In this paper we show that poor student performance in a rural school is influenced by the classifications used for student learning and behaviour. We propose that the institution's organisation is conveyed via a classification schema that permeates and informs judgments about student progress and holds sway over teacher cognition. Category boundaries are set and differentiate between compliant and non-compliant students in the school in question. Conformity to expectations by compliant students can be mistaken for academic security. Rectifying disruptive and off-task behaviours can replace teaching of the non-compliant students. Institutional categories used to judge and label performances remain difficult to counter in that they are part of the reality of everyday interaction and given credence in departmental policy and professional discourse.
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