Cultural Deprivation theory in ethnic differences in achievement

Question 1

How do cultural deprivation theorists see the lack of intellectual and linguistic skills?

Answer 1

a major cause of underachievement for many minority children

Question 2

What do cultural deprivation theorists argue that low-income black families lack?

Answer 2

intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences

Question 3

What does this leave these low-income black families to be?

Answer 3

Poorly equipped for school because they have not been able to develop reasoning and problem-solving skills

Question 4

What do Bereiter and Engelmann consider about the language spoken by low-income black American families ?

Answer 4

Inadequate for educational success
They see it as ungrammatical, disjointed and incapable of expressing abstract ideas

Question 5

Which pupils did Gillborn and Mirza note do very well despite often not having English as their home language?

Answer 5

Indian pupils

Question 6

How do cultural deprivation theorists see lack of motivation?

Answer 6

A major cause of the failure of many black children

Question 7

What does socialising children into mainstream culture instil?

Answer 7

• ambition
  -competitiveness and willingness to make sacrifices necessary to achieve long-term goals
  Therefore equipping them for success in education

Question 8

How do cultural deprivation theorists argue some black children are socialised ?

Answer 8

Some black children are socialised into a subculture that instils a fatalistic, ‘live for today’ attitude that does not value education and leaves them unequipped for success

Question 9

What do cultural deprivation theorists argue that this failure to socialise children adequately is the result of?

Answer 9

A dysfunctional family structure

Question 10

What did Moynihan argue?

Answer 10

children from many black families that are headed by lone mothers are deprived of adequate care because she had to struggle financially in the absence of a male breadwinner

Question 11

What does the father’s absence also mean?

Answer 11

Boys lack an adequate role model of male achievement

Question 12

How does Moynihan see cultural deprivation?

Answer 12

A cycle where inadequately socialised children from unstable families go on to fail at school and become inadequate parents themselves

Question 13

What does Murray argue that a high rate of lone parenthood and a lack of positive male role models lead to?

Answer 13

the underachievement of some minorities

Question 14

What does Scruton see the low achievement levels of some ethnic minorities as result of?

Answer 14

A failure to embrace mainstream British Culture

Question 15

What does Pryce claim from a comparison of black and Asian pupils?

Answer 15

Asians are higher achievers because their culture is more resistant to racism and gives them a greater sense of self-worth compared to black Caribbean culture which he believes is less cohesive and less resistant to racism

Question 16

What did Pryce argue that the difference is the result of?

Answer 16

Differing impacts of colonialism in the two groups. Being transported and sold into slavery meant that blacks lost their language, religion and entire family system. Asian family structures, languages and religions were not destroyed by colonial rule

Question 17

What does Sewell argue?

Answer 17

That it is not the absence of fathers as role models that lead to black boys underachieving. Instead, he believes that a lack of fatherly nurturing or ‘tough love ‘ is the problem. This results in black boys finding it hard to overcome the emotional and behavioural difficulties of adolescence

Question 18

What happens in the absence of a restraining influence of a nurturing father according to Sewell?

Answer 18

Street gangs of other fatherless boys offer black boys ‘perverse loyalty and love’. These present boys with a media inspired role model of anti-school black masculinity, whose ideal Arnot describes as ‘the ultra-tough ghetto superstar, reinforced through rap lyrics and MTV videos’

Question 19

What did most academically successful black boys that were interviewed by Sewell say was the greatest barrier to success?

Answer 19

Pressure from other boys. Speaking in standard English and doing well in school were often viewed with suspicion by their peers and seen as ‘ selling out ‘to the white establishment

Question 20

What does Sewell argue is the reason that black students do worse than their Asian counterparts?

Answer 20

Cultural differences in socialisation and attitudes to education

Question 21

What does Sewell believe would raise black children aspirations?

Answer 21

Greater expectations placed on them

Question 22

What does Gillborn argue?

Answer 22

That it is not peer pressure but institutional racism within the education system itself that systematically produces the failure of large numbers of black boys

Question 23

What do Indian and Chinese pupils benefit from?

Answer 23

Supportive families that have an ‘Asian work ethic’ and place a high value on education

Question 24

What does Lupton argue that adult authority in Asian families is similar to?

Answer 24

The model that operates in schools

Question 25

What did Lupton find about this model?

Answer 25

Respectful behaviour towards adults was expected from children. This had a knock on effect in school, since parents were more likely to be supportive of school behaviour policies

Question 26

What did McCulloch’s survey find

Answer 26

ethnic minorities are more likely to aspire to go to university than white British pupils

Question 27

What is low levels of aspiration and achievement potentially a result of?

Answer 27

A lack of parental support

Question 28

What was Lupton’s findings?

Answer 28

Teachers reported poorer levels of behaviour and discipline in the white working-class schools - despite the fact that they had fewer children on free school meals. This was blamed on the lower levels of parental support and the negative attitude that white working-class parents had towards education. By contrast, ethnic minority parents were more likely to see education as “ a way up in society”

Question 29

State Driver’s criticism of cultural deprivation theory

Answer 29

It ignores the positive effects of ethnicity on achievement. E.g. the black Caribbean family provides girls with positive role models of strong independent

Question 30

State Lawrence’s criticism of Pryce’s view that black pupils fail to because their culture is weak and they lack self-esteem

Answer 30

Lawrence argues that black pupils under-achieve not because of low self-esteem, but because of racism

Question 31

State Keddie’s criticism of cultural deprivation

Answer 31

-Victim-blaming explanation
Ethnic minority children aren’t culturally deprived but instead, culturally different. They under-achieve because schools are ethnocentric: biased in favour of white culture and against minorities

Question 32

Why do critics oppose compensatory education

Answer 32

They see it as an attempt to impose the dominant white culture on children who already have a coherent culture of their own