EDUCATION - HOW ETHNICITY IMPACTS ATTAINMENT

Question 1

attitudes and values

Answer 1

->cultural deprivation theorists see lack of motivation as a major cause of failure of many black children
->Gillborn warns against such stereotypes and argues that they are dangerous, contributing to some teacher’s lower expectations of these pupils, potentially creating a SFP
->Akala has spoken of his experiences challenging these stereotypes about African-Caribbean parents (8/10 of his siblings got over 10 GCSEs)

Question 2

contemporary patterns of achievement for different ethnic groups

Answer 2

-pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest “Progress 8” score in 2017/18
-pupils from Asian, Black, Chinese, and other ethnic groups made higher than average progress between 11 and 16 years olds
-pupils from white and mixed ethnicity groups made lower than average progress
-in every ethnic group, pupils eligible for FSM made less progress than those not eligible
-white boys in non-selective schools in highly selected areas were less likely to make progress than any other group in any other type of school
-travellers, both Irish (14%) and Romany (8%) remain the lowest achieving group
->GENDER AND ETHNICITY:
–>there is a gender gap in all ethnic groups, but it is most pronounced when looking at British African Caribbean boys
–>in every ethnic group, girls performed better than boys (11-16)

Question 3

ethnicity impacts social class

Answer 3

->British Pakistanis’ and British Bangladeshis’ are 3x more likely than whites to be in the poorest 5th quintile of the population
->unemployment is 3x higher for people of Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin
->15% of ethnic minority households are overcrowded compared to 4% of white British households
->British Pakistanis are nearly twice as likely to be in semi or unskilled jobs despite often having graduate qualifications

Question 4

cultural factors in the home

Answer 4

->language is an obvious cultural factor, and in some homes English is not the first spoken language, especially in Bangladeshi households
->although different cultural groups may possess different norms and cultural practices, and there are lots of stereotypes about different ethnic groups and their attitudes towards academic success, it is difficult to assess how accurate these perceptions are
->STRAND (2007) researched reasons for high levels of achievement among Indian pupils; the findings included: high parental and pupil educational aspirations, undertaking high levels of homework, high parental monitoring of their child’s whereabouts, high resource provision (eg. computers and private tuition), low levels of truanting, exclusion, or social services

BLACK AFRICAN CARIBBEAN ACHIEVEMENT - FACTORS AT HOME:
->males from this ethnic group in particular are more at risk of underachieving in education, they are also more likely to be permanently excluded from school than any other group
->despite this, both males and females in this group have high educational aspirations
->Strand (2007) says it s “difficult to explain the poor progress of this group”
->some sociologists, especially the NR, say that it is due to a number of factors within the family and the British Caribbean community:
->FAMILY STRUCTURE: African Caribbean underachievement is often blamed on high numbers of one-parent families in this community (67%). It is said that one-parent families= lower income, greater parental stress, and less time for the educational input of the child. Charles Murray (NR) was particularly critical of this family structure
->GENDER REGIMES IN THE HOME: one-parent families with female heads are good for strong independent girls who success, whereas boys lack a male parental figure
->LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES: language difference causes problems in doing school work, communicating with teachers, and creating disadvantages at school
->MATERIAL FACTORS: ethnic minority groups struggle to get into private schools, especially if born abroad. Issues with uniform and not following dress codes creates pressure on relationships with teachers

Question 5

factors inside schools: institutional racism

Answer 5

-much of the research in recent years has been focused on the underachievement of Black African Caribbean boys
-a lot of research suggests that teachers have negative preconceptions about these pupils, often misinterpreting their speech and body language as disrespectful and challenging
-as a result, these boys are more likely to be placed in lower sets and receive more detentions and even exclusions
-David Gillborn is an expert in this field and argues that institutional racism is a major factor in shaping the experiences of ethnic minority pupils, especially black boys

->Gillborn says:
–>schools are institutionally racist, and are responsible for the poorer academic performance of most African Caribbean children
–>”even though a black pupil scores more highly on a test than another child, they will still be put in the lower set”
–>black children are perceived as lacking in motivation, having a bad attitude and an inflated opinion, which sets a racial stereotype
–>2/3 of black pupils were entered for foundation maths, where they couldn’t get higher than a C grade

-Ball (2008) found that black pupils were more likely to be put in lower sets and entered for lower tier exams, and are also less likely to be identified for gifted and talented programmes
-research in 2006 by the Dept. for Education and Skills found that black pupils are disciplined more and more often for milder offences than their white counterparts
-in 2013, only 3/30 black people who wanted to train as history teachers were accepted for postgraduate teacher training courses (this is a 10% success rate, compared to a 26% success rate for white British applicants) - the Observer, 2014