CRITICISMS OF GILLBORN

Question 1

Sewell

Answer 1

Racism isn’t powerful enough in schools to prevent individuals from succeeding, instead it’s external factors that cause underachievement

Question 2

What do critical race theorists ignore?

Answer 2

That there is also ‘overachievement’ by other ‘model minorities’ such as Indian and Chinese pupils

Question 3

How did Gillborn respond to these criticisms?

Answer 3

a. Says that the overachievement of groups such as Indian and Chinese makes the system appear fair and meritocratic
b. Justifies the failure of other minorities- they fail as they’re unwilling to put in the effort
c. Ignores the fact that ‘model minorities’ still suffer racism (Chinese students report similar levels of harassment to Black Caribbeans)