Student subcultures * Teacher-student relationships are not the only interactions of interest to sociologists. * Those between students and their peers are arguably as, if not more, important in constructing the sociology of the classroom. * Sociologists are interested in understanding the nature of anti-school subcultures – GROUPS OF STUDENTS WHO OPPOSE THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCHOOL.

Research study: David Hargreaves (1973) * Based on interviews with boys in inner-city secondary-modern schools, Hargreaves argues anti-school subcultures are formed as a response to negative labelling, which allows individuals access to only the lowest status in the school. * As a result, students subvert the culture of the school to gain access to higher status – e.g. by attaching prestige to the disruption of lessons – therefore, gaining approval from their peers.

* Not all students subcultures oppose the school in such dramatic ways, and Peter Woods (1981) argues that the division between pro- and anti-school subculture is simplistic. * Instead, he identifies 8 different PUPIL ADAPTATIONS or responses to the culture of the school. * These range from wholehearted subscription to the school’s norms and values through to open rebellion. * In between are a number of more subtle adaptations, but without subscribing to its goal and values – e.g. attending college only to obtain Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments.

* Sociologists have also studies the subcultures formed by different social groups – with a particular focus on CLASS, GENDER and ETHNICITY. * A common theme in this research is the idea that subcultures emerge as a coping strategy for the constraints placed on different groups – both within school and in wider society.

Research study: Valerie Hey (1997) * Hey examined the sociology of schoolgirls’ friendships,