Educational Achievement / Ethnicity Flashcards
Bereiter & Engelmann
Intellectual and language skills
Bereiter and Engelmann 1996 found that language of poorer black American families is ungrammatical and disjointed (slang). They argue these are deficient language skills therefore struggle with essays or class discussions which can lead to educational failure. Some claim that children who don’t speak English as their first language are held back educationally.
Evaluation
~ The Swann report showed that actually language is not a major factor in underachievement as in 2010 pupils with English as their first langage were only 2.3 points ahead of those without English as their first language
~ Gillborn and Mirza (2000) found that Indian pupils do well in school despite English often not being their first language
~ Language skills may not play a part. There is research evidence that does not support the view that poor linguistic skills are the cause for differences in educational achievement. Evidence suggests that the pact of language declines as children get older. For example, the department of education (2013) found that pupils with English as second language did nearly as well in their GCSEs (A*-C) as those pupils who spoke English as their mother tongue. For example, Indian pupils do very well despite often not having English as their home language
Driver and Ballard / Ken Pryce
Family and support
Principal facto is the role of family attitudes towards education and support. Ken Pryce in 1979 noted that Asian cultures tend to be more cohesive than Black cultures, which allows them to ignore racism more effectively, leading to less impact on self-esteem and lower educational failure rates. Ballard and Driver in 1918 similarly argue that Asian families tend to have a more pro-school attitude than Black families due to cultural expectations brought over from their home countries. In many
Asian cultures, education is highly valued and seen as a privilege, leading to extremely pushy parents who constantly push their children to achieve their best. This cultural emphasis on education Amy Haley to explain why Chinese and Indian students tend to achieve much higher educational outcomes.
Evaluation
~ However, it is also important to note that this emphasis on achievement may lead to burnout and may not be effective for all students.
Swan Report (1985) - evaluation
According to the Swann Report (1985), difference in ethnic educational achievement is due to ‘socio-economic’ factors (class and economic growth). For example:
~ social class. The lowest achieving ethnic groups - Afro Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani - have a much higher proportion of pupils from working class backgrounds than White British people. The highest achieving ethnic groups - Chinese, African and Indians - have a higher proportion of pupils from wealthier families and a middle class background
~ economic factors. Social class is closely linked to economic factors. The lower the person’s class position,the lower the income. Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Afro Caribbean pupils are more likely to be raised in low income families than members of other ethnic groups (Pilkington,2003). This means they are more likely to be unemployed, live in the poorest areas, face poor-quality housing and over-crowding and, generally, material disadvantage (lack of educational books and computer/internet access, inability to afford extra private tutoring).
Therefore, educational under achievement can be explained in terms of social class and economic disadvantage rather than ethnicity.
Gillborn and Youdell
Labelling and teacher racism
Gillborn and Youdell (2000) found that teachers held ‘racialised expectations’ which led them to discipline black students much quicker than others. Teachers saw their behaviour as threatening and challenging authority, which led to students feeling like the white teachers did nit understand them and held negative views about them. This may explain why black boys are more likely to be excluded for m school. Is also means that black students are more likely to be placed in lower sets
Wright (1992)
Teacher’s labelling
Wright’s (1992) study of four inner city primary schools examined the relationship between teachers and Asian children. He fond evidence of negative stereotyping:
~ teachers often perceived them as a problem because of their limited or poor English skills. This means that teachers would use simplistic language when speaking to them
~ they say the learning and social difficulties of Asian pupils (eg. Speaking English and interacting with other pupils) as something they could ignore, or paid less attention to them in class activity
As a result, Asian pupils were marginalised and prevented from participating fully in class activity which affected their self esteem and the impacted their learning
Connolly
Connolly’s (1998) study of a multi-ethnic inner city primary school found that teachers saw Asian pupils as conformist, hard-working, obedient and producing high quality work. When Asian boys misbehaved it was seen as more skill news than challenging the authority of the teacher. As a result, they were not punished as much as Afro Caribbean boys who, if they behaved similarly, were viewed as more threatening. The study suggests the teachers’ general stereotyping of Asian pupils is as high achieve in and well behaved
Tony Sewell
Cultural depravation - Murray’s evaluation
Tony Sewell would argue that it is nit the lack of a male role model, but the lack of nurturing at her who provides ‘tough love’. Black boys also exposed to media images of anti school black masculinity though music and other forms of media
Pupil responses and subcultures
Tony Sewell (1997) has also shown that black boys are not a problem at school despite the teacher stereotyping. H identified four types of groups in schools:
~ rebels - visible and influential minority black pupils, anti school black macho lad
~ conformists largest group accepting the school goals
~ retreatists - they minority who hate the rebels, but are withdrawn from school
~ innovators - second largest group, pro education but anti school
Charles Murray
Cultural depravation
Charles Murray, new right thinker has suggested that lone parent families and a lack of male role models is the cause of underachievement of some ethnic minority groups
Reynolds
Cultural deprivation - Evaluation
Raynolds rejects the idea of lone parent black Caribbean families having no ‘father figure’. Not all Caribbean families are matrifocal - greater diversity of family types based upon cultural traditions of Caribbean islands. Jamaican families less conformist to traditional models, nuclear families more common in Barbados and Antigua. Lone parent females may be in visiting relationships - where they have a male partner who lives outside of the family home, but provides support and takes an active art in family life when present
Lat couples - evaluation
Vincent et al
Racism in wider society - evaluation
Vincent et al interviewed black middle class parents and found that they employed a range of strategies to overcome negative stereotypes of black pupils in the education system. Challenges faced by parents included institutional racism and low expectations of black pupils, alongside stereotypes of reduced involvement of black parents and peer group interactions. Black parents had overcome their own negative experiences of education and recognised them in the teachers’ expectations of their own children. While black parents had a managed trust in their children’s duration, they were more aware of potential issues, such as institutional racism and low expectations from teachers. Black middle class parents monitored their children’s education and developed proactive intervention strategies with the school to challenge underachievement. Power holders became defensive when challenged over issues of racial discrimination, so black middle class parents negotiated these positions through adopting similar strategies to white class parents. Black middle class parents were aware of stereotypes of black parents as aggressive and so managed the situation through altering their behaviour
Louise Archer (2008)
Pupil identities
Teachers often define pupils as having stereotypical ethnic identities. Evidence from Louise Archer (2008) found that teachers have three ways of viewing students.
~ ideal pupil identity: white, middle class, masculinised, showing natural ability but also determination
~ pathologised pupil identity: Asian, feminised, oppressed sexuality, viewed as a hard worker lacking natural ability, over achiever
~ demonised pupil identity: black or white working class, hyper sexualised, viewed as unintelligent, peer led and under achiever
These identities which teachers use to stereotype their students can lead to different Ayr’s of dealing with students in school
Roithmayr
Institutional racism
Critical race theory suggests that racism is ingrained in all aspects of society. Daria Roithmayr (2003) refers to it as ‘locked-in inequality’ which means that there is no deliberate desire to be racist, but that it is part of society and continus because no one challenges the system
There are three ways in which the education system is institutionally racist. These are:
1. Marketisation
2. Ethnocentric curriculum
3. Staffing
Mary Fuller
Pupil responses and subcultures - evaluation
Evidence form Mary Fuller (1984) has shown how black girls reject their stereotypes and worked hard in school to achieve good grades. However, they appeared to not need approval from teachers, instead looking for approval from the impartial exam results
