This PowerPoint is focusing on examples of
subcultures within schools, some of which
have a favourable and positive attitude to
school and education (pro- education/pro
school), and other which have a negative and
often confrontational attitude to school and
education ( anti-education/anti school).
There are also examples of groups holding a
pro-education but anti school culture, where
they value education for getting on and getting
out of the working class but they have negative
views of school due to their experiences within
it. Throughout these subcultures the concepts
of school and education need to be treated
separately; school being the institution and
education being the system in which schools
operate.
Shain (2003) interviewed Asian girls in a number of different schools in the
Manchester area. She identified four different groups of girls; each group used
different strategies for coping with school experiences
Gang girls
These girls held anti education and anti school
views. They were confrontational and had
developed a ‘them and us’ attitude. These girls felt
they had experienced racism in the school and this
had led them to form an all Asian female subculture
from which white students and teachers were
excluded. The girls used survival tactic's of
resistance through their culture. They had a clear
and positive Asian identity which they defended.
The survivors
This group were pro education and pro school. They defined their school
experience in positive terms, worked hard and viewed school and education as a
means through which they could better themselves. They were perceived as timid
and shy by most teachers, although this was a clever front , a way of avoiding
trouble. The girls had all experienced racism and sexism but chose to ignore it. The
girls used the tactics of conforming to the expectations of Asian girls ( being shy
and timid) in order to shape their school experience.
The rebels
These girls were pro education and pro
school, and were distinct group because
they blamed their home background for
their differential school experiences.
Some of these girls spoke about there
feeling happier at school then at home
and some described their parents views
as ‘backwards’. These girls rejected the
gang girls confrontational attitude and
instead often formed friendship groups
with white girls. They were seen as
rebelling against their parental culture.
Archer and yamashait(2008) studied this group of year 10 boys in a London
comprehensive school. They displayed norms and values that were anti-school and
anti education. Style, clothes and accent were crucial parts of their identity in school
and in the local area where they wanted to be visible and seen by others.
They displayed a strong commitment to their local area and all spoke about the
importance of staying ‘local’ and not moving away when they left school. They enjoyed
rap culture, and showed an attachment to the ‘bad boy’ image. In school they
considered reading and education to be ‘soft’. They all thought that if they worked
hard in class they could be labelled as a ‘pussy’ and therefore did not want to be seen
to make an effort to learn.
Jackson (2006a) researched Ladettes culture
in secondary schools and claimed they
displayed anti-school and anti-educational
characteristics. Their norms and values
included acting hard, smoking, swearing,
disrupting lessons, being cheeky/rude to the
teacher, loud/gobby and open about their sex
lives. There norms and values were displayed
in and out of school. The girls were mostly
white and working class and were in danger
of seriously under achieving in school
because of their attitude of ‘it’s not cool to be
clever.
Sewell (2000) studied groups of african-caribbean boys and indentified for
visible groups.
Conformists
These boys wanted to achieve academic
success and were individually well motivated
to succeed. They were pro-education and
pro-school.
Innovated
These boys accepted the goals of schooling
but rejected the means of achieving the
means of achieving the goals. They were proeducation, but anti-schooling. They thought
that schools and teachers had largely failed
to provide for their needs.
Retreatists
These boys rejected the goals of schooling/education and the means of archiving them.
They were not confrontational; they just did not like school work.
Rebels
This groups formed a ‘posse’. They followed rap culture and felt school and education
had failed them. They were disliked and distrusted by the other 3 groups
The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting which occurred on April
20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Columbine. In the school shooting, two senior
students named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered a total of 12 students and one
teacher. They also injured 21 further students, with three other people being injured while
attempting to escape the school. The pair then committed suicide.
The Columbine High School massacre is the fourth-deadliest mass murder committed
upon a school campus in United States history and remains the deadliest for an American
high school.
Much discussion centered on the nature of high school cliques, subcultures and bullying, in
addition to the influence of violent movies and video games in American society. The
shooting resulted in an increased emphasis on school security, and a moral panic aimed at
goth culture, social outcasts, gun culture, the use of anti-depressants by teenagers, teenage
Internet use and violent video games.
The link between bullying and school violence has attracted increasing attention since the
1999 attack at Colorado's Columbine High School. Both of the shooters were classified as
gifted children (pro school) and had allegedly been victims of bullying for four years by the
jocks(anti school)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zagXiVXq2g
Having considered these examples we can conclude by summarising the
roles subcultures play in schools/education:
• To challenge authority
• As a form of resistance against school , home or soiety.
• To offer members a way of bettering themselves
• To offer expression to group identity, creating a positive or a negative
impression
• To provide status.