Outline some of the reasons why different pupil subcultures exist in schools. (12 marks)

Colin Lacey’s concepts of differentiation and polarisation help explain how pupil subcultures develop. Differentiation is the process of teachers categorising pupils according to how pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude and/or behaviour. Streaming is a form of differentiation, since it categorises pupils into separate classes. Polarisation, on the other hand, is the process in which pupils respond to streaming by moving towards one of two opposite ‘poles’ or extremes. Polarisation can cause different subcultures. One contributing reason for the existence of different subcultures in schools today is that, streaming still exists. Streaming, many comprehensives were streamed into ability groups, with middle-class pupils placed in higher streams and working-class pupils in lower streams. Streaming and creating bands, makes it easier for pupils to form subcultures from those above/ below them, the above making the below feel inferior, developing a stronger below subculture group. Streaming still takes place today and so does different pupil subcultures.

In Lacey study of Hightown boys’ grammar school, he found that streaming polarised boys into a pro-school and anti-school subculture. The pro-school subculture, the pupils placed in higher streams (largely middle-class) tend to remain committed to the values of school. They gain their status in the approved manner, through academic success. Lacey found that those placed in lower streams, suffer a loss of self-esteem: the school has undermined their self-worth by placing them in a position of inferior status. The label of failure pushes them to search for alternative ways of gaining status. Usually this involves inverting the schools values of hard work, punctuality and obedience. Such pupil forms an anti-school subculture as a means of gaining status among peers. So, pupil anti-school subcultures exist still as a result of streaming, dividing pupils out may influence them more to spread out and form subcultures.

Pro- and anti-school subcultures are two possible responses to labelling and streaming. However Peter woods argues other responses are also possible, such as ingration; becoming the ‘teacher ’s pet’, retreatism; daydreaming and mucking about and there is also Rebellion; outright rejection of everything the school stands for. Moreover, as John Furlong observes, pupils are not committed permanently to any one response, but may move between different types of response, acting differently in lessons with different teachers, alternating between different subcultures. This may be another contributing factor why different subcultures exist, because they are all responses of labelling a streaming.