Preview

Symbolic Interactionism In The Classroom

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
413 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Symbolic Interactionism In The Classroom
The concept, symbolic interactionism is the sociological school of thought that highlights how interpersonal communication in face to face settings creates subjective meanings which people attach to social circumstances (Brym and Lie 2015:6). A symbolic interaction with a labelled student affects the interaction between; students and teachers by verbal or non-verbal messages. In the paper “The Influence of Teachers and Peer Relationships on Students’ Classroom Engagement and Everyday Motivational Resilience”, the impact student teacher relationships are discussed and the effect on the success of students in academics and achievement. Furrer, Pitzer and Skinner explain why/why not and how to improve classroom relationships by using motivational …show more content…
Rejection, chaos and coercive are all variables leading to negative relationships (Furrer, Pitzer and Skinner). Rejection is where the teacher makes fun of students, is not friendly or interested in the student. This creates a feeling of dislike towards the teacher and a sense of failure in the student (Furrer, Pitzer and Skinner). Consequently, teachers who are inconsistent and criticize instead of giving positive feedback create chaos (Furrer, Pitzer and Skinner). This sense of chaos makes people feel helpless with an inability to succeed (Furrer, Pitzer and Skinner). Furthermore, coercive is where students feel pressured because of commands (Furrer, Pitzer and Skinner). The combination of rejection, chaotic and coercive produces self-doubts in students lowering the student’s self-perception to do well, and leads to the student giving up easier. When a teacher makes fun of students (rejection) by giving them labels the students feel afraid to ask questions, because they do not want to be labelled and defined by the label in front of their peers. This results in lower perseverance to do well and an increase in students dropping out of schools. Ultimately, the relationship between teachers who label students and these students is negative and creates emotional and academic

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Interactionists have taken this approach further, they have examined the way in which labeling is linked to other processes within schools that result in class differences in achievement, these processes include the self-fulfilling prophecy, streaming and the polarization into anti and pro-school pupil subcultures as stated by Item A.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fear is a good motivational force between teachers and students. If the student don't behave they will take them to the principal…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This article can be seen from a symbolic interactionist theoretical perspective. This is a micro level theory but it explains that interactions and the meaning of situations have a great impact on the individual. For example. in the article 10 year old boys who have baggy clothes are told that because of that, they are destined to be convicts in the future. These boys, although they do not take it seriously at a young age, internalize these comments and it shapes who they become in the future as they grow and start to figure out who they wish to be in life.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Integrationists argue that labelling can affect a pupils achievement by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. When a teacher labels a pupil, they make predictions about their abilities for example, ‘this child will do well’ - The child then gets treated in accordance to this prediction, the pupil then internalises the teacher’s expectations which becomes part of its self-image. This makes the child become the kind of pupil the teacher perceived them to be. (e.g. if a child is labelled positively, the child will then gain more confidence and try harder with their work, thus leading them to success). This prevents children from having the potential to do well, rather than working hard to allow them to do their best they allow their teachers opinion of them to hold them…

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Killen (1998): Creating Positive Interpersonal Relationships in the Classroom Effective Teaching Strategies; Lessons from Research and Practice…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociology and Pupils

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Interactionists have researched the day to day life in schools. They do not think individuals are influenced by things outside their control, but according to Interactionists you need to look at how teachers and pupils interact and how this affects the pupils self concept. Teachers are seen as very significant as they make initial judgments of pupils, labelling them which consequently leads to pupils acquiring an identity for themselves. Hence internal factors are seen as crucial in determining the educational attainment of pupils and the inequalities between them. The internal factors include Labelling, The self-fulfilling prophecy, Pupil subcultures and Marketisation and Selection policies. All these factors can be seen as having a knock-on effect on each other.…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Students tend to become engaged in their classroom activities if they feel a sense of belonging, and when they feel their teacher cares about their well-being (Skinner & Belmont, 1993). When students form a strong and caring relationship with their teacher, they are full-filling their developmental need for a connection and sense of belonging within their community (Skinner & Belmont, 1993).…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolic Interactionist

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages

    People often use nonverbal communication through meaningful objects or behaviors such as facial expressions, gestures, body language, symbols, clothing articles, and posture standings to interact and communicate his or her idea or opinion. These meaningful objects and behaviors are viewed as a sociological framework called symbolic interactionism. The receiving party observes the objects or behaviors to interpret the meaning. For example, wearing a suit and tie to a new job interview is to illustrate professionalism and impress the interviewer. Symbolic interactionism is prevalent in today’s culture and media. Symbolic interactionism is in magazines, newspapers, print ads, the Internet, and on the television. Symbolic interactionism can significantly influence or manipulate a person’s thoughts or opinions.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After I realized most I would not have access to most of the settings I decided to observe students at the student center. While observing I noticed certain interaction with students, I observed the high level of interaction between fellow black students and the different interaction they had between students of other races. This brought me to wonder if people change their behavior when interacting with certain people. I aim to understand if McMaster students take on a different role when they are around people of their races and other races. Is there a relationship between the society and the self? Do McMaster students take on different roles due to how they are labeled in the society? Do McMaster students feel the need to conduct themselves…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Symbolic Interactionism

    • 2313 Words
    • 10 Pages

    There are several sociological perspectives including functionalism, conflict, social exchange, and sociological imagination. The one that will be talked about within this paper is called symbolic interaction. Symbolic interaction does not focus on social structure like other sociological perspectives do, symbolic interaction is based on small, mostly person to person ideas and perspectives on what symbols mean between people in cultures, what interaction is like, and how interaction between people can impact or reflect upon society as a whole. (Gingrich) Symbolic interaction is defined as “How people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation” (Gingrich). In simpler terms, people make their decisions based on how much that decision is going to affect them, and whether or not society will judge them for making that decision. Symbolic interaction focuses on how people communicate with one another through everyday interactions, and how people perceive and define events. Every interaction has an effect on individuals; each individual goes into each interaction with their own perspectives. Everyone has specific expectations of what should happen within each interaction. This theory primarily concentrates on the use of symbols in society. Since, human beings place a symbol on almost everything, scientists must use four major tactics to understand these symbols: definitions, meanings, interpretation, and interactions. These symbols could include hand gestures, body language, use of language, and any inanimate object.…

    • 2313 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolic Interactionism

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In society, people strive to look and be how the media presents the images of how people should be. We as human beings are constantly shaping and being shaped by the world around us. In society, there are norms and expectations that people are expected to follow and live upon by. As trying to achieve the ideal self image, people sometimes behave in self destructive behavior. As a result people are involved in eating disorder situations that create a social issue in our society.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Abortion

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I feel generally students what to achieve and when the teacher challenges them and give them the tools to succeed then they will succeed. Teachers have to be willing to relate to their students, you still must be an authority figure but ruling as a dictator does not make students willingly to stay engaged. I feel students want to succeed, but need encouragement and guidance and then they are more willing to be on your side. Overall it is a team effort between teachers and students working together for success.…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Symbolic interactionism

    • 3943 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Symbolic interactionism originated with two key theorists, George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley. George Herbert Mead was a proponent of this theory and believed that the true test of any theory was that "It was useful in solving complex social problems" (Griffin 59). Mead’s influence on symbolic interactionism was said to be so powerful that other sociologists regard him as the one “true founder” of symbolic interactionism tradition. Although Mead taught in a philosophy department, he is best known by sociologists as the teacher who trained a generation of the best minds in their field. Strangely, he never set forth his wide-ranging ideas in a book of systematic treatise. After his death in 1931, his students pulled together class notes and conversations with their mentor and published Mind, Self and Society in his name. (Griffin 59). 'It is a common misconception that John Dewey was the leader of this sociological theory; however, according to The Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism, Mead was undoubtedly the individual who “transformed the inner structure of the theory, moving it to a higher level of theoretical complexity.” (Herman-Kinney Reynolds 67).[1] Herbert Blumer, a student and interpreter of Mead, coined the term and put forward an influential summary of the perspective: people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation. Blumer was a social constructionist,and was influenced by Dewey as such this theory is very phenomenologically based. He believed that the "Most human and humanizing activity that people engage in is talking to each other" (Griffin 60).[2] Two other theorists who have influenced Symbolic interaction theory are Yrjö Engeström and David Middleton. Engeström and Middleton explained the usefulness of symbolic interactionism in the communication field in a "variety of work setting including, courts of…

    • 3943 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    symbolic interactionism

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The question was asked, how can understanding and using symbolic interactionism theory help in your everyday life? Why or why not? First we need to look further into the theory and see how it applies to life in general. The symbolic interaction approach states that society exists due to the everyday interactions of people and describes the family as a unit of interacting personalities. The theory focuses attention on the way that people interact through symbols: words, gestures, rules and roles. Individuals develop both a concept of self and their identities through social interaction. Symbolic interactionism is the way we learn to interpret and give meaning to the world through our interactions with others. According to this theory, humans are very different from animals. Humans when put into situations will look at and respond differently depending on the surroundings and actions of others, where animals voluntarily respond to the environment. Humans have the ability to change in every situation and to further change depending on the group of people they are interacting with. Humans think about others opinions of them and adjust their own conduct by comparing themselves with others. It is said through imagination, a person will be able to gain a deeper understanding of behavior and see how it is influenced by your surroundings. Humans act based on symbolic meanings. We have the ability to interact with the symbols, be it words, facial expressions and non verbal cues people exchange. I believe it has played a major role in many aspects of my life even before I had knowledge of the theory. I, being an only child for many years received the label responsible before I had even proved to be, let me explain further. The interactions I had were mainly with adults, so being a child I began to role play and adjust my behavior to different situations. I can see now that I began to be the way I thought adults wanted me to be, which was responsible. I spent most of my time…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Connectedness Study

    • 1902 Words
    • 9 Pages

    A positive climate and sense of belonging have been linked with retention and academic success. Students who report “feelings of community” have greater academic motivation, affinity for school, willingness to help others, better conflict resolution skills, greater enjoyment and liking for school. Research has examined the teacher-to-student behaviors, which create a communication climate. However, little research has looked at the relationship between students as a means of creating communication climate.…

    • 1902 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays