THE SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY ROSENTHAL AND JACOBSON (1968) BALL
The negative effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) demonstrated Ball found that those pupils in higher sets
have been found to be more pronounced on that pupils can bring their self-image and and streams were ‘warmed up’ to achieve
working-class and black boys and are most behaviour in line with teacher stereotypes highly, while those in lower streams and
positive on middle-class pupils and girls, most and expectations; a phenomenon known as sets were ‘cooled out’ to encourage them to
notably, Indian Asian girls. the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. follow lower status vocational and practical
courses that require lower levels of
LABELLING THEORY IN EDUCATION EXPERIMENT
academic success.
Teachers may label a student who gets low exam Rosenthal and Jacobson tested the theory of
KEDDIE
scores or performs badly in a particular class as a the self-fulfilling prophecy using a field
lower achiever. A student may find it difficult to experiment. In a state primary school in Streaming can have a negative impact on
‘shake off’ this label, which can create a self- California, they gave teachers false lower ability pupils’ learner identities and
fulfilling prophecy (Merton 1968). This is when information about the IQ scores of some of encourage the self-fulfilling prophecy,
someone starts embracing the identity of the the pupils. including the development of anti-school
label they’ve been given. attitudes. Keddie found that lower-stream
METHOD
pupils were often not give the same access
EXAMPLE
Pupils were selected at random but teachers to knowledge as those in higher streams,
Consider a secondary school student who often were told that one group was particularly leading to further underachievement.
cuts class and gets into fights. Teachers bright and that the other group had low IQ
EDUCATIONAL TRIAGE
frequently ell the student off, and soon enough, scores and weren’t expected to progress very
the student develops a reputation as a far. Educational triage refers to pupils being
‘troublemaker’. As a result, the student starts divided into groups based on predicted
acting out even more and breaking more rules. FINDINGS
performance by the school.
The student has adopted the ‘troublemaker’ label Results show that, in general, the pupils
and embraced this identity. GILLBORN AND YOUDELL
performed in line with the (false) information
IVERSON STUDY that had been given to teachers. Gillborn and Youdell found that schools tend
to divide pupils into three groups based on
In his book High School Confidential, Jeremy EVALUATION: RELIABILITY
how well they expect them to do, this is
Iverson writes about his experience as a Stanford The study has been replicated many times, known as ‘educational triage’.
graduate posing as a student at a California high with some of the results confirming the
school. One of the problems he identifies in his THE GROUPS
impact labelling has on academic
research is that of teachers giving students achievement. However, other students have The first group is made up of pupils who are
labels that the students are never able to lose. failed to find a relationship. likely to succeed without any extra help. In
One teacher told him, without knowing he was a the second group are pupils who might
bright graduate of a top university, that he would CATEGORISATIONS succeed with extra help. The third group is
never amount to anything (Iverson 2006). the ‘no-hopers’ who are unlikely to succeed
Iverson obviously didn’t take this teacher’s false LABELLING
even if they are given help.
assessment to heart. But when an actual 17- Banding, streaming, and setting involve
year-old student hears this from a person with organising pupils according to their actual or
authority over him or her, it’s no wonder that the predicted ability. Such policies are often
student might begin to ‘live down to’ that label. linked to pupil labelling.
The negative effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) demonstrated Ball found that those pupils in higher sets
have been found to be more pronounced on that pupils can bring their self-image and and streams were ‘warmed up’ to achieve
working-class and black boys and are most behaviour in line with teacher stereotypes highly, while those in lower streams and
positive on middle-class pupils and girls, most and expectations; a phenomenon known as sets were ‘cooled out’ to encourage them to
notably, Indian Asian girls. the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. follow lower status vocational and practical
courses that require lower levels of
LABELLING THEORY IN EDUCATION EXPERIMENT
academic success.
Teachers may label a student who gets low exam Rosenthal and Jacobson tested the theory of
KEDDIE
scores or performs badly in a particular class as a the self-fulfilling prophecy using a field
lower achiever. A student may find it difficult to experiment. In a state primary school in Streaming can have a negative impact on
‘shake off’ this label, which can create a self- California, they gave teachers false lower ability pupils’ learner identities and
fulfilling prophecy (Merton 1968). This is when information about the IQ scores of some of encourage the self-fulfilling prophecy,
someone starts embracing the identity of the the pupils. including the development of anti-school
label they’ve been given. attitudes. Keddie found that lower-stream
METHOD
pupils were often not give the same access
EXAMPLE
Pupils were selected at random but teachers to knowledge as those in higher streams,
Consider a secondary school student who often were told that one group was particularly leading to further underachievement.
cuts class and gets into fights. Teachers bright and that the other group had low IQ
EDUCATIONAL TRIAGE
frequently ell the student off, and soon enough, scores and weren’t expected to progress very
the student develops a reputation as a far. Educational triage refers to pupils being
‘troublemaker’. As a result, the student starts divided into groups based on predicted
acting out even more and breaking more rules. FINDINGS
performance by the school.
The student has adopted the ‘troublemaker’ label Results show that, in general, the pupils
and embraced this identity. GILLBORN AND YOUDELL
performed in line with the (false) information
IVERSON STUDY that had been given to teachers. Gillborn and Youdell found that schools tend
to divide pupils into three groups based on
In his book High School Confidential, Jeremy EVALUATION: RELIABILITY
how well they expect them to do, this is
Iverson writes about his experience as a Stanford The study has been replicated many times, known as ‘educational triage’.
graduate posing as a student at a California high with some of the results confirming the
school. One of the problems he identifies in his THE GROUPS
impact labelling has on academic
research is that of teachers giving students achievement. However, other students have The first group is made up of pupils who are
labels that the students are never able to lose. failed to find a relationship. likely to succeed without any extra help. In
One teacher told him, without knowing he was a the second group are pupils who might
bright graduate of a top university, that he would CATEGORISATIONS succeed with extra help. The third group is
never amount to anything (Iverson 2006). the ‘no-hopers’ who are unlikely to succeed
Iverson obviously didn’t take this teacher’s false LABELLING
even if they are given help.
assessment to heart. But when an actual 17- Banding, streaming, and setting involve
year-old student hears this from a person with organising pupils according to their actual or
authority over him or her, it’s no wonder that the predicted ability. Such policies are often
student might begin to ‘live down to’ that label. linked to pupil labelling.
