Internal Factors in Class Differences in Educational Achievement
Internal factors are processes operating inside the school itself that shape class differences in achievement, distinct from the external, home-based factors covered separately. Interactionist sociologists focus on teacher labelling: Becker found teachers held an image of the 'ideal pupil' that matched middle-class characteristics of behaviour and speech, so working-class pupils were more often labelled negatively regardless of their actual ability. Rosenthal and Jacobson's concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy explains how a label, once internalised by a pupil, can cause them to act in ways that make the label come true, so a pupil labelled as 'less able' may lose motivation and underachieve as a result of the label rather than any real lack of ability. Streaming and setting extend labelling into a school-wide system: pupils placed in lower streams typically receive a narrower curriculum, lower teacher expectations, and less demanding classroom talk, which the correspondence principle links to preparing them for subordinate work roles. Ball's research found that even after some schools claimed to have abolished formal streaming, teachers continued to informally categorise pupils by ability, showing labelling can persist independently of official school structures.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Distinguish labelling (an individual teacher's judgement of a pupil) from streaming and setting (a school-wide structural system that groups pupils by that judgement), since they are related but separate internal processes.
- Explain Becker's finding precisely: teachers hold an unconscious ideal-pupil image shaped by middle-class norms of speech, appearance and behaviour, so working-class pupils are disproportionately labelled as troublesome or less able.
- Explain the self-fulfilling prophecy step by step: a teacher's label is communicated to the pupil, the pupil internalises it, changes their self-image and effort accordingly, and their behaviour then confirms the original label, completing the cycle.
- Link labelling to streaming: once a pupil is placed in a lower stream, they typically experience a less demanding curriculum and lower expectations, which the correspondence principle (Bowles and Gintis) argues then channels them towards a subordinate role.
- Use Ball's finding that labelling persists informally even after formal streaming is abolished, as evidence that the process is about teacher attitudes and interaction, not only about the school's official structure.
- When the item gives an example of teacher expectation, praise, discipline, or setting, name the specific internal process it illustrates (labelling, self-fulfilling prophecy, streaming) rather than a vague reference to 'school factors'.
- Evaluate by testing whether labelling is deterministic: some pupils resist a negative label rather than accepting it, which challenges the assumption that a label always becomes self-fulfilling.
- For a 20-mark essay, use the item to open on internal factors, add supporting theory and evidence, then evaluate by comparing internal explanations to external, home-based explanations, since a strong answer recognises the two interact.
Worked example
Item B: A teacher was recorded describing one pupil as 'clearly bright but from a chaotic home, so I don't push him too hard', while describing another, quieter pupil from a similar background as 'a bit slow, but well behaved so he's easy to teach'. Both pupils were placed in the same lower set for their subject the following term. Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, analyse two ways internal factors might explain the underachievement of some working-class pupils. (10 marks)
- Identify the two labels in the item: the first pupil is judged by home background rather than ability ('chaotic home' lowers the teacher's expectations), the second is judged partly by behaviour rather than ability ('well behaved' outweighs being labelled 'a bit slow').
- Apply Becker's labelling theory to the first case: the teacher's lower expectation, based on background rather than evidence of ability, illustrates how a middle-class ideal-pupil image can disadvantage a working-class pupil regardless of actual capability.
- Apply the self-fulfilling prophecy to explain the mechanism: if the teacher 'doesn't push him too hard', the pupil receives less challenging work and encouragement over time, and may come to underachieve in a way that then appears to confirm the original, unjustified label.
- Link both pupils' placement in a lower set to streaming: once placed together regardless of the different reasons for their labels, both may now receive a narrower curriculum and lower expectations as a group, extending an individual label into a structural disadvantage.
- Check the answer draws each point directly from the item's detail rather than describing labelling theory in the abstract.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What did Becker find about teachers' image of the 'ideal pupil'?Show answer
Answer: That teachers held an unconscious image of the ideal pupil shaped by middle-class characteristics of speech and behaviour, so they judged pupils against this image and rated working-class pupils less favourably regardless of actual ability.
Q2Explain the self-fulfilling prophecy in your own words.Show answer
Answer: A process where a label given to a pupil is internalised by them, changes how they see themselves and behave, and their resulting behaviour then makes the original label come true.
Q3What is the difference between streaming and setting?Show answer
Answer: Streaming places a pupil in the same ability group for all or most subjects; setting places them in an ability group that can differ subject by subject, based on performance in each one.
Q4What did Ball find about labelling in schools that had abolished formal streaming?Show answer
Answer: That teachers continued to informally categorise pupils by ability even without an official streaming system, showing that labelling can operate through everyday classroom interaction rather than only through formal school structures.
Q5Explain how streaming might connect to the correspondence principle.Show answer
Answer: Pupils in lower streams often receive a narrower curriculum and lower expectations, which Bowles and Gintis's correspondence principle links to preparing them psychologically for a subordinate role in the workplace, mirroring the class structure.
Q6Give one criticism of labelling theory as an explanation of underachievement.Show answer
Answer: It can be too deterministic, assuming a labelled pupil will inevitably underachieve; in practice some pupils resist a negative label and work harder to disprove it rather than accepting it.
Q7Give one internal factor and one external factor that could combine to explain the same pupil's underachievement.Show answer
Answer: An internal factor such as being placed in a low set after a teacher's negative judgement, combined with an external factor such as limited parental time to advocate for a change of set, could combine to entrench the same disadvantage.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Outline two effects that being placed in a lower stream might have on a pupil.
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Explain, using sociological evidence, how teacher labelling can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Item C: In one secondary school, teachers reported that pupils who spoke confidently and used more formal, extended sentences in class were more often selected for extension tasks and praised in front of the group, while quieter pupils using shorter, informal speech were more often given basic worksheets and corrected rather than praised. Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate the view that internal, in-school factors are the main cause of class differences in educational achievement. (20 marks)
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