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Applying material from Item A and your own knowledge, evaluate the view that differences in educational achievement between social groups are the result of factors and processes within schools - 20 MARKS

Class difference in achievement can be shown to be down to factors and processes within school. So for example a working class pupil may be seen as teachers to fit into a laddish' subculture simply down to the fact of the class they are in. When this pupil is labelled to be part of a 'laddish' subculture it may be seen that the norms of this is to have a negative impact from education, the pupil them confines to the norms of this subculture and then becomes part of the 'lads' and therefore is part of the self fulfilling prophecy. In contrast Middle class pupils are labelled as hard working and are the 'ideal pupil' in the eyes of the teacher, therefore their performance increases academically. This links with Item A as it shows how 'teachers perceive and treat pupils from different backgrounds can have a major positive or negative effect'. This process was proved by a sociologist who did research in to the effects of labelling and it showed how pupils may be seen to be treated differently due to how they are academically labelled. In this social experiment a group of pupils were identified as 'spurters', these children were then treated according to this label and their academic performance increased.Ethnic differences in achievement may be due to the subcultures different ethnicities form. Asian pupils form subcultures which are pro-school, this is due to the fact that Asian families see education as a way of moving up the social ladder, so this leads to them having values and norms which will help them academically. A general value consensus within Asian subcultures may be their hard working attitude. However this contrasts with the attitudes of Afro-Caribbean subcultures which are anti-school, and do not accept what education has to offer, them not accepting what they are given means they will not do as well academically. This links to Item A as this process of forming subcultures within school is mentioned 'Interactions and relationships among pupils themselves can shape their identities.' Afro-Caribbean pupils shape negative identities in the eyes of education. Also the ethnocentric curriculum puts British children at an advantage all together, this is due to the fact that for example, history focuses on mainly British history and does not regard other histories from other cultures.

Overall, pupils from Britain will achieve higher then other children from other ethnicities due to the fact they have a more basic knowledge of the culture.Gender differences in academic achievement may be due to just the way that girls on average tend to outperform boys in tests, this academic achievement is then continued as setting and streaming takes place. This means that students who achieve well in these tests will be put in to a set that is more likely to succeed overall more academically in comparison to others. Elaborated code is used in schools and in exams, this means that children in the working class are put at a disadvantage in comparison to middle class children. This elaborated code means that working class pupils will be unable to answer the questions as effectively and will underachieve, also middle class children will do better as they will feel more comfortable talking to teachers, as they share the same code. Them sharing the same code means middle class pupils are able to get more out of the lessons, and will feel more comfortable asking questions. In contrast working class pupils may feel discouraged to ask questions when they struggle and under achieve.
Reply 1
This looks good, it's very detailed. My teacher always tells me that you should keep relating back to class, ethnicity and gender. You get a lot of marks for them.

Have you revised research methods, because I dont know how to revise that at all
Reply 2
Original post by Nalii
This looks good, it's very detailed. My teacher always tells me that you should keep relating back to class, ethnicity and gender. You get a lot of marks for them.

Have you revised research methods, because I dont know how to revise that at all


Hey I've done a little revision on research methods.
I use L.A.C.E and P.E.R.V.E.R.T to model my paragraphs, kind of like a check list, if you need a hand with any of it just message me!
Reply 3
Original post by simi215
Hey I've done a little revision on research methods.
I use L.A.C.E and P.E.R.V.E.R.T to model my paragraphs, kind of like a check list, if you need a hand with any of it just message me!


( don't know L.A.C.E) i've been taught to use P.E.R.V.E.R.T, but i don't know how to make it detailed. and my revision guide for research methods does not help at all. kind of stressing because this is a resit.
for education, did you just memorise everything?

thanks.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 4
L.A.C.E (Language, Access, Consent, Ethnicity) - good for research methods.
I didn't memorise everything, I've kind of just got a general understanding of the key words, because I feel like that's a way of getting the marks in the exam. I need to look more into government policies and the different perspectives.
Reply 5
Original post by simi215
L.A.C.E (Language, Access, Consent, Ethnicity) - good for research methods.
I didn't memorise everything, I've kind of just got a general understanding of the key words, because I feel like that's a way of getting the marks in the exam. I need to look more into government policies and the different perspectives.


What would you say about 'language'
Policies came up last year so I hope it doesn't come up again. When did you start revising?
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 6
Original post by Nalii
What would you say about 'language'
Policies came up last year so I hope it doesn't come up again. When did you start revising?


So for language you would talk about the elaborated and restricted code, so in questionnaires written in the elaborated code that would be hard for working class people who work in the restricted code to complete.

Hopefully government policies doesn't come up! If it does I made a prezi on it -
Https://prezi.com/oxfc46p5zncq
Hopefully it helps

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