Describe the symbolic interactionist perspective on education, and explain the significance of labeling and the self-fulfilling prophecy in educational achievement

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Symbolic interactionists focus on classroom communication patterns and educational

practices, such as labeling, that affect students' self-concept and aspirations.

According to symbolic interactionists, the process of labeling is directly related to the

power and status of those persons who do the labeling and those who are being

labeled. In schools, teachers and administrators are empowered to label children in

various ways, including grades, written comments on deportment (classroom behavior),

and placement in classes. For example, based on standardized test scores or classroom

performance, educators label some children as "special ed" or low achievers, whereas

others are labeled as average or "gifted and talented.". For some students, labeling

amounts to a self-fulfilling prophecy—an unsubstantiated belief or prediction resulting

in behavior that makes the originally false belief come true. A classic form of labeling

and the self-fulfilling prophecy occur through the use of IQ (intelligence quotient) tests,

which claim to measure a person's inherent intelligence apart from any family or school

influences on the individual. In many school systems, IQ tests are used as one criterion

in determining student placement in classes and ability groups. In the 1960s, two social

scientists (Rosenthal and Jacobson) conducted an experiment in an elementary school

during which they intentionally misinformed teachers about the intelligent test scores of

students in their classes. Despite the fact that the students were randomly selected for

the study and had no measurable differences in intelligence, the researchers informed

the teachers that some of the students had extremely high IQ test scores, whereas

others had average to below-average scores. As the researchers observed, the

teachers began to teach "exceptional" students in a different manner from other

students. In turn, the "exceptional" students began to outperform their "average" peers

and to excel in their classwork. This study called attention to the labeling effect of IQ

scores.