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Criteria 3

The conflict theory looks at life as a competition, and focuses on the distribution of resources,

power and inequality; it includes social class, shapes social structure and also relationships. As

described by DeMarrais & LeComte, “Schools tend to magnify class differences by sorting

individuals into occupational niches, not so much by their ability as by their social class origins.

Thus children from middle- or upper-class families are thought to be more able and so are

pushed toward professional or other desirable careers.” Saying this, one would look at class

seeing how resources are used equally, noticing that the teacher would have a greater amount of

power compared to the students and how the students would look up to the teacher. One will also

see that there are different social classes amongst the group, through observation of their attire,

and the way the teacher treat these differences. The conflict theory approach, therefore, would

suggest that as the emphasis on standards-based curriculum tightens, the growth and widening of

educational attainment increases, and the intensification of academic intelligence continues,

maintaining individual social status will become inherently more difficult and society will

witness heightened stratification and greater polarization of the class structure. Having identified

the problem – the educational system as a tool used by the dominant class to retain power – how

do the Conflict theorists propose to fix it? “Their view is a pessimistic one, giving no

consideration to how individuals could interact to ameliorate achievement or alter the constraints

of the system” (DeMarrais & LeComte) Critical theory” analyzes sources of oppression, with

special focus on the successes and failures of previous social theories to understand society.

Critical theorists see themselves as unobjective advocates who hope to actually solve some of

society’s inequities, an activist rather than deterministic viewpoint (in special contrast to

Marxism). From my experience in the classroom, class differences are magnified throughout the
school day. Students who are from families with low socioeconomic status have disadvantages

when compared with upper class students because teachers may favour the latter. Conflict theory

perfectly describes what can occur in a classroom and in a school in general if teachers and

administrators are ignorant, thoughtless, or lazy: use the language of educated adults to speak to

those students already comfortable with their own language (a minority of the classroom), to the

exclusion of the others. Ultimately, most students are not from the upper class, and to the extent

that they differ from that model of the entrenched dominant class; these students have the

potential to feel alienated in a classroom led by a teacher who is a member of the elite. By

alienating his students, a teacher can be the direct cause of poor attendance, distraction,

antagonism, and despair, all of which can contribute to students’ failure in the classroom. And

thus the teacher becomes the reason for the student’s failure. The question “Why are some

students more successful in school than others?” can be read as being about relatively minor

differences in achievement– an native speaker of English compared to an English learner in a

math class, for example, who picks up an algorithm perfectly but misses some of the fine details

such as vocabulary and exceptions – but if can also be about huge differences in success. The

biggest question of success is whether or not a student actually graduates from high school. As

described in “Framing Dropouts” (Fine, 1991) some high schools seem to pick out the most

troublesome students and repeatedly and creatively try to push them out of school. Fine describes

an interview with the administrators and counselors at an inner-city high school where it

appeared that the school was aware of students’ rights not to be permanently discharged but that

they were hiding this fact from the students. During the conversation, a counselor confirmed this

impression: “What [Fine] is saying is true. We do throw students out of here for no good reasons.

They feel terrible. We deny them their education. Black kids especially. They care a lot.”
Opposed to conflict theory is functionalist theory. This theory sees meritocracy in education as a

working and effective practice within schools. Schools function to assess and sort students into

jobs and careers that are best for them based on their achievement. This theory views the

institution of education in a positive light and gives more credibility to the teacher being held

accountable for student achievement.

Criteria 4

Crosnoe and Johnson suggest that “…schools can be viewed as important aspects of the ecology

of human development – institutional settings influencing the more proximate contexts that, in

turn, direct development” (Crosnoe and Johnson, 2004, p. 75). Teachers in these environments

must be aware of this fact and do everything in their power to enhance it. We have seen how

teacher standards in the classroom regarding homework and overall performance aid students in

achieving a higher effort and, sometimes, higher grades. Crosnoe and Johnson tell us in their

study that interpersonal relationships between the students and their teachers also foster a more

enjoyable learning environment and a higher level of achievement. Students, however, cannot be

solely responsible for establishing these interpersonal relationships. Sometimes a student may be

too shy to approach a teacher and ask for help. In this case, it is the teacher’s responsibility to

recognize that student’s struggle and assist him or her. This is a part of what Kounin refers to as

“withitness”, being able to observe what is going on in the classroom around you and being able

to adjust accordingly. Teachers who effectively apply praise to reinforce desired behaviours

cultivate built-in motivation in their students. It was found out that teachers can improve

motivation of their students to behave in a proper way through the approach of positive

reinforcement (Diedrich, 2010) Teachers need to be conscious of such issues and need to know

how to handle them. Teachers effect on their students’ achievement. Sometimes, however,
students simply do not want to learn, and we must be careful to keep that in mind as we teach.

Recognizing these students is the first step. Then, we must do everything in our power to inspire

in them a love of learning, or at least, an acceptance of it. However, we also must be careful not

to give them too much attention, because all that will do, in some cases, is foster more errant

behavior. So, as teachers, we walk a fine line. Our influence, our expectations and our goals, and

our relationships with our students, hold a lot of power. We must be careful not to abuse that

power. We have been trusted with it; now, we must earn that trust.

Bibliography

Christiansen, R.J. (2002).Student/Teacher Relationships and Scholl Success: Perceptions of

Students from Grade 9-12.July. Pp.1-52.

DeMarrais, K.B., & LeCompte, M.D. (1999). The way schools work: A sociological analysis of

education (3rd ed.). New York: Longman.

Fine, M. (1991). Framing dropouts: Notes on the politics of an urban public high school. Albany:

State University of New York Press.

Hallinan, M. T. (2008). Teacher influences on students’ attachment to school. Sociology of

Education, 81(3), 271-283.

Hyun, J. (n.k). Facilitating Student-Teacher Relationships. Kinder Training.pp.1-12.

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