Keith Goldstein
I am a sociologist who specializes in quantitative research in the fields of education and migration. I am academically proficient in several languages, such as Hebrew, Japanese, and Spanish. I can also speak several other languages and am constantly trying to learn new ones. My current research methods interest is online, multinational, large scale survey projects. Recently I have been conducting early childhood education research by means of a meta-analysis.
Supervisors: Gad Yair
Supervisors: Gad Yair
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The second chapter sets the stage for building hypotheses. The chapter uses qualitative information to develop a prototypical stereotype narrative, referred to as an Ideal Subcultural Type (IST). An IST is a tool for understanding how an imaginary stereotype can objectively affect real students. An initial coding of the students' responses in the questionnaire about each of the subcultures revealed nine categories: 1) appearance, 2) language, 3) ethnic 4) ideological, 5) education, 6) behavior, 7) social, 8) background, and 9) psychology. Quotations were infused with summary text to create a fictional story that is based on students’ actual observations. Hence, this chapter describes a post-modern reality about a subculture, whereby very subjective impressions from numerous individuals are combined into a singular image.
The third chapter is about schools that typify an IST. Linear Discriminant Analysis was used to isolate schools that have higher concentrations of a specific subculture (IST Schools). The environment of each school is juxtaposed against other IST schools and the general population. The results provide a framework for creating refined hypotheses from those presented in the prior chapter. Attention is given to minority subculture students, the Freak students in the Ars school. Such analysis can help educators understand how tensions with the other students in the classroom may develop. The primary focus of the chapter though is to examine the majority subculture of a school. From a policy perspective, administrators can use this information to understand how and why certain schools develop adverse academic and social behaviors.
The fourth chapter examines individual subcultural belonging on a national scale. This chapter relies heavily on a factor score for the level of individual belonging to an IST. The refined hypotheses are examined using 11 categories for national effects: 1) ethnic, 2) religious, 3) socio-economic status, 4) gender, 5) diversity, 6) urban, 7) education, 8) delinquency, 9) pride, 10) friendship, and 11) popularity. Whereas the previous chapter examined the majority subculture population of the school, this chapter examines additional variables for subcultural belonging, but pays special attention to friendship and issues of prejudice. The results highlight two types of conflict that often occur in schools: 1) conflicts between two subcultures, and 2) conflicts between a subculture and school norms.
The fifth chapter concludes with an analysis of the findings in relation to sociological theories. Four Ideal Subcultural Laws (ISLs) are outlined from the findings on ISTs: background effects, environment effects, personal effects, and social effects. Background effects show how subcultural belonging and conflict are often preordained. Environment effects show how the size of one’s community and the diversity of one’s school environment affect how one develops subcultural affiliations. Personal effects show how one’s behaviors, such as delinquency and scholastic performance can have an impact on one’s subcultural belonging. Social effects show how friendships and popularity create preferences for and against subcultures. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future research needs in the area of hybrid subculture types (HSTs). HSTs represent the dynamic nature of subcultures, whereby youth may attach to a number of different subcultures or change subculture based on age or place.
This thesis presents a three phase model for investigating subcultures: 1) A qualitative analysis for developing hypotheses about a subcultural stereotype, 2) Identification of subculture case studies as extreme groups that fulfill stereotype definitions; And 3) quantitative hypothesis checking by means of a national sample. While this research is limited to Israeli high schools, the research findings allude to universal issues of subcultural formation and conflict that may be transferable to other places and age groups. In addition, this model can be used for future studies on subcultural stereotypes and other themes of youth culture. The results show that subcultural discrimination often occurs whereby a certain group with given characteristics, such as ethnicity or socio-economic status, retain subcultural belonging regardless of the surrounding environment. The classic example of such subcultural stasis is how Mizrahi students retain Ars belonging regardless of the diversity of their school. In certain cases though minority students in a school can develop belonging to the majority subcultural group. The classic example of such subculture integration is how Ashkenazi students develop greater Ars belonging in a Mizrahi majority school. The paradox of this subcultural melting pot phenomenon though is that integration tends to take place with delinquent subcultures.
The second chapter sets the stage for building hypotheses. The chapter uses qualitative information to develop a prototypical stereotype narrative, referred to as an Ideal Subcultural Type (IST). An IST is a tool for understanding how an imaginary stereotype can objectively affect real students. An initial coding of the students' responses in the questionnaire about each of the subcultures revealed nine categories: 1) appearance, 2) language, 3) ethnic 4) ideological, 5) education, 6) behavior, 7) social, 8) background, and 9) psychology. Quotations were infused with summary text to create a fictional story that is based on students’ actual observations. Hence, this chapter describes a post-modern reality about a subculture, whereby very subjective impressions from numerous individuals are combined into a singular image.
The third chapter is about schools that typify an IST. Linear Discriminant Analysis was used to isolate schools that have higher concentrations of a specific subculture (IST Schools). The environment of each school is juxtaposed against other IST schools and the general population. The results provide a framework for creating refined hypotheses from those presented in the prior chapter. Attention is given to minority subculture students, the Freak students in the Ars school. Such analysis can help educators understand how tensions with the other students in the classroom may develop. The primary focus of the chapter though is to examine the majority subculture of a school. From a policy perspective, administrators can use this information to understand how and why certain schools develop adverse academic and social behaviors.
The fourth chapter examines individual subcultural belonging on a national scale. This chapter relies heavily on a factor score for the level of individual belonging to an IST. The refined hypotheses are examined using 11 categories for national effects: 1) ethnic, 2) religious, 3) socio-economic status, 4) gender, 5) diversity, 6) urban, 7) education, 8) delinquency, 9) pride, 10) friendship, and 11) popularity. Whereas the previous chapter examined the majority subculture population of the school, this chapter examines additional variables for subcultural belonging, but pays special attention to friendship and issues of prejudice. The results highlight two types of conflict that often occur in schools: 1) conflicts between two subcultures, and 2) conflicts between a subculture and school norms.
The fifth chapter concludes with an analysis of the findings in relation to sociological theories. Four Ideal Subcultural Laws (ISLs) are outlined from the findings on ISTs: background effects, environment effects, personal effects, and social effects. Background effects show how subcultural belonging and conflict are often preordained. Environment effects show how the size of one’s community and the diversity of one’s school environment affect how one develops subcultural affiliations. Personal effects show how one’s behaviors, such as delinquency and scholastic performance can have an impact on one’s subcultural belonging. Social effects show how friendships and popularity create preferences for and against subcultures. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future research needs in the area of hybrid subculture types (HSTs). HSTs represent the dynamic nature of subcultures, whereby youth may attach to a number of different subcultures or change subculture based on age or place.
This thesis presents a three phase model for investigating subcultures: 1) A qualitative analysis for developing hypotheses about a subcultural stereotype, 2) Identification of subculture case studies as extreme groups that fulfill stereotype definitions; And 3) quantitative hypothesis checking by means of a national sample. While this research is limited to Israeli high schools, the research findings allude to universal issues of subcultural formation and conflict that may be transferable to other places and age groups. In addition, this model can be used for future studies on subcultural stereotypes and other themes of youth culture. The results show that subcultural discrimination often occurs whereby a certain group with given characteristics, such as ethnicity or socio-economic status, retain subcultural belonging regardless of the surrounding environment. The classic example of such subcultural stasis is how Mizrahi students retain Ars belonging regardless of the diversity of their school. In certain cases though minority students in a school can develop belonging to the majority subcultural group. The classic example of such subculture integration is how Ashkenazi students develop greater Ars belonging in a Mizrahi majority school. The paradox of this subcultural melting pot phenomenon though is that integration tends to take place with delinquent subcultures.