4. Ethnic differences in Educational Achievement Flashcards
Which ethnic group is the highest educational achiever?
Chinese and Indian
Which ethnic group is the lowest achiever?
Gypsys and Black Carribeans
Examples of External factors:
-Social class/ Material factors
-Family life/Parent support
-Language barriers
-Racism in society
Internal factors:
-Racism in schools
-Teacher labelling/stereotypes
-Ethocentric curiculum
-Subcultures of resistance
Social class and material factors:
where are minority ethnic groups likely to live?
Low income households
Social class and material factors:
Which families have highest rates of poverty?
Bangladeshi family’s have highest rates of poverty followed by black africans
Social class and material factors:
Bangladeshi and black African pupils more likely to…
-have unemployed parents
-be in free school meals
-live in crowded homes
-live in poorest areas
Social class and material factors:
Where are Indian and Chinese pupils more likely to come from?
Business and professional middle class families
Family life and parental support:
Which ethnic group is more succesful than any other due to family support?
British Chinese pupils more successful than any other ethnic group due to famine support
Family life and parental support:
What do Chinese parents do
Chinese parents place exceptionally high value in education
Family life and parental support:
Which ethnic minority families are very supportive of children eduction?
Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents are very supportive of children’s education - keen for children to aim high regardless of wealth
Family life and parental support:
which ethnic group has high lone parenthood?
Black caribbean’s - poses problems financially and practically yet girls often do very well
Family life and parental support:
what percentage if parents go to parents evening when there’s a chance?
82% of parents went to parents evening when there’s a chance
Family life and parental support:
What percentage of Uni applications were from ethnic minorities and why was this?
24% of accepted university applications were from ethnic minorities - parent aspiration, support and encouragement is thought to be a key factor
Family life and parental support:
What does Sewell point out about black pupils?
Black pupils tend to do worse in education than any other group, they lack discipline provided by fathers, may be attracted by gang culture which rejects academic values.
Family life and parental support:
Black boys inparticularly are?
-More likely to to be excluded from school
-Less likely to be identified as gifted and talented
Family life and parental support:
What does Sewell say is down to black pupils doing worse?
High proportion of lone-parent families - no male role models = gangs, aggression, macho masculinity -
Language barriers:
What percentage of primary and secondary pupils don’t have english as first language?
17% primary and 14% secondary pupils
Language barriers:
In how many schools is English not the majority language?
English is not the majority language in 1 out of 9 schools
Language barriers:
Who often has lower levels of attainment?
Pupils whom English is additional language often have lower levels of attainment
Language barriers:
What problems do language barriers cause?
communicating with teachers, understanding the work, completing homework
Language barriers:
What do teachers mistake language barriers for?
Teachers mistake language differences for lack of ability even heavily accented english is also penalised
Language barriers:
What did the Swan Report (1985) find?
The Swan report (1985) sound language differences don’t negatively impact most children
Language barriers:
What did the DfES (2005) find?
found any impact declined and was
overcome as children got older.
Language barriers:
What do bilingual children do?
Bilingual children usually outperform peers
Racism in society:
what is racism found to do?
racism is found to influence attitudes and aspirations in school
Racism in society:
How are Indian and Chinese considered?
‘Model minorities’ - clever and hardworking
Racism in society:
What happens to Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black africans?
They are commonly rejected in society.
Racism in schools: What are schools? and how do they disadvantage black pupils?
Schools are racist, teachers help disadvantage black pupils e.g through setting schemes for the able and less able
Racism in schools: How do teachers disadvantage black pupils?
Teachers (especially female) disadvantage black pupils through setting schemes resulting in black pupils being relegated to the lowest sets due to low expectations.
Racism in schools: What are black pupils viewed as?
Black pupils viewed as ‘no hopers’
Racism in schools: Which race are more likely to be excluded?
Black Caribbean’s more likely to be excluded due to teacher bias
Racism in schools: How does racism affect minorities differently?
‘model minorities’ treated differently from minorities who are seen as potential problems
Racism in schools: What is entrenched in the organisation of schools?
Institutional racism is entrenched in the organisation of schools
Racism in school: How do teachers label Asian students?
Teachers label Asian girls as ‘passive’, and boys as ‘immature’. Teachers label Asian culture as inferior and assume Asian children have a poor grasp of English.
Teacher labelling: What labels are African Caribbean’s usually given?
‘unruly’ ‘disrespectful’ and ‘difficult to control’
Teacher labelling: What do schools see black pupils as ?
Schools see black pupils as a threat which leads to negative labelling and eventual exlusion.
Teacher labelling: What do teachers see as a challenge to their authority?
Teachers interpret dress and speech of African Caribbean pupils as representing a challenge to their authority
Ethnocentric curriculum: How do African Caribbean males often react to white dominated education system?
African Caribbean males often react angrily to and reject the white dominated education system - gaining status and recognition through other means
Ethnocentric curriculum: How do Indians react to white dominated education system?
Indians show anger but don’t reject education system - they succeed by using it to their advantage
Subcultures: What do black males do in response to negative teacher labels?
In response to labels black males construct a form of identity earning them represent from peers and females
Subcultures: What is seen as a badge to wear for black pupils?
Educational failure is seen as a badge to wear gaining black pupils ‘street cred’
Subcultures: What has there been concern over?
Development of ‘gangsta’ culture due to absences of positive black role models at home as well as in schools
Subcultures: What leads to the development of ‘gangsta’ culture?
Lack of positive black role models in home and at schools
Ethnocentric curriculum: What does the curriculum do?
Curriculum disadvantages ethnic minorities
Ethnocentric curriculum: Why does the curriculum disadvantage ethnic minorities?
Knowledge they encounter at school may not connect with their own cultural experience
Ethnocentric curriculum: What is said about outdated material?
Outdated materials often seen as offensive reflecting colonial values + stereotypes
Ethnocentric curriculum: What does the content of education ignore?
The content of education ignores black people resulting in low self esteem
Ethnocentric curriculum: What is the result of content of the education system ignoring black people?
Results in low self esteem
Ethnocentric curriculum: Despite low self esteem what have many black pupils maintained?
Maintained a strong positive self image
Institutional racism: What is the critical racism theory?
Racism is a feature of society, institutional racism is a locked in inequality so historical that it is no longer a conscious thought, racism is so ingrained in education that it is inevitable.
Institutional racism: How does marketisation and Segregation lead to racism in schools?
Marketisation allows for more covert selection which can lead to segregation, leading to ethnic minority pupils in the unpopular schools.
Institutional racism: How does access to educational opportunities lead to racism in schools?
In gifted and talented programmes white pupils are twice as likely to be identified as gifted and talented over ethnic minorities, who are less likely to be entered for higher tier exams, down to teacher labelling and stereotyping.
