7Ed Cases

Question 1

Indian and Chinese students excel even though English is not their first language

Answer 1

Gillborn and Mirza

Question 2

High number of lone mothers in African-Carribean families. Having no male role model leads to educational underachievement.

Answer 2

Charles Murray

Link to New Right Theory

Question 3

Asian parents have a more positive attitude towards education.

Answer 3

Driver and Ballard

Question 4

Respectful behaviour is more expected in Asian families.

Answer 4

Lupton

Question 5

White working class parents give lower level of support whereas minorities see education as a “way up in society”.

Answer 5

Lupton (2004)

Question 6

Around 70% of Bangladeshi and around 50% of Pakistani children grow up in poverty compared to 20% of the white population.

Answer 6

Platt (2007)

Question 7

Racial discrimination leads to social exclusion and worsens poverty faced by ethnic minorities.

Answer 7

Rex

Question 8

Racism is the reason black pupils underachieve, not cultural deprivation.

Answer 8

Lawrence

Question 9

Cultural deprivation is a victim-blaming explanation. Schools are ethnocentric and favour white culture.

Answer 9

Keddie

Question 10

• Black pupils are disproportionately excluded from school, including institutional racism.
• Black pupils encounter both conscious and unconscious prejudice from teachers.
• Research has found that throughout their education black pupils are disciplined more in terms of frequency and severity and often for milder offences compared to white students.

Answer 10

Department for Education and Skills (2006)

Question 11

• Teachers held ethnocentric views which affected interaction with Asian pupils.
• They had a view that British culture and Standard English were superior.
• Asian pupils were not seen as a threat but a problem that could be ignored. Asian pupils became marginalised.

Answer 11

Wright

Question 12

Ethnic minorities share common experiences, particularly in terms of discrimination and racism.

Answer 12

Barnard and Turner (2011)

Question 13

Teachers’ judgement of pupils’ academic potential were distorted by perceptions about their behaviour. Poor behaviour amongst black pupils caused them to be placed in lower sets and judged to be poor academically. Even though the two (behaviour and academic ability) are not necessarily related.

Answer 13

Strand (2012)

Question 14

African-Caribbean girls in her study channelled their anger about being labelled into educational success. They did not seek approval of teachers but worked conscientiously. This shows that labelling does not always lead to the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Answer 14

Fuller (1984)

Question 15

Ambitious black girls who faced teacher racism. Found that girls spent time trying to avoid effects of teachers’ negative attitudes e.g. getting on with lessons without being involved, not choosing certain options to avoid teachers with racist views. This restricted their opportunities.

Answer 15

Mirza (1992)

Question 16

Teachers had a stereotype of “black machismo” – boys as rebellious, anti-authority and anti-school. Identifies 4 ways boys respond to racist stereotyping:

1) rebels (macho lads)
2) conformists (keen to succeed, accepted school)
3) retreatists (disconnected from school and subcultures) 4) innovators (did not seek approval of teachers but accepted school work).

Answer 16

Sewell (1998)

Question 17

Schools give priority to white culture and English language.
Limited provision for teaching Asian languages is an example of the ethnocentric curriculum, and therefore, institutional racism.

Answer 17

Troyna and Williams

Question 18

• The national curriculum concentrates on the culture of the “host community” largely ignoring non-European languages, history, literature.
• May lead to reducing self-esteem of ethnic minority children

Answer 18

David

Question 19

There has been a range of evidence suggesting that school decision making and selection processes about access to course and qualification routes in schools work against the interest of Black students. For example, evidence suggests that Black pupils are more likely to be entered for lower tier exams, meaning that these students are only able to able to achieve a maximum grade of a C or D, and other evidence has found that Black Caribbean and African students are less likely to be identified for gifted and talented programmes

Answer 19

Ball (2008)

Question 20

In addition, Black Caribbean boys are far more likely to be excluded from school - the Office of the Children’s Commissioner found that they are 37 times more likely to be excluded than girls of Indian origin. Also, in 2009-10, if you were a Black African-Caribbean boy with special needs and eligible for free school meals you were 168 times more likely to be permanently excluded from a state-funded school than a White girl without special needs from a middle class family.

Answer 20

Office of the Children’s Commissioner

Question 21

Excluded pupils are 4 times more likely to finish their education without having gained academic qualifications. Subsequent access to higher education and employment is therefore limited. Furthermore, if a child has lower academic achievement they are more likely to become involved in criminal activity

Answer 21

Gillborn and Drew (2010)

Question 22

Teachers’ dominant discourse (way of seeing something) defines ethnic minority pupils’ identities as lacking the favoured identity of the ideal pupil.

Archer describes how the dominant discourse constructs three different pupil identities:

* The ideal pupil identity – A white, middle-class identity.  This pupil is seen as achieving in the ‘right’ way, through natural ability and initiative. 
* The pathologised pupil identity- This pupil is seen as plodding and conformist, a slogger who succeeds through hard work rather than natural ability. 
* The demonised pupil identity – A black or white working-class identity. This pupil is seen as an unintelligent, peer-led, culturally deprived under-achiever.

Answer 22

Louise Archer (2008)

Question 23

Teachers stereotyped Asian girls as quiet, passive or docile.

Answer 23

Archer (2010)