ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the common-sense typifications which teachers hold of boys, girls, ethnic minority and white pupils, both in terms of their classroom behaviour and their academic standing. These first-order constructs is used to form the basis of a quantitative analysis of gender and ethnic differences in pupil work and behaviour, as perceived by the teacher. The chapter argues that most of the teachers at Rockfield School explained poor work and behaviour from pupils on the basis of a deficient home background. Emotional problems made manifest in the classroom had their cause in an unstable home. A stable home, therefore, was seen as important for the pupils. Boys and girls bring to the school a gender role which has been produced through primary socialisation. In school they must make the transition from being a boy or a girl to being a pupil. Sociology of education has been mainly concerned with seeking and explaining social class differences in education.
