EDUCATION - Ethnicity

Question 1

What are the 6 reasons for the differences in achievement between ethnic groups?

Answer 1

• Material deprivation
• Parental, students or school factors
• Class, gender and ethnicity
• Recent immigration
• Ethnic group subcultures
• Cultural capital

Question 2

What sociologist studied ‘Material Deprivation’ in regards to Ethnicity and what did they discover?

Answer 2

Strand = Their longitudinal study of 15,000 students in England allowed them to analyse the differences in attainment of various ethnic groups. The attainment gap due to social class was twice as large as the biggest ethnic gap and it was six times as large as gender!

Question 3

What 2 sociologists studied ‘Parental, Student and School Factors’ in regards to Ethnicity and what did they discover?

Answer 3

Lupton (204) = They argue that adult authority in Asian families in similar to that of schools and school teachers = This reproduces and legitimises good and respectful behaviour in children.

Strand (2015) = They identified ‘resilience’ and ‘risk’ factors in education:

‘Resilience factors’ = ENCOURAGE high attainment and include a strong academic self-concept, a positive attitude towards school, planning for the future, hoping to continue education after the age of 16 and completing homework every evening –> Ethnic minority groups were likely to have higher levels of resilience factors than White British students.

‘Risk factors’ = REDUCE attainment levels and include special educational needs, having been excluded from school (this is high for Black Caribbean students), extended absences from school (high for Pakistani students), truancy, involvement with police, welfare and/or social services.

Question 4

What are ‘Resilience factors’?

Answer 4

These are things that ENCOURAGE high attainment - Such as completing homework every evening after school and on the weekends.

Question 5

What are ‘Risk factors’?

Answer 5

These are things that REDUCE attainment - Such as having extended absence from school.

Question 6

In what ethnic group were ‘Risk factors’ most identified in?

Answer 6

‘Risk factors’ were most likely to be found in White British groups.

Question 7

What is the curriculum called if it focuses on one ethnic group and class (such as White, middle-class men) rather than looking into all different ethnic groups and classes?

Answer 7

ETHNOCENTRIC curriculum!

Question 8

What sociologist studied ‘Class, Gender and Ethnicity’ and what did they discover?

Answer 8

Modood (2004) = They discovered that class affects white students more than other ethnic groups!

Question 9

What research was conducted regarding ‘Ethnicity, Private tuition and Homework’ and what were the results from this?

Answer 9

Research based on 19,000 11-year-olds born in 2000 and 2001 showed that 48% of Chinese pupils had help from private tutors, compared to 20% of White pupils.

25% of Chinese pupils spent 5 hours or more a week on homework, compared to 7% of White pupils.

Question 10

What did Gillborn and Youdell study?

Answer 10

Racism in the classoom!

Question 11

What did Gillborn and Youdell discover in their study of ‘Racism in the Classroom’?

Answer 11

They studied 2 London comprehensive schools, with a focus on GCSE (KS4) students! They found that ‘widespread inequalities of opportunity are endured by Black children’! Teachers had an expectation that ‘Black students will generally present disciplinary problems, and they therefore tended to feel that “control and punishment” had to be given higher priority than “academic concerns”’.

Question 12

In Gillborn and Youdell’s study, how did the Black students feel about their time in school?

Answer 12

Most Black students felt they were DISADVANTAGED by their treatment in schools. They expected to be blamed for disciplinary problems + they expected that teachers would underestimate their future achievements.

Question 13

In Gillborn and Youdell’s study, were the Black students doing better or worse than the White students at the school, due to their disadvantages?

Answer 13

It was hardly surprising that they ended up doing, on average, LESS WELL/WORSE than the White students attending the same schools.

Question 14

How do Gillborn and Youdell judge the teachers’ perceptions of and behaviour towards Black Caribbean pupils?

Answer 14

Gillborn and Youdell see teachers’ perceptions of behaviour towards Black Caribbean pupils as racist. However, most teachers are unaware of this. In fact, many teachers are passionately committed to challenging the very inequalities that they participate in reinforcing! Their racism takes the form of institutional racism, in this case, in schools.

Question 15

What is Institutional Racism?

Answer 15

This is racism that is part of the taken-for-granted operation and assumptions of institutions!

Question 16

What did Sewell study?

Answer 16

Black Masculinities and Schooling

Question 17

What positive role model do Black-Caribbean boys in lone-parent families lack?

Answer 17

Many boys lack the positive male role model and the discipline that can be provided by a father figure.

Question 18

What did Sewell say in terms of ‘Street Culture and Black Masculinity’?

Answer 18

As a high proportion of Black-Caribbean boys are raised in lone-parent, matriarchal families = The boys are more vulnerable to peer group pressure.

Some young men are drawn into gangs that emphasise an aggressive, macho form of masculinity. Members of these ‘black masculinity street’ gangs demand respect, reject authority figures such as teachers and police, and focus on up-to-the-minute street fashion and music.

Question 19

TRUE OR FALSE: The macho, Black masculinity seen in gangs IS NOT reinforced by the media!

Answer 19

FALSE = This form of Black masculinity is reflected and reinforced by the media; the media does this with gangsta rap and hip-hop fashions and news reports emphasising Black street crime and gun culture. According to Sewell, this subculture of Black masculinity provides a ‘comfort zone’ for many Black-Caribbean young men. Acceptance and support from the peer group compensate for their sense of rejection by their fathers and by a society and education system that they often experience as racist. In schools, this version of Black masculinity can lead to opposition to the authority of teachers, a rejection of academic achievement, and a definition of hard work as effeminate. However, Sewell’s research indicated that only a minority (18%) of Black-Caribbean boys adopted this approach.

Question 20

According to Sewell, what does this subculture of ‘Macho, Black masculinity’ provide for young boys?

Answer 20

This subculture of ‘macho, Black masculinity’ provides a ‘comfort zone’ for many Black-Caribbean young men. Acceptance and support from the peer group compensate for their sense of rejection by their fathers and by a society and education system that they often experience as racist.

Question 21

How is the ‘macho, Black masculinity’ subculture seen/faced with in schools?

Answer 21

In schools, this version of Black masculinity can lead to opposition to the authority of teachers, a rejection of academic achievement, and a definition of hard work as effeminate.

Question 22

What percentage of boys in Sewell’s study were seen to be the ‘Rebels’ and why is this suprising?

Answer 22

Sewell’s research indicated that only a minority (18%) of Black-Caribbean boys adopted this approach. This means that the stereotype of the ‘Rebels’ is not supported by his research, due to the small percentage of Black-Caribbean boys that actually are associated with this stereotype.

Suggests that more research has to be done on this particular group, in order to understand why they underachieve in education!

Question 23

What were the 4 main groups of Black students that Sewell identified?

Answer 23

Conformists = This was the largest group ==> They saw education as the route to success and conformed to the norms and values of the school. = SAW EDUCATION AS A GOOD THING!

Innovators = This group saw education as important but they rejected the process of schooling and the demands they saw it making on their identity and behaviour. Although anti-school, they attempted to keep out of trouble.

Retreatists = Students in this category were loners and kept to themselves. Many had special educational needs.

Rebels = This group rejected both the norms and values of the school and the importance of education. Many saw educational qualifications as worthless since racism would disqualify them from high-status, well-paid jobs. The rebels reacted aggressively to what they saw as racism in school. They were confrontational and challenging, adopting a macho masculinity and demanding respect. = SAW EDUCATION AS A NEGATIVE THING!

Question 24

What is a negative evaluation point for Sewell’s research? HINT: Who does Sewell BLAME?

Answer 24

Sewell has been attacked for what his critics see as him blaming Black-Caribbean boys for their underachievement.

Some critics say that Sewell has diverted attention from what they see as the real cause of Black underachievement - a racist society, a racist education system and economic deprivation.

Supporters of Sewell reject this criticism. They argue that he is attempting to describe and explain rather than allocate blame; he offers a possible explanation for the decline in the attainment of many Black-Caribbean boys during secondary school education.

Question 25

What does Mirza study? HINT: Underachievement of Black girls + the ‘Myth of Underachievement’

Answer 25

Mirza argues that there is a ‘myth of underachievement’ for Black women –> The girls in her study did better in exams than Black boys and White students in the school, and Mirza believes that in general the educational achievements of Black women are underestimated.

Question 26

What does Mirza challenge? HINT: Labelling Theory

Answer 26

Mirza challenges the labelling theory of educational underachievement. Although there was evidence of racism in her studies (institutional racism), she denies that this had an effect of undermining the self-esteem of the Black girls.

When asked whom they most admired, 48% of the Black girls named themselves and over half named somebody who was Black.

Question 27

In relation to her study into the ‘Myth of Underachievement’, what did Mirza identify overall? HINT: Self-esteem of Black girls

Answer 27

Mirza found that the Black girls in her study had positive self-esteem, were concerned with academic success and were prepared to work hard.