Education - Educational Achievement - 3.2 (Ethnic Differences) Flashcards
3 external factors for ethnic differences
> Language
Family Structure
Attitudes and Values
Why is Language a reason Certain Ethnic Groups Underachieve?
lack stimulation & linguistic development through their socialisation.
Bereiter and Engelmann on Langauge of low-income black families?
- Language of low-income black-american families is inadequate for educational success.
- It’s ungrammatical, disjointed and unable of expressing abstract ideas.
How do Gilbourn & Mirza outline that concern some kids don’t speak English at home may be held back is a myth?
State school Indian students do well even without English as a 1st language.
What do Attiudes and Values theorists state is cause of ethnic differences
Cultural deprivation theorists say subcultures are socialised is fatalistic and focused on immediate gratification, resulting in lack of motivation to succeed.
Explain how Sewell criticises views of Attiudes and Values Theorists?
Only minority of black boys were in anti-school subcultures
Family Structure/Support impact on Black Pupils Sociologists
> Moynihan (Absence of Male Role Model)
> Murray (Problem with Lone Parent Families)
> Pryce (Resistance to Racism)
> Sewell (Lack of Fatherly Nurturing and Gangs)
Explain Moynihan’s view in relation why Blacks underachieve?
- Absence of male role model, in female headed black Lone Parent Families, produces inadequately socialised children who fail at school.
- And become inadequate parents themselves perpetuating culture of poverty.
Explain Murray’s view in relation why Blacks underachieve?
Afro-Caribbean Lone Parent Families is to blame and lack of male role-models means mums struggle to socialise children well.
Explain Pryce’s view in relation why Blacks underachieve?
- Asian Culture more cohesive than black culture & are more resistant to racism, but blacks aren’t.
- Due to the devasting impact of slavery means blacks lost religion, culture and heritage - leading to low self-esteem.
Explain Sewell’s view in relation why Blacks underachieve?
- Disagrees with Murray, arguing lack of fatherly nurturing leads to black boys underachieving.
- Gangs offer them perverse loyalty and love presenting boys with media-inspired role of anti-school black masculinity.
- Academically successful black boys felt biggest barrier to success was pressure, doing well at school was seen as selling out.
Explain Arnot & Sewell’s view in relation why Blacks underachieve?
- Medias created negative antischool role model for black pupils in e.g. Ultra-Tough Ghetto Superstar through rap & MTV videos.
- Black students do worse than Asian peers, as whilst 1 group is nurtured by MTV, other is clocking up educational hours.
A03 Criticisms of Family Structure/Support impact on Black Pupils Sociologists
> Gilbourn (Sewell) > Lawrence (Pryce) > Driver (Murray) > Keddie > Ball
Keddie on Criticisms of Family Structure Theorists
- BAME students are culturally different not deprived.
- Fail due to ethnocentric curriculum being in favour of the Whites.
How does Driver criticise Murray’s view on why Blacks underachieve?
Black families not dysfunctional, provides girls with positive role models of strong independent women, so do better in education.
Ball on Criticisms of Family Structure Theorists
Argues BAME fail as parents less aware of to manipulate system, so it’s rather due to cultural exclusions.
How does Lawerence criticise Pryce’s view on why Blacks underachieve?
Blacks fail due to racism, rather than low-self esteem.
How does Gilbourn criticise Sewell view on why Blacks underachieve?
Not peer pressure, but Institutional Racism in education producing failure of large number of Black Boys.
Family Structure/Support impact on Asian Pupils Sociologists
> Sewell (Asian Work Ethic)
Lupton (Adult Authority)
Driver & Ballard (Asian Family Pro-School Attitudes)
Explain Sewell’s view in relation to why Asian Pupils have higher achievement?
Indian and Chinese pupils benefit from supportive families who have an ‘Asian work ethic’ placing high value on education.
Explain Lupton’s view in relation to why Asian Pupils have higher achievement?
- Adult authority in Asian families simillar to that in schools.
- So parents more likely to support school behaviour policies.
Explain Driver and Ballard’s view in relation to why Asian Pupils have higher achievement?
- Asian families have more ‘Pro-School’ attitude than blacks.
- Asian families rarely lone parents so offer bigger support network for children.
Why are Cultural Deprivation Theorists against Compensatory Education?
Driver (1977) CD ignores the positive effects ethnicity
Lawrence (1982) Black pupils underachieve because of racism.
Keddie- EM’s not culturally deprived but culturally different
Family Structure/Support impact on White Pupils Sociologists
Evans: working class street culture can be brutal, as a result of this power games which are played on the street are replicated in school,
Lupton’s findings on the Behaviour of BAME compared to White
- Studied 4 working Schools, with different ethnic compositions.
- Teacher reported worse behaviour in White working class schools.
- Seen as result of lower levels of parental and support and negative attitudes towards education.
- BAME more likely to see education as way up in society.
Material Deprivation
> Palmer:
Almost half of Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earn under £7
EM’s more likely to be homeless
Almost half ethnic minority children live in low income households
What were Bangla and Paki women most likely to be according to Palmer?
low paid homeworkers
3 Reasons why BAME are at greater risk of material deprivation?
> Live in areas with high unemployment rate and low wage rates.
> Lack of language skills & foreign unrecognised qualifications.
> Racial discrimination in the labour market and housing market.
What are the trends for Indian Pupils whose achievements are above average?
- Likely to be from better-off backgrounds
- e.g group most likely to attend private schools
What are the trends for Indian and Chinese Pupils who’re materially deprived?
Indian and Chinese pupils who’re materially deprived still do well
- e.g. Chinese girls who are on FSM achieved more 5+ GCSEs compared to white girls not on FSM.
Does Class override Ethnicity Sociologists?
> Modood (Effects of Low Income)
Racism in society- who discussed job applications
Wood et al- Wood et al found only 1 in 16 ethnic minority applications received an interview, compared to 1 in 9 “white” applications.
What were Modood’s findings on the effects of Low Income in relation to Ethinicty?
Low income more impact on white than others
What were Gilbourn and Mirza’s findings on Black Kids achievement on entry to Primary School compared to at GCSE?
- Found in 1 area black children were the highest achievers on entry to primary school but at GCSE, they had lowest results
- Fact - group can begin school as top achievers and finish lowest shows internal factors are to blame.
Teachers view on Black and Asian students in relation to the ideal pupil?
- Teachers see Black and Asian pupils far from ‘ideal pupil’
- Black seen as aggressive, and Asian seen as passive.
- Leads teachers to treat BAME differently, disadvantaging them.
Explain Gilbourn and Youdell’s idea of Racialised Expectations?
> Teachers quicker to discipline blacks than others for similar behaviour.
> Teachers misinterpret their behaviour as threatening and anticipating more discipline problems
> Blacks felt teachers underestimated their ability and picked on them
> Leads to Higher number of exclusions and them being put in lower sets, leading to underachievement.
Explain Wright’s Study of Asian Pupils in Multi-Ethnic Primary Schools
> Asians were stereotyped by teachers and treated differently
> They assumed they had poor grasp of English, using childish language when speaking to them, leaving them out of discussions
> Mispronounced their names, seeing them as problem they could ignore.
> So Asians, especially girls, were marginalised affecting their self esteem.
What were the 3 identities outlined by Archer?
- Ideal Pupil Identity
- Pathologised Pupil Identities
- Demonised Pupil Identities
Define Ideal Pupil Identity
> White middle class masculine identity
Normal sexuality
Achieving in the ‘right’ way, through natural ability.
Define Pathologised Pupil Identity
> Asian > 'Deserving poor' > Feminine identity > Either asexual/oppressed sexuality > Conformist > Over achiever, succeeds through hard work more than natural ability.
Define Demonised Pupil Identity
> Black/White working class student > Hyper-sexualised identity > Unintelligent > Peer-led > Culturally deprived and underachieving.
What did Archer gather from Interviews with Teachers and Students about Black Students?
- Interviews found blacks are demonised as loud, excessively sexual, and unaspirational home cultures.
What did Archer find on how Teachers saw Asian Girls?
Found teachers stereotyped Asian girls as quiet, passive or docile.
What did Archer find on how Teachers treated and viewed Chinese Pupils?
> Were given ‘’negative-positive stereotype’’ could never be viewed as ideal pupil, were wrongly seen as MC.
> As they achieved from hard work, passive conformism not natural ability
> Natural achievement only seen available to White middle class.
> Teachers saw their families as ‘tight’ ‘using this to explain girls’ passivity
Briefly outline Sewell Black Boys 4 Responses to Schools Racist Stereotypes
> Rebels
Conformists
Retreatists
Innovators
Define Rebels
- Most influential group but a minority.
- Rejected values of school, conforming to stereotype of black macho lad.
- Despised white boys and conformists, aimed to achieve status of streethood.
Define Conformists
Largest group, accepted values of school & eager to succeed.
Define Retreatists
Isolated individuals, disconnected with peer group subcultures & school, keeping a low profile.
Define Innovators
- Were pro-education but anti-school.
- Distanced themselves from ‘Conformists’ to keep credibility with ‘Rebels’ whilst valuing education success.
2 Criticisms of Sewell Study
> Doesn’t tell us why boys chose different responses.
> Despite this teachers saw them all the same and Sewell still feels external factors are more important.
What are 2 Studies illustrating Labelling Theory is too deterministic?
> Fuller
Mac an Ghaill
Explain Fuller Study of Black Girls showing Labelling Theory is too deterministic?
- High achieving black girls, rejecting teachers labels.
- Determined to do well, but only conformed as far as completing school work.
- Not seeking teachers approval and maintaining friendships with girls in lower streams.
Explain Mac and Ghail’s study showing Labelling Theory is too deterministic?
- Black and Asians at 6th Form didn’t accept negative labels.
- Some girls thought the all girls school they went before, gave them greater academic commitment.
3 Criticisms of Labelling on Ethnicity
> Assumes racist stereotypes are product of a teachers view, not way education system operates.
> Deterministic e.g. Fuller.
> Mirza shows although kids try to avoid teacher racism, this can limit their opportunities
Institutional Racism and Marketisation Theorists
> Troyna and Williams (Types of Racism)
> Critical Race Theory
> Gilbourn (Locked In Inequality)
> Roithmayr (Locked in Inequality)
> Gilbourn (Marketisation and Segregation)
> Commission for Racial Equality (Marketisation & Segregation)
> Moore and Davenport (Marketisation and Segregation)
> Gilbourn and Youdell (Impact of Educational Triage on Black)
> Connolly (Black vs Asian Boys)
What are the 2 types of Racism outlined by Troyna and Williams?
- Individual Racism: Result from prejudice views of individual teachers and others.
- Institutional Racism: Discrimination built into way institutions school and college operate.
Define Critical Race Theory
- See racism as deep-rooted ingrained feature of society.
Gilbourn view on how Institutional Racism Locked in Inequality
Racism so ingrained in education it’s inevitable
Gilbourn on Marketisation and Segregation
Marketisation allows more secret selection to happen, so can lead to segregation.
Commission for Racial Equality findings on Marketisation and Segregation
Secret selection procedures mean EM more likely to be in unpopular schools.
Moore and Davenport on how Selection Procedures lead to Ethnic Segregation
EM fail to get into good secondaries because of discrimination.
> Child’s primary reports used to screen pupils w/ language difficulties application process was hard for EM to understand.
According to Gilbourn and Youdell how does the concept of Educational Triage negatively affect black pupils?
Negative stereotypes on blacks ability, mean they’re more likely to be put in low streams.
What did Connolly find in relation to how Teachers treated Black vs Asian kids?
> Black Boys seen as disruptive under-achievers, controlled through punishing.
- Channelling energy into sports, responded by getting status through games e.g. kiss-chase & football.
> Asian boys seen as passive conformist, ‘feminine’ vulnerable and need protection from bullying.
Institutional Racism and Ethnocentric Curriculum Theorists
> Troyna (Language - Ethnocentric)
> Ball (History - Ethnocentric)
What are examples of how UK curriculum is Ethnocentric?
> Language: Troyna
> History: Ball
> Literature: Don’t include non-british writers
> School Holidays: Holidays fall in line with Christian Traditions
> Uniform: Might conflict with people’s cultural dress, Girls permitted to wear skirts, may not be appropriate in some cultures.
What was Troyna’s study relating to the Ethnocentric Curriculum?
Curriculum is British, focusing on white culture, ignoring non-European language, literature and music, lack of teaching of Asian Languages.
Criticisms of Troyna
Courses such as GCSE and A Level Urdu and Panjabi are available.
What was Ball’s study relating to the Ethnocentric Curriculum?
Ignores diversity ‘little Englandism’ e.g. ignores history of Black and Asian People.
Criticism of Ethnocentric Curriculum
Doesn’t explain how Indian and Chinese achievement is above national average.
What was Gilbourn’s view on Assessment?
> Systems rigged to validate dominant culture superiority
> Baseline assessments showing EM were ahead of white was replaced in 2003, with FSP (Foundation Stage Profile), based on teacher judgements, given wide scope for stereotyping.
> So blacks appeared to be doing worst than whites.
Explain Gilbourn’s findings on how their inequalities to Access to Opportunities in relation to G&T?
- In Gifted and Talented programs Whites are twice as likely to be identified as G&T over BAME.
Explain Tikly et al’s findings on how their inequalities to Access to Opportunities in relation to Exam Tiers?
- Blacks more likely to be entered for lower tier exams, as they’d placed in lower sets, due to teachers expectations.
Explain Gilbourn’s study on New IQism
- Teachers & Policymakers make false assumptions about students’ ability or potential.
- Potentials seen as fixed and can be measured through old-style IQ tests
- But tests are based on what’s been learnt, not what could be.
- Tests are rigged to dominant culture, so BAME more likely to be put in lower streams.
A03 Criticisms of Institutional Racism and Assessment Theorists
> Sewell (Gilbourn)
How does Sewell criticise Gilbourn’s view?
> Sewell: Not cause of internal factors, but e.g Anti-School Subcultures, peer groups and nurturing role of father.
> If there’s institutional racism, how comes Indian and Chinese students still perform well.
Gilbourn 3 responses to ‘’if there is still Institutional Racism how do Indian and Chinese Students still perform well’’
> Works as an ideological function concealing education is racist making system seem meritocratic, and they succeed through effort and take chances given to them.
> Justifies failure of other ethnic minorities e.g. blacks unwilling to make effort due to their un-aspirational home culture.
> Racism still occurs e.g Chinese students faced similar levels of harassment to black.
Evans on Street Culture in White WC areas?
Argues street culture in white WC areas is brutal and brought into school, thus there’s strong pressure to reject education.
