3. Ethnicity And Educational Achievement Flashcards
Ethnicity
People who share common history, customs and identity as well as in many cases language and religion
2017/18 data on ethnicity in education
- Pupils from Chinese ethnic group most likely to get a grade 5 or above in GCSE English and Maths
- White Gypsy/Roma pupils least likely to get a 5 or above in GCSE English and Maths
- In every ethnic group girls were more likely than girls to get a 5 or above
- In every ethnic group students on free school meals were less likely to get a grade 5 or above
What does data show
- White and Asian pupils do better on average than black pupils
- Gender an class differences within and between ethnic groups have an affect
- Girls do better than boys in all ethnic groups apart from Gypsy
- Middle calls in all ethnic groups do better than working class
Stereotype
A misleading representation of a group composed of what is thought to be typical characteristics of that froup
Prejudice
A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience
Discrimination
Unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people
External factors of ethnicity and educational achievement
- Cultural deprivation
- Material deprivation
- Racism in wider society
- Cultural deprivation
Educational underachievement is a result of inadequate socialisation in the home. Split into 3 parts: intellectual and linguistic skills, attitudes and values and family structure/parent support
Intellectual and linguistic skills
- Pupils from low income black families lack intellectual simulation and enriching experiences
- Poorly equipped for school- haven’t developed reasoning and problem solving skills
- BEREITER AND ENGELMANN: ‘language spoken by low income black American families is inadequate for educational success’
- Pupils who do not speak English at home may be held back educationally
Attitudes and values
- Lack of motivation in black pupils is a major factor of educational failure
- Not socialised into mainstream culture but into subcultures that I stills the idea of living for today. No value to education
Family structure and parental support
- Poor socialisation is a result of dysfunctional family structure
- Moynihan argues that because many black families are headed by a lone mother the children are deprived of adequate care and financial support
- Black boys also lack a adequate role model of male achievement
- Murray found that ‘high rate lone parenthood= underachievement’
- Pryce compared black and Asian families. Found Asian families perform better due to higher resistance of and less racism
SEWELL: FATHERS GANGS AND CULTURE
- Tony Sewell argues that it isn’t the absence of the father as role models that leads black boys to underachieve but the lack of fatherly ‘nurturing’ or tough love
- This makes it hard for black boys to overcome emotional and behavioural difficulties
- In replacement of fatherly love, gangs offer black boys ‘pereserve loyalty and love’. This presents them with a anti school subculture as it doesn’t look ‘cool’.
- Sewell argues that black students do worst than their Asian counterparts because of cultural differences in socialisation and attitudes towards education
- One group is being nurtured by ‘MTV’ whilst the other is clocking up the educational hours
Asian families
Sewell- Indian and Chinese pupils benefit from supportive families and ‘Asian work ethic’
Lupton- adult authority in Asian families is similar to model in education. Respectful behaviour expected towards adults
White working class families
- Evans argues street culture in white working class areas can be brutal,so young people have to learn how to withstand intimidation and intimidate others
- School can therefore become a place where power games are played out, which can bring with it disruption which makes it hard for pupils to succeed
- Material deprivation
-Lack of physical necessities seen as essential in today’s society
Flaherty
- Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are 3x more likely than whites to be in the poorest 1/5 of the population
- Africans, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are 3x more likely to be unemployed than whites
- 15% of minority groups live in overcrowded homes (2% for whites)
- Pakistanis are 2x as likely to be in semi/unskilled jobs compared to Whites
Does class override ethnicity?
- Even those Indian and Chinese pupils who are materially deprived still do better than most
- 2011-86% of Chinese girls who were in FSM achieved 5 A*-C compared with 65% of white girls who were not FSM
- Racism in wider society
- Mason argues that ‘Discrimination is a continuing & persistent feature of the experience of Britain’s citizens of minority ethnic origin’.
- Rex argues racism leads to social exclusion and accordingly poverty. This is shown in housing, employment & education. Racism also leads to discrimination both inside & outside the classroom.
Wood et al
Sent 3 closely matched job applications to 1000 job vacancies with 3 fictitious names associated with 3 different ethnic backgrounds
•1 in 9 white applicants offered an interview
•1 in 16 ethnic minority applicants offered an interview
Internal factors of ethnicity and educational achievement
- Anti school subcultures
- Labelling, identities and responses
- Institutional racism
- Anti school subcultures and pupils identities
Archer- 3 different pupil identities: Ideal pupil identity, Pathologised pupil identity, Demonised pupil identity
- Ethnic minorities more likely to be seen as demonised or pathologised.
- Archer- Asian girls are quiet passive or docile.
- Shain- to go against this stereotype leads to more severe punishment
Chinese pupils subcultures and pupil identities
- Chinese students both praised and viewed negatively.
- Achieved success in the ‘wrong way’
- ‘Negative positive stereotype
How do pupils respond
Fuller (1984) - studied a group of Year 11 black girls in a London comprehensive school.
- Untypical - high achievers
- Girls channelled their anger into the ‘pursuit of educational success’
- Did not seek teachers approval
- Did not limit themselves in terms of friendships groups
- Conformed only in terms of schoolwork
Mac and Ghaill
- Studied a group of black and Asian A Level students.
- Students who believed they had been labelled did not necessarily accept it.
- Response depended on ethnic group and gender
