised, it meant
a path to underachievement.
that schools would ensure that any students
in the C range stayed there, and students Triage
achieving Ds needed to be pushed up.
In addition to this, isn’t it utterly
Outside of that; academic students with As and Bs were unethical to ‘write off’ certain students?
left alone alongside students with grades E and U Those who C and D grade
being left in the dust; they were too far gone and it Hopeless
will pass pupils (need
didn’t matter now. cases
anyway extra help!)
