REVSISION AND STREAMING AND
LABELLING IN THE CLASSROOM
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ESSAY REVISION
ESSAY PLANNING Q AND A
TIMED ESSAY ON THEORIES OF EDUCATION
COFFEE BREAK
INTRODUCTION TO LABELLING AND
STREAMING –ACTIVITY
PP SLIDES: STREAMING /LABELLING
HARGREAVES AND BALL
ESSAY AND EXAM PLANNING
VOCABULARY
Essay Revision
 Create a list of strengths and weaknesses for each
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theory of education, Make another list with
similarities and differences:
Parsons, Davis and Moore/Functionalist
Marxist: Althusser, Bowles and Gintis, Paul Willis
Feminist
New Right/Third Way
Post Modern
Activity!
 You are both trainee teachers and have been asked
to joint teach a new group English.
 You know nothing about the students, other than
that they are of mixed abilities and from different
schools.
 You have to decide who you will enter into the end
of year competition for the school. The exam is
hard and requires advanced skills.
 How will you find out what skills the students have? ..Who
needs more help? Who is at risk of not being entered? Who
is outstanding and very able?
 Design a teaching plan for your next 6 weekly sessions with
the students outlining how you will prepare and sort the
students.
Streaming and Labelling
 David Hargreaves (Social relations in a Secondary
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School, 1967).
Takes an Interactionist approach. Studies an all boys
school. Wanted to understand why 2 subcultures
develop: the ‘academic’ and the ‘delinquescent’.
Found that streaming played a large part.
Boys placed in the lowest stream were most likely to
become part of the ‘delinquescent’, where as those in a
stream tended to conform.
Argued streaming creates a sense of ‘inferiority; in lower
streams.
This is linked to labelling: teachers label students
according to supposed ability , then stream.
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Labellling –Nell Keddie
 Nell Keddie (1971)
 Labelling: Idea that teachers label students with
either positive or negative labels. Other students and
adults might label children as well
 Self fulfilling Prophecy: Student either accept the
label and become the label, or reject the label and
rebel.
 Found working class children were labelled unfairly
as unitelligent or stupid because of unruly behaviour.
 ‘cultural deprivation’ is a myth. Argues education
needs to build on working class culture, not just
middle class
Stephen ball: Beachside Comprehensive, a
Case Study of Secondary Schooling: 1981
 Looks at idea of ‘banding’
 Found that even when teachers taught mixed ability
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students, that they still stereotyped or ‘labelled’ them.
Pro School:
1) Supportive: conformers, because they belive they
should. Manipulative: conformers because it suits their
self interest
2) Anti School:
Passive ‘ drifters’. Non conformists, apathetic.
Rejecting (active non conformers, rebels)
What Marxist study of boys is this similar to?
* All internal explanations are one sided without
consideration of outside school factors.
Essay and Exam planning…….
 In a group or pairs:
Make a list of as many criticisms and merits that
you can think of for labelling and streaming in
schools.
2. Now: Consider Hargreaves study of streaming in
school and Balls study of banding.
3. Do any of your criticisms apply?
4. Explain why?
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Some other Terms and Theories to
explore…..
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Find out what these terms mean:
Cultural reproduction
Economic Reproduction
Differentation in education
Cultural Deprivation
Sub Culture
Peer Group
 Michael Rutter: Fifteen Thousand Hours (study of
impact of teachers on educational attainment) (this is
a good alternative to use at the end of an essay
on labelling or streaming)*