Answer to Question 1
a
Answer to Question 2
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 prophecyan 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.