Introduction to Student Subcultures
Schools aren't just places where students learn academic subjects. They're also social spaces where young people create their own mini-cultures or 'subcultures'. These subcultures have their own values, attitudes and behaviours that can either support or reject the school's official values.
Key Definitions:
- Subculture: A group within a larger culture that has its own distinct values, norms and behaviours.
- Pro-school subculture: Groups of students who accept school values and work hard academically.
- Anti-school subculture: Groups of students who reject school values and may actively resist education.
- Status frustration: Feelings of failure and inadequacy experienced by students who cannot succeed in the school's value system.
📖 Pro-School Subcultures
These students generally accept the school's values and goals. They work hard, follow rules, complete homework and aim for academic success. Teachers often view them positively, which can create a self-fulfilling prophecy of continued achievement.
👊 Anti-School Subcultures
These students often reject school values and develop alternative sources of status. They might disrupt lessons, skip school, or refuse to do work. For them, being 'cool' might mean deliberately underachieving or challenging teacher authority.
Why Do Student Subcultures Form?
Student subcultures don't just appear randomly. Sociologists have identified several reasons why they develop:
📈 Status Issues
Students who can't achieve status through academic success may seek alternative ways to gain respect from peers.
👥 Social Background
Students from similar social class, ethnic or gender backgrounds often group together, bringing shared values from outside school.
🛠 School Structures
Setting, streaming and labelling by schools can push students into particular groups and identities.
Key Studies on Student Subcultures
Paul Willis: Learning to Labour (1977)
Willis studied a group of 12 working-class boys (the 'lads') in a Midlands school. These boys formed an anti-school subculture that rejected academic work as 'feminine' and 'pointless'. Instead, they valued masculine behaviours like fighting, drinking and disrupting lessons.
The 'lads' saw manual labour as more 'real' and 'masculine' than mental work. Ironically, by rejecting school, they ended up preparing themselves for the same factory jobs as their fathers – exactly what the education system was preparing them for anyway!
Case Study Focus: The 'Lads' vs The 'Ear'oles'
In Willis's study, the 'lads' (anti-school) mocked the conformist students they called 'ear'oles' (pro-school). The 'ear'oles' were seen as sucking up to teachers and lacking independence. This shows how subcultures often define themselves in opposition to other groups.
Willis argued that the 'lads' weren't simply failing – they were actively rejecting a system they saw as irrelevant to their future lives in factory work. This was a form of cultural resistance, even if it ultimately led to their own disadvantage.
Robert Seeley: Delinquent Solution (1966)
Seeley identified three main student subcultures:
- Academic students: Accepted school values and worked hard
- Delinquent students: Rejected school values and sought status through misbehaviour
- Indifferent students: Neither fully accepted nor rejected school, just doing enough to get by
Seeley found that students often ended up in these groups based on their perceived chances of academic success. Those who felt they couldn't succeed academically found alternative ways to gain status.
Social Class and Student Subcultures
Social class background strongly influences which subcultures students join:
🎓 Middle-Class Students
Often more likely to join pro-school subcultures because:
- Their family values align with school values
- They see education as essential for maintaining their social position
- They possess the cultural capital valued by schools
- Their parents often have higher expectations for academic success
👷 Working-Class Students
More likely to join anti-school subcultures because:
- They may experience a clash between home and school values
- They might see little connection between education and their future jobs
- They may lack the cultural capital rewarded in schools
- They might experience status frustration if they struggle academically
Gender and Student Subcultures
Boys and girls often form different types of subcultures:
Boys' Subcultures
Traditionally, boys' anti-school subcultures have been more visible and disruptive. They often emphasise:
- Physical toughness and 'laddish' behaviour
- Rejection of academic work as 'feminine'
- Open confrontation with teachers
- Visible rule-breaking to impress peers
Girls' Subcultures
Girls' subcultures have often been less visible but still significant:
- May focus more on appearance and relationships
- Might involve more passive resistance (e.g., not participating rather than disrupting)
- Can include 'doing the minimum' rather than open rebellion
- Sometimes involves balancing academic work with maintaining popularity
Case Study Focus: Mac an Ghaill's Study (1994)
Máirtín Mac an Ghaill identified several male student subcultures in his research:
- Macho Lads: Rejected school, valued toughness and 'having a laugh'
- Academic Achievers: Embraced school values and worked hard
- New Enterprisers: Focused on vocational subjects and future careers
This study showed that there isn't just one way of 'being a boy' in school – different masculinities exist that relate differently to education.
Ethnicity and Student Subcultures
Ethnic background can also influence subculture formation:
Fuller's Study (1984)
Fuller studied a group of Black British girls who created a unique subculture. These girls:
- Rejected racist stereotypes and teacher racism
- Were critical of school but still worked hard academically
- Maintained their own cultural identity while achieving in school
- Showed it's possible to be anti-school authority but pro-education
The Impact of Student Subcultures on Achievement
Student subcultures can significantly affect educational outcomes:
👍 Positive Impacts
Pro-school subcultures can:
- Create peer pressure to work hard and succeed
- Provide emotional support during exam stress
- Share useful study techniques and resources
- Reinforce positive relationships with teachers
👎 Negative Impacts
Anti-school subcultures can:
- Create peer pressure against studying or participating
- Lead to higher rates of truancy and exclusion
- Result in self-fulfilling prophecies of failure
- Damage teacher-student relationships
Evaluating Explanations of Student Subcultures
Strengths
- Helps explain patterns of achievement beyond individual factors
- Recognises students as active participants, not passive recipients
- Shows how school processes and wider social factors interact
- Explains why some students from similar backgrounds achieve differently
Limitations
- Can oversimplify complex student identities and behaviours
- May not reflect changes in modern education and youth culture
- Doesn't fully explain why some students resist joining the dominant subculture
- Some studies are now quite dated and may not reflect current school experiences
Modern Student Subcultures
Today's student subcultures are increasingly diverse and complex. They include:
- Digital subcultures that exist partly online through social media
- Hybrid identities where students move between different groups
- Achievement-oriented subcultures that balance academic success with being 'cool'
- Interest-based subcultures formed around specific activities (gaming, music genres, sports)
These modern subcultures show that the relationship between student groups and education continues to evolve.