Education Topic 3 - ethnic differences in achievement Flashcards
Intellectual and linguistic skills (two theorists)
CD theorists see this as the major cause of underachievement for certain ethnic groups. Many low income black families lack intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences.
- Bereiter and Englemann believe the language spoken by low income, Black American families is inadequate for educational success.
Attitudes and values
CD theorists blame a lack of motivation as a major cause of the failure of many black children. Claim black children are socialised into subcultures which believe we should ‘live for today’ and don’t value education. Much like Sugarman’s theory.
Family structures (two theorists)
Moynihan (1965) - many black families are headed by lone mothers, who struggles financially in the absence of a male breadwinner. Also means boys don’t have a male role model.
Pryce (1979) - Black Caribbean culture is less cohesive and less resistant to racism, leading to low self-esteem and underachievement.
Asian families (two theorists)
Sewell (2009) - believes Asian and Chinese students benefit from supportive families, having an ‘Asian work ethic’ and placing high emphasis on education
Lupton (2004) - found adult authority in Asian families is similar to the model used in schools. This meant parents were more likely to support school behaviour policies
White w/c families (two theorists)
Lupton (2004) - ethnic minorities are more likely to see education as a ‘way up’ in society
Evans (2006) - argues white working class street culture can be brutal as a result of power games played in the street that are replicated in schools which brings disruption
AO3 criticism of CD theory (one theorist)
Driver (1977) found that CD ignores the positive effects ethnicity can have on achievement. Within Black Caribbean families, girls are provided with positive role models of strong independent women
Material deprivation (one theorist)
Palmer (2012):
- almost half ethnic minority children live in low income households, quarter of white children
- almost half of Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earn under £7 an hour
- ethnic minorities are 3x more likely to be homeless
- ethnic minorities are 2x as likely to be unemployed
Racism in wider society (one theorist)
Some sociologists argue that poverty itself stems from racism in society.
Racial discrimination can lead to social exclusion and result in poverty for ethnic minority groups.
- Wood et al (2010) sent three closely matched job applications to 1000 job vacancies. Found only 1 in 6 ethnic minority applications received an interview, compared to 1 in 9 white applications.
Labelling and teacher racism (three theorists)
Gillborn and Youdell (2010) - teachers are quicker to discipline black pupils, this is a result of teachers ‘racialized expectations’, expecting black pupils to present with more behaviour problems
Wright - found that teachers held ethnocentric views, and teachers assume Asian pupils would have poor grasp of English, leaving them out of group discussions.
Pupil identities (one theorist)
Archer (2008) found three different pupil identities:
- Ideal pupil: a white, middle class masculinised identity with a normal sexuality, achieves in the ‘right way’ through ability and initiative
- Pathologized pupil: Asian ‘deserving poor’, feminised identity, either asexual or oppressed sexuality, conformist, succeeds through hard work.
- Demonised pupil: a black or white working class, hypersexualised identity, unintelligent, peer led, culturally deprived and under-achiever
AO3 for pupil responses (one theorist)
Fuller (1984) studied a group of year 11 black girls, who were untypical because they were high achievers. They challenged anger towards stereotypes and relied on the impartiality of external exams. Pupils may succeed when they don’t conform, and negative labelling doesn’t always lead to failure.
Critical race theory
Racism is an ingrained feature of society, racism is not just intentional actions of individuals but institutional racism.
Commission for Racial Equality (1993) :
Racism in school admissions means ethnic minorities are more likely to end up in unpopular schools due to:
- reports from primary schools stereotyping minority pupils
- bias in interviews for school places
- lack of information/application forms in minority language
- parents unaware of how the waiting list system works
Ethnocentric Curriculum (two theorists)
A curriculum that reflects the culture of one ethnic group (usually the dominant one)
- Language, Lit and music, David (1993), the NC is specifically British curriculum which ignores non-European language, lit and music
- History, Ball (1994), the NC overlooks ethnic diversity, promoting an attitude of ‘Little Englandism’ ignoring the history of black and Asian people
Assessments (one theorist)
Gillborn (2010) found that assessments are fixed to maintain dominant cultures superiority.
Primary schools use Foundation Stage Profiles which result in black pupils now doing worse:
- FSP based on teacher’s judgements
- The change in timing, FSP is done at the end of reception
Access to opportunities (one theorist)
Tikley et al (2006) - Aiming High initiative, introduced to raise black Caribbean achievement, despite this blacks were more likely to be entered for lower tier GCSE exams
AO3 - Model minorities (one theorists)
Gillborn (2008) argues that the image of Indian and Chinese pupils as ‘model minorities’ is an ideology which suggests:
- the system is meritocratic: Indian and Chinese succeed because of effort
- justifies failure of other groups
- ignores that ‘model minorities’ still suffer racism in schools, despite their success. Chinese students report similar levels of harassment to Black Caribbeans
Intersectionality (one theorist)
Connolly (1998) - studied 5 and 6 year olds in a multi-ethnic inner city primary school. Teachers saw black boys as disruptive under-achievers and controlled them by punishing them more often. Asian boys were seen as passive, conformist, keen and academic. Teachers and pupils saw Asian boys as ‘more feminine’ and needed protection from bullying.
