Academic Success and the Intergenerational Reproduction of Academic Performance at Basic School

Abstract

This article presents the preliminary results of an ethnographic study focusing on eighth-and ninth-year students at two basic schools in Prague. The study conceives academic success and failure as categories that need to be explained; it is necessary to demonstrate how they are produced and ascribed with meaning in the everyday practice of student evaluation, especially by school authorities. Student evaluations are generally based on a complex assessment of a student's aptitude and diligence, and they also refl ect a student's conduct at school conduct and attitude towards school discipline, education, and authority, i.e. towards accepted values, the school code, and other (written and unwritten) rules of interaction. Academic failure signalling some kind of shortcoming on the part of the recipient of an evaluation -be it a lack of interest, motivation, cooperation, effort, ability, or intelligence -has a moral connotation and stigmatising effect. This is legitimised by the presumption that it is the student's own deliberate actions, his or her degree of interest and effort, that determine success or failure at school, and that this essentially has nothing to do with the student's (natural) intelligence or (given) family background. Yet a student's family background and available cultural resources play an important role in academic performance. Academically inclined parents, high academic ambitions on the part of a student and his or her parents, communication style, and respect for school authority are key elements of success at basic school and have a hand in the intergenerational reproduction of educational inequalities.

Gender-Specific Effectiveness of the Unplugged Prevention Intervention in Reducing Substance Use among Czech Adolescents

“…Addressing false normative beliefs and denormalising substance use are crucial methods of effective school-based prevention, which should primarily seek to enhance students' general awareness of drug-related risks and morals and encourage the involvement of students themselves in tackling drug problems [Novák 2012]. Substance use tends to be highly regarded by fellow students, particularly among boys [Jarkovská 2009;Vojtíšková 2011]. By contrast, good academic performance is usually associated with girls [Mencin Čeplak 2013].…”

“…However, the present gender-sensitive approach to education may raise the question as to whether applying the same method of education to different groups of children perhaps results in or deepens inequalities between them [Smetáčková 2009]. In this respect, it is necessary to fully understand and apply knowledge about traditional gender differences, which are shaped by family upbringing in pre-school years and often grow stronger when the child enters school [Jarkovská 2009;Vojtíšková 2011]. Boys and girls do not have the same baseline conditions and the rigid application of a single gender-equal approach may put one group at a strong disadvantage [Klein 1991].…”

“…ROMAN GABRHELÍK received his PhD in general psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Masaryk University, Brno. In 2010-2011…”