Embedded Files
Patterns of Educational Achievement & Experience
Gender Inequality and Education:
Historically, boys favored in education.
Girls often excluded due to cultural expectations (marriage, caregiving).
UN advocates for girls' education—linked to better health, nutrition, lower fertility rates.
Historical Context
In many societies, especially developing ones:
Boys prioritized for schooling due to expectations of future career and family support.
Girls expected to marry, join husband’s family, and therefore seen as less deserving of education.
UN Commitment:
Education for girls viewed as a human right and vital for national development.
Girls' schooling linked to improved living standards, health, and reduced fertility rates.
Curriculum & Subject Choices
Modern curriculum in industrial countries is gender-neutral, but past practices included:
Girls → domestic science, textiles.
Boys → woodwork, metalwork.
Today, girls are still more likely to choose arts subjects, reflecting gendered socialization.
Barriers in the Classroom
Girls may be discouraged by:
Male-dominated science labs and textbooks.
Lessons taught mostly by men.
Lack of visible female role models in technical subjects.
Boys may avoid "feminine" subjects like dance, domestic science, or even sociology.
In England & Wales, ⅔ of sociology pupils are girls.
Achievement Shifts Over Time
Until 1990s: girls underachieved compared to boys, especially in exam performance and university entry.
After 1990s: girls outperformed boys consistently across all levels.
Why Girls Now Outperform Boys
Higher motivation due to more career opportunities and female role models.
Schools promote equal opportunities, encouraging ambition.
Schemes with positive discrimination (better treatment) helped girls in science and tech (e.g. lab priority).
Girls benefit more from coursework, long-term focus, and structured learning.
Girls mature earlier, giving them a developmental advantage during exams.
Why Boys Underachieve
Lower expectations from teachers; disruptive behavior seen as “normal”
Overconfidence without hard work; girls often underestimate but try harder.
Influence of anti-learning subcultures ("laddish behavior").
Decline in male-dominated jobs reduces perceived value of academic success.
Different leisure activities:
Girls → talk = language development.
Boys → sports/games.
Reading perceived as feminine; limited exposure by male role models.
Ethnicity and Education:
Why Some Ethnic Groups Underachieve
Intersections with Class:
African-Caribbean, Pakistani, Bangladeshi pupils often from working-class roots.
Social Discrimination:
Limited access to jobs, housing → educational disengagement.
School seen as part of racist system, leading to rebellion.
School-Based Discrimination:
Streaming/setting bias based on ethnicity.
Teachers may assume inability or label students as “troublemakers”.
Ethnocentric curriculum devalues minority histories/cultures.
Inaction on peer racism undermines learning environments.
Cultural Conflict:
Appearance, language or behavior may lead to stereotyping.
Genetic Explanations: Not valid—widely discredited.
Social Class and Education
System Overview
Historical divide: rich → private schools, middle class → grammar, working class → secondary moderns.
Comprehensive system aims to close gap but private/grammar schools persist.
Government response: compensatory education e.g. extra funding to disadvantaged schools.
Reasons for Working-Class Underachievement
School Factors: Labeling, setting, streaming.
Intelligence Theories: Often tied to parental success—controversial.
Cultural/Material Deprivation.
Low self-esteem & expectations: Accepting limited job prospects
Language barriers.
Cultural capital differences.
Material, Cultural, and Linguistic Influences on Educational Achievement
Material Influences
Disadvantages from poverty:
No quiet study spaces
Poor diet, tiredness.
Can't afford school extras.
Miss out on preschool education.
Limited home resources (books, internet).
Part-time jobs → less time to study.
Weaker schools, less parental support for university.
Cultural Influences
Cultural deprivation: aspects of the values and attitudes from home that prevent children from achieving in education. Examples include:
Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory
Cultural capital helps pupils engage and succeed.
Examples: reading habits, museum visits, system understanding.
Linguistic Influences:
Basil Bernstein (1971): middle-class students switch codes easily → advantage.
Ethnic Group Language Barriers
Often taught in a non-native language.
Native speech may be labeled ungrammatical.
William Labov defended AAVE (African-American Vernacular English)
Complex grammar and expressive capability.
Misjudged by teachers due to unfamiliarity.
The Influence of School, Peers, and Teachers on Educational Achievement
Social Class
Michael Rutter's Research (Fifteen Thousand Hours, 1979) Key Finding: contrary to earlier claims, good schools positively impact all pupils.
Positive School Features:
Well-prepared lessons
High academic expectations.
Regular classwork/homework setting and marking.
Emphasis on praise and reward over punishment.
Teachers model positive behavior (punctuality, discipline).
Pupils trusted with responsibilities (e.g. managing property).
Teacher encouragement and interest in pupils.
Unified school ethos with shared values.
Mixed ability pupils benefit all through interaction and modeling.
Interpretivist Perspective
Rejects the idea of pupils as passive victims of social forces.
Focuses on interaction, meaning-making, and classroom dynamics.
Teacher–student interpretations shape behavior and outcomes
Labelling and Teacher Expectations
Key Term: Labelling
Teachers classify students (e.g. bright, lazy, troublemaker).
Labels influence teacher behavior and expectations.
Key Term: Halo Effect
Early impressions affect all future teacher evaluations.
Howard Becker's Analysis:
Labels can override actual ability → lower teacher expectations.
Self-Fulfilling & Self-Negating Prophecies
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: pupils act in line with expectations, fulfilling positive or negative labels
Self-Negating Prophecy: pupils reject negative labels and prove them wrong
Example: a teacher called a student dumb and will never achieve an A* in sociology. A student with self fulfilling would go "oh my god she's right I'm achieving nothing" while a student with self negating would go "You think so? I'll show you how I'll get that A*"
Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968):
Random students labelled “bright” → actually performed better.
Demonstrates power of teacher expectations.
Setting, Streaming, Banding
Streaming: pupils grouped by overall ability for all subjects; may create top/bottom class hierarchies.
Setting: pupils grouped by ability in individual subjects (e.g. top set in maths, lower in English).
Banding: wide ability bands randomly divided into classes.
Impact:
Streaming often based on social class.
Low stream pupils: low confidence, less ambition, fewer resources.
Top stream pupils: supported, ambitious, aligned with school values.
Ethnicity and Labelling
African-Caribbean Pupils:
Overrepresented in school exclusions.
Teachers may label entire groups due to individual behavior.
Once labelled “troublemakers”, pupils experience master status:
Label dominates all perceptions.
Internalized by pupil → affects behavior, self-image.
Chinese Pupils (Archer's Research):
High expectations → less praise or support.
Assumed to be independent learners even when struggling.
Gender and School Organization
Peer Groups & Sub-Cultures on Educational Achievement
Key Term: Anti-School Sub-Culture
Pupils reject school values → status through resistance.
Characteristics:
Truanting, cheating, insolence.
Value rebellion, aggression, sometimes racism/sexism.
More common among working-class boys.
Helps cope with rejection from mainstream school values.
Ethnicity in Peer Culture
Minority pupils face similar labelling and streaming issues.
Peer labelling → Chinese students seen as “geeks”.
High achievement may be undervalued socially.
May respond by underperforming to reject the label.
Tony Sewell – “Black Masculinities and Schooling”:
Studied boys forming an anti-school subculture, called “rebels"
They rejected school rules, showed aggressive masculinity, and engaged in delinquent behavior.
Their rebellion was shaped by teacher racism and school discrimination.
Sewell noted that not all African-Caribbean boys behaved this way—student responses varied.
Mac an Ghaill – “Black Sisters”:
Studied African-Caribbean and Asian female students in a sixth-form college.
They were critical of streaming and curriculum bias but chose to succeed academically.
They rejected authority while still working hard, showing that rebellion doesn’t always mean failure.
Girls’ Peer Groups – Valerie Hey's Research
Cliques based on class background.
Resistance via makeup, femininity, subtle rule-breaking.
Misbehavior → less visible than boys but equally disruptive.
Supportive of each other academically.
Carolyn Jackson's Study:
Some girls adopt “laddish” behavior (fighting, swearing).
Working hard seen as uncool → failure protection strategy: if you don’t try, failure feels less personal.
Measuring Intelligence
Key Terms:
Intelligence (IQ): partially inborn, largely shaped by environment
IQ Tests: verbal/logical focus; excludes other intelligences
Multiple Intelligences - Howard Gardner: includes emotional, creative, interpersonal abilities
Criticisms of IQ Testing:
Cultural bias.
Environmental advantage misunderstood as genetic ability.
Test anxiety affects performance.
Intelligence is not fixed, evolves over time.
Practice can improve scores → tests may reflect training not intelligence.
Official Curriculum and Hidden Curriculum Roles:
Key Terms:
Official Curriculum: subjects taught formally (e.g. maths, science, English)
Hidden Curriculum: norms, values, and behavior learned through school structures and interactions
Vocationalism: education aimed at specific trades/professions
Official Curriculum Features:
Early years → reading, writing, maths.
Secondary → specialist subjects.
National curriculum (UK since 1988): standardization, testing, transparency for parents.
Hidden Curriculum Components
Physical layout → hierarchy and control.
Teacher–pupil interactions reflect authority roles.
Sports and testing → competition > cooperation
Punctuality, discipline → conformity.
Rules and regulations promote passive obedience.
Interpretations:
Vocational Education
Provides work-specific routes outside academic tracks.
Traditionally seen as lower-status, especially in UK.
Often taken by working-class students → reinforces class divisions.
Governments introduced reforms to elevate vocational routes.
Criticisms:
Keeps pupils “occupied” rather than academically engaged.
Can provide cheap labor with no long-term career.
Education should prioritize personal growth, not just economic efficiency.
NOTES DONE BY FARIDA SABET
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PREVIOUS TOPIC
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE NEXT TOPIC
CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO THE NOTES MENU
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse