ethnic differences in achievement

Question 1

Ethnicity - EXTERNAL

Answer 1

1. Cultural deprivation
2. Material deprivation and class
3. Racism in wider society

Question 2

Cultural deprivation CD

Answer 2

CD theory sees the underachievement of some ethnic groups as the result of inadequate socialisation in the home. The explanation has 3 main aspects

1. Intellectual and linguistic skills
2. Attitudes and values
3. Family structure and parental support

Question 3

Intellectual and linguistic skills

Answer 3

Cultural deprivation theorists see the lack of intellectual and linguistic skills as a major cause of underachievement for many minority children - argue that many children from low income black families lack intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences, leaving them poorly equipped for school because they have not been able to develop reasoning and problem solving skills

Question 4

Engelmann

Answer 4

Considers the language spoken by low income black American families as inadequate for educational success. They see it as ungrammatical, disjointed and incapable for expressing abstract ideas

There has also been concern that children who do not speak English at home may be held back educationally - official statistics show this is not a major factor

Question 5

Attitudes and values

Answer 5

CD theorists see lack of motivation as a major cause of the failure of many black children. Most children are socialised into the mainstream culture, which installs ambition, competitiveness and willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve long term goals. By contrast CD theorists argue some black children are socialised into a subculture that installs fatalistic, ‘live for today’ attitude that does not value education and leaves them unequipped for success

Question 6

Family structure and parental support

Answer 6

Black families - CD theorists argue that this failure to socialise children adequately is the result of a dysfunctional family structure

Question 7

Family structure and parental support - MOYNIHAN

Answer 7

• argues that due to many black families are headed by a lone mother, their children are deprived of adequate care since she has to struggle financially in the absence of the male breadwinner
• the fathers absence also means that boys lack a role model of male achievement
• sees CD as a cycle where inadequately socialise children from unstable families go on to fail at school and become inadequate parents themselves

Question 8

Family structure and parental support - MURRAY

Answer 8

Argues that a high rate of lone parenthood and a lack of positive male role models lead to the underachievement of some minorities

Question 9

Family structure and parental support - SEWELL

Answer 9

• says “the biggest barrier facing black boys is actually black peer pressure. we need to talk about how black students discourage their peers” - he argues that black students do worse then their peers due to cultural differences in socialisation and attitudes to education
• argues it’s not the absence of fathers as role models that leads to black boys underachieving, instead thought the problem to be a lack of fatherly nurturing or ‘tough love’

Question 10

Absence of fathers

Answer 10

Results in street gangs of other fatherless boys affecting black boys ‘perverse loyalty and love’ - these present boys with a media inspired role model of anti school black masculinity who’s ideal ARNOT describes as the ‘ultra tough ghetto superstar, an image constantly reinforced through rap lyrics and MTV videos’

Question 11

Chinese families

Answer 11

1. Amy CHUA said the superiority of chinese parenting and unveiled a manifesto for ‘tiger mother’s who drove their kids hard, whether in exams or piano practise
2. Some of the things she never allowed her daughters to do - attend a sleepover, be in a school play
3. Other studies have suggested that study focused Chinese parenting may hamper students later in life

Question 12

Asian families

Answer 12

While many black families have absent fathers, in Sewell’s view Indian and Chinese pupils benefit from supportive families that have an ‘Asian work ethic’ and place a high value on education

Question 13

Lupton

Answer 13

Argues that adult authority in Asian families is similar to the model that operates in schools. She found that respectful behaviour towards adults was expected from children. This had a knock on effect in school, since parent were more likely to be supportive of school behaviour policies

Question 14

White WC families

Answer 14

Most research has focused on black family structures as possible causes of underachievement. However, white WC pupils often underachieve and have lower aspirations - this low level of aspiration and achievement may be the result of a lack of parental support

Question 15

Lupton

Answer 15

• studied 4 mainly WC schools, 2 predominantly white, are serving a largely Pakistani community and the 4th drawing pupils from an ethically mixed community
• she found that teachers reported poorer levels of behaviour and discipline in the white WC schools, despite the fact that they had fewer children on FSM
• teachers blamed this on lower levels of parental support and the negative attitude that white MC parents had towards education
• ethnic minority parents were more likely to see education as ‘a way up in society’

Question 16

Evans

Answer 16

Argues that street culture in white MC areas can be brutal so young people have to learn to withstand intimidation and intimidate others - schools can become a place where the power games that young people engage in on the street are played out again, bringing disruption and making it hard for pupils to succeed

Question 17

Evaluation of CD

Answer 17

1. CD ignores the positive effects of ethnicity in achievement - far from being dysfunctional, the black family structure provides positive role models of strong independent women for girls to follow
2. Black student underachieving is not a result of self esteem being low but racism
3. CD is a victim blaming explanation - children fail because schools are ethnocentric (in favour of white culture)
4. Compensatory educations advocates by CD is wrong because it attempts to impose dominant white culture on children who already have culture of their own

Question 18

Material deprivation MD

Answer 18

Means a lack of those physical necessities that are seen as essential or normal for life in today’s society. In general WC people are more likely to face poverty and MD. Explanations also see educational failure as a result of factors such as substandard and housing low income

Question 19

Ethnic minorities - EM PROBLEMS

Answer 19

1. Almost half of all ethnic minority children live in low income households as against a 1/4 of white children
2. Ethnic minorities are almost twice as likely to be unemployed than whites
3. EM households are around 3 times as likely to be homeless
4. Almost 1/2 of Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earn under £7 per hour, compared with 1/4 of white British workers

Question 20

Why some EM may be at greater risk of MD

Answer 20

Results from unemployment, low pay and overcrowding - reasons because
- many live in economically depressed areas with higher unemployment and low wage rates
- cultural factors may prevent women from working outside the home
- a lack of language skills, and foreign qualifications not being recognised by UK employers
- asylum seekers may not be allowed to work

Question 21

Racism in wider society

Answer 21

Some sociologists argue that poverty is the product of another factor - mainly racism - MASON says “discrimination is a continuing and persistent feature of the experience of Britain’s citizens of minority ethnic origin”

Question 22

Racism in wider society - REX 1986

Answer 22

Shows how racial discrimination leads to social exclusion and how this worsens the poverty faced by ethnic minorities. In housing, discrimination means that minorities are more likely to be forced into substandard accommodation than white people of the same class - this helps explain why members of EM are more likely to face unemployment and low pay - has a negative effect on their children’s educational prospects

Question 23

Ethnicity - INTERNAL

Answer 23

1. Labelling and teacher racism
2. Pupils responses and subcultures
3. Ethnocentric curriculum
4. Institutional racism
5. Selection and segregation

Question 24

1. Labelling and teacher racism

Answer 24

• Gilbert and Mirza found black children were highest achievers on entry to primary school and by GCSES they have worst results from any ethnic group
• If a group can begin as the highest achievers and end as the lowest, it challenges assumptions made by cultural deprivation theorists

Question 25

Labelling and teacher racism cont.

Answer 25

Interactionists focus on the different labels teachers give to different ethnic groups

Question 26

Gillborn and Youdell

Answer 26

• found that teachers were quicker to discipline black pupils than others for the same behaviour
• ‘Radicalised expectations’, teachers expected black students to present more discipline negatively and misinterpreted behaviour as threatening or a challenge to authority
• when teachers acted on this, pupils responded negatively and further conflict resulted

Question 27

To label someone is to …

Answer 27

Attach a meaning or definition to them

Question 28

Interactionist sociologists study…

Answer 28

The face to face interactions in which such labelling occurs. When looking at ethic differences interactionists look at the different labels teachers give to children from different ethnic backgrounds. An ideal pupils would be presented neatly, be obedient etc

Question 29

2. Pupil responses and subcultures

Answer 29

Research shows that pupils respond to this in a lot of ways

Question 30

Fuller

Answer 30

• conducted a study on a group of black girls in Year 11 who were high achievers
• the girls did not accept their negative labels and channelled their energy into educational success

Question 31

Sewell

Answer 31

Identified four ways in which boys respond to racist stereotyping
1. The rebels
2. The conformists
3. The retreatists
4. The innovators

Question 32

The rebels - SEWELL

Answer 32

Often excluded from school, rejected goals and rules of school - black ‘Macho Lads’ - the rebels believed in their superiority and the ideal that black masculinity equates to sexual experience

Question 33

The conformists - SEWELL

Answer 33

Keen to succeed, accepted schools values. Friends from ethnic groups. Not part of subculture, anxious to avoid being stereotyped

Question 34

The retreatists - SEWELL

Answer 34

Isolated individuals, disconnected from school and black subcultures they were despised by the rebels

Question 35

The innovators - SEWELL

Answer 35

Pro education / anti school. They conformed only as much as was needed to work

Question 36

3. The ethnocentric curriculum

Answer 36

Tronya and Williams suggests that the British curriculum gives priority to white culture and english language. It teaches subjects like British history, British literature and European languages

Question 37

4. Institutional racism

Answer 37

Discrimination is built into the way institutions such as schools operate. The ethnocentric curriculum is a prime example of this - been suggested that schools and colleges give low priority to race issues and fail to deal with pupils racist behaviour. There has also been a lack of communication between school governors and ethnic minority parents

Question 38

5. Selection and segregation

Answer 38

Gillborn argues the government policy of marketisation has given greater scope for schools to select pupils and put ethnic minority students at a disadvantage. This is because selection gives more scope for negative stereotypes to influence school admission

Question 39

Evaluation - INTERNAL

Answer 39

School selection policies are not the only cause of segregation. It can be the result of active choice by parents