ethnic differences Flashcards
external factors
cultural deprivation
material deprivation
racism in wider society
3 main aspects of cultural deprivation
intellectual and linguistic skills
attitudes and values
family structure and parental support
external - cultural deprivation - intellectual and linguistic skills
children from low income black families lack intellect; stimulation and enriching experiences = leaves the poorly equipped for school
language spoken in low income black families = ungrammatical
external - cultural deprivation - intellectual and linguistic skills ao3
English not as a first language is not a major issue - pupils with English as their first language were only 3.2 points ahead
indian pupils do very well despite not having english as their home language
external - cultural deprivation - attitudes and values
lack of motivation = major cause of failure
some black children are socialised into a subculture that instils a fatalistic attitude that does not value education
external - cultural deprivation - family structure and parental support
failure to socialise children is a result of dysfunctional family structure
many black families are headed by a lone mother their children are deprived of adequate care because she struggles financially without the male breadwinner
fathers absence = boys lack a role model of educational achievement
adult authority in asian families is similar to the model that operate sin schools
external - cultural deprivation - family structure and parentla support - Sewell
black boys underachievement is a result of a lack of fatherly nurturing, ‘tough love’
this results in boys finding it hard to overcome emotional and behavioural difficulties
in the absence of a father, street gangs of other fatherless boys offer them loyalty and love - thus are subject to group peer pressure
Sewell cultural deprivation ao3
gillborn argues its not peer pressure but institutional racism within the educational system that produces the failure
cultural deprivation theory ao3 - Driver, positive
Driver criticises for ignoring the positive effects of ethnicity on achievement shows that black Caribbean family provides girls with positive role models of strong women
cultural deprivation theory ao3 - Keddie
sees cultural d as victim blaming = ethnic minority children are culturally different not deprived
they under achieve because schools are ethnocentric
external - material deprivation
see educational failure as resulting from factors such as poor housing and low income -ethnic minorities = more likely to face these problems
material deprivation ao2
half of all ethnic minority children live in low income households
material deprivation - reasons why ethnic minorities may be at greater risk of material d
- many live in economically depressed areas with high unemployment and low wage rates
- lack of language skills
- racial discrimination in the labour market
External - material deprivation AO3
even Indian and chinese pupils who are materially deprived still do better than most
86% of chinese girls who received free school meals achieved 5 or more higher grade GCSE than whites without meals
external - racism in wider society
racial discrimination leads to social exclusion and this worsens poverty
e.g in housing, minorities are more likely to be forced into poor accommodation
external - racism in wider society AO2
sent 3 simialr job applications to 1,000 job vacancies
one from wjite person
2 from minority groups
only 1 in 16 minority applicatioms were offered an interview
comapred to 1/9 white
external - racism in wider society AO3
explains why members of ethnic minorities are more likely to face unemployment and low pay - in turn has a negative effects on their kids education
internal factors
labelling and teacher racism
pupil identities
pupil responses and subcultures
internal - 1. labelling and teacher racism
- see black and asian pupils as far from the ‘ideal pupil’
- negative labels = teachers treat them differently = disadvantages them = failure
internal - labelling - black pupils and discipline and sociologists
gillborn and Youdell
- teachers were quicker to discipline black pupils = a result of ‘racialised expectations’
- teachers expected black pupils to present more discipline problems
- when teachers acted on this = pupils responded negatively = more conflict
internal - labelling - black pupils and streaming, sociologists ao2
gillborn and Youdell
teachers focus on those students who they believe are most likely to achieve a grade C at GCSE - this is called educational triage
negative stereotypes teachers hold means they are more likely to be placed in lower sets
can result in a self fulfilling prophecy
internal - labelling - asian pupils
teachers held ethnocentric views so they assumed asians have a poor grasp of English and left them out of class discussions
internal - 2. pupils identities and sociologist
archer
3 different pupil identities
1. the ideal pupil identity: white, MC, natural ability
2. pathologies pupil identity: asian, succeeds through hard work
3. demonised pupil identity: black, or white, WC, unachiever
internal - pupil identities - archer’s 3 different pupil identities
- the ideal pupil identity: white, MC, natural ability
- pathologies pupil identity: asian, succeeds through hard work
- demonised pupil identity: black, or white, WC, unachiever
internal - pupil responses and subcultures - Fuller
study of black school girls
- instead of accepting negative stereotypes they channelled their anger into educational success
- they did not seek teacher approval
- conformed only with school work
= pupils can still succeed even why they refuse to conform
= negative labelling doesn’t always lead to failure
internal - pupil responses and subcultures - Mirza
studied ambitious black girls
racist teachers discouraged the black pupils from being ambitious
3 main types of teacher racism:
1. the colour blind: allows racism to go unchallenged
2. the liberal chauvinists: believe black pupils are culturally deprived and have low expectations if them
3. the overt racists: blacks are inferior
the girls avoided the racism by selecting which teachers to ask for help but this disadvantaged them by restricting their opportunities
internal - pupil responses and subcultures - mirza’s 3 main types of teacher racism
- the colour blind: allows racism to go unchallenged
- the liberal chauvinists: believe black pupils are culturally deprived and have low expectations if them
- the overt racists: blacks are inferior
internal - pupil responses and subcultures - sewell 4 responses to tecaher racism
- the rebels - small minority of blakc pupils, rejected the goals and rules of school
- the conformists - largest group, keen to succeed, accepped schools rules
- the retreatists
- the innovators
labelling and pupil responses ao3
rather than blaming the Childs background it shows how teachers stereotypes can be a cause of failure
there’s a danger of assuming that once labelled pupils automaticlaly fall victim to the self-fulfilling prophecy. But although pupils have strategies to avoid racism they can limit their opportunities
internal factors - institutional racism (6 things)
critical racism theory
marketisation and segregation
ethnocentric curriculum
assessment
access to opportunities
new ‘IQ ism
internal factors - critical racism theory
sees racism as a feature of society
Roithmayer - institutional racism is a locked in inequality so large and historical that it is no longer a conscious thought
Gillborn - sees racism as so ingrained in education that it is now inevitable
internal factors - marketisation and segregation
Gillborn - selection procedures lead to ethnic segregation.
the procedure favours white pupils and disadvantages those from ethnic minority backgrounds
commission for racial equality - selection procedures led to ethnic minority students more likely to be in unpopular schools
commission for racial equality
internal factors - marketisation and segregation
selection procedures led to ethnic minority students more likely to be in unpopular schools
internal factors - ethnocentric curriculum
a curriculum which reflects the culture of one ethnic group - the dominant culture
prime example of institutional racism
examples: lack of teaching asian languages
internal factors - assessment
gillborn - the assessment game is rigged to validate the dominant culture’s superiority
the introduction of the FSP meant that overnight black pupils appeared to be doing worse - FSP are based on teacher’s judgements
this led to black students underachieving
internal factors - access to opportunities
gifted and talented programme - aim to meet the needs of more able pupils - might seem benefit bright minorities
but white are 2x likely to be identified at gifted than blacks
EMs are less likely to be entered for higher tier exams despite policies - due to teacher labelling and self fulfilling prophecy
internal factors - new IQism
teachers place students in sets not one yon attainment but also disciplinary concerns and their attitude
teachers have ‘racialised expectations’
they make false assumptions about the nature of pupils ability or potential
potential is seen as fixed and can be measured with but Gillborn says there’s no genuine measure of ‘potential’
so EM are disadvantaged from the system
internal factors - institutional racism ao3
Sewell rejects the view that internal factors cause failure. he says it’s not powerful enough to prevent success. rather we need to focus on external factors such as peer groups
there is underachievement but also overachievement - Indian and Chinese perform better than white majority. if they can do well how can their be institutional racism?
Gillborn responds: the image of Chinese and Indians as hardworking performs an ideological function - makes the system seem fair and meritocratic and justifies the failure of other minorities
