ethnic differences in achievement Flashcards
what is lawson and garrods defintion of ethnic groups
people who share common history, customs and identity , as well as in most cases, language and religion and who see themselves as a distinct unit
a difficulty of studying ethnicity
deciding who to include in an ethnic group e.g asians with diff language + religions
an important gender and class difference between ethnic groups
among all ethnic group girls do better except for gypsy/Roma
white boys on free school meals achievement measure (DfES)
DfES 23% white boys on FSM gain 5 A*-C at GCSE, whites may be worst performing
the lack of material deprivation leading to cultural capital in ethnic minorities causing underachievement
low income = black. lack enriching experiences + intellectual experiences so no problem + reasoning skills
the lack of linguistic skills in ethnic minorities that cause underachievement
bereiter and engelmann - language of poor black families = inadequate for educational success. ungrammatical + disjointed
english as a second language - is it a big factor in differences in achievement
stats how not major factor (2010) children with EAL only 3.2 points behind.
what do gillborn and mirza say of EAL
indian students do well despite being EAL
lack of correct attitudes and values in affecting a lack of motivation and competition
lack of motivation = major /black) mianstream culture = ambition, competitiveness, willingness - achieve goals but blacks = fatalism ‘live for today’ (sugarman)
a dysfunctional family type that leads to underachievement (moynihan)
moynihan - black = lone, women headed, so children deprivied of adequate care as mother has to struggle breadwinner + homemaker
the absence of the father in black families leads to what
lack of adequate role model of male achievement
the cycle of inadqueate family types by cultural deprivation
moynihan states cultural deprivation is a cycle where inadequately socialised children go on to fail school and go to have their own lone parent families
murray - new right perspective of underachievement amongst ethnic minorities
high rate of lone parenthood + lack of positive male role model figures
scruton - new right perspective of low achievement in ethnic minorities
some ethnic minorities fail to embrace mainstream british culture
pryce and the differences between asian and black cohesion that leads to differences in tolerance to racism
asian families are more cohesive + greater self - worth = tolerance to racism
black = low self esteem low resistance
what causes a low self esteem in black families compared to asians - pryce
blacks= experience of slavery = culturally devastating, lost language, religion. asian families did not lose culture by colonial rule
sewell contradictions of murray( lack of father = lack of role model)
sewell = not lack of fathers but lack of fatherly nurturing (tough love) boys = cannot overcome emotional difficulty of adolescence
what do boys result to when difficulty of adolescence after lack of fatherly nurturing
street gangs offer boys a perverse loyalty and love, anti school subcultures
what was the biggest barrier to success in the black boys that sewell had interviewed
black boys were subject to peer pressure to join anti school subculture, one is nurtured by MTV, the other studies
gillborn counterpoint to sewell of peer pressure to join anti school subcultures causing underachievement
it is not peer pressure but institutional racism within education system that systematically produces failure of black boys
opposition to black family types in asian types that causes them to achieve whilst black underachieve in support children recieve
chinese - very supportive with fathers, ‘asian work ethic’
what does lupton say about asian families that cause a overachievement
asian family authority is similar to education respectful behaviour expected from children- parents supportive of school policy
how does mculloch survey of 16,000 on asiprations of attending university show white underachievement
ethnic minorities more likely to aspire going to university compared to white british
why do white british have low aspiration of attending university
low asiprations + achievement from lack of parental support
what were lutpons findings in studying different demographic secondary schools related to behaviour and discipline
4 WC schools 2 white, 1 pakistani, 1 mixed
low discipline + behaviour from whites despite low FSM% —- blamed on low parental support
what is evans view on whites behaviour + discipline issues
whites involved in street culture leads to withstanding of intimidation, school place of where street culture played out - disruption
how is cultural deprivation a negative, pessimistic view - driver
cultural deprivation theory ingores positive effects of ethnicity on achievement, black family teaches females independence
lawrence criticism of pryce that blacks have a low self esteem
blacks underachieve not becuase of low self esteem but because of racism
keddie’s view of cultural deprivation
culturally different, not culturally deprived. ethnocentric curriculum biased in favour of whites so ethnic are outsiders to schools curriculum,
a criticism of compensatory education
compensatory education imposes dominant white culture
alternatives to compensatory education that instills white ethnocentric values
multicultural education - recognition of minority cultures inclusion in curriculum
anti- racist education- policy that challenges prejudice + discrimination
according to palmer what are difficulties ethnic minorities face in material deprivation
1/2 live in low income, against 1/4 of whites
x2 likely to be unemployed
x3 likely to be homeless
almost 1/2 bangladeshi earned under £7 an hour compared to 1/4 white
area of living acting as a barrier to employment in ethnic households
many live in economically depressed areas with high unemployment+ low wages
what is a cultural factor is some muslim families that prevents women from working
the purdah - prevents women from working outside
type of qualification that ethnic minorites have acting as a barrier
some qualifiaction are unrecognised - low skilled labour
asylum seekers and working
asylum seekers may not be allowed to work
how does prejudice act as a barrier - racial discrimination
racism may not allow the employment in the labour market of ethnic minorities
mason - the persisting experience of racism and prejudice in ethnic minorities ( quote)
mason discrimination is the continuing and persistent feature of the experience of britain’s citizens of minority and ethnic origin
evidence that racial racism leads to a decrease in employment rates + sociologist
wood et al - 3 fictitious applicants, closely matched , 1 white, 2 ethnic minorities.1 in 16 ethnic applicant offered an interview compared to 1 in 9 white
rex - how does discrimination cause exclusion that worsens the poverty faced
racial discrimination leads to social exclusion, housing: ethnic minorities more likely to be forced to substandard accommodation than whites of the same class
how does racism in employment affect education
ethnic minorities have low paying jobs so cannot afford to give children cultural capital and may be materially deprived
evidence in black peoples achievement being affected by the education and teachers from high achieve to low
gillborn and mirza - primary school - blacks high achievers 20 points ahead average. at GCSES were worst performing ethnic group 21 points below average. challenges external factors
how are asians and blacks labelled
asian - passive
black - disruptive based on own stereotypes, not truth
gillborn and youdell - how do teachers discipline blacks unfairly
quicker to discipline blacks due to racialised expectations. misinterpreted blacks behaviour as threatening. teachers acted on this and so blacks responded negatively - conflict teachers underestimated ability
what explains the high level of exclusions of blacks from education
bourne - teachers misinterpret blacks as a threat due to stereotypes, label negatively leading to exclusion
stats for how exclusions affect GCSE attainment
only 1 in 5 excluded pupils achieve 5 GCSES
blacks are admitted to referral units, how does this affect their education
this is exclusion from accessing the mainstream curriculum
how are black people streamed and how does this affect their self esteem
gilborn and youdell - A-C economy, teacher focus on student believed to get a C (educational triage). negative stereotypes of blacks – low expectation of ability - lower stream
how are asian pupils affected by ethnocentric views of teachers
teachers assumed asians =poor english, left out class discussions/ simplistic childish language - Asian girls marginalised, prevented from participating fully asians = ignored not threats unlike black
how do teachers define pupil identities
teachers define pupils as having stereotypical ethnic identities
archer ; what is the ideal pupil identity
ideal pupil identity - white MC, masculinsed, normal sexuality. achievement is through natural ability ( right way of achieving
archers ; what is the pathologised student identity
asian ; deverving poor, feminised indentity, asexual or oppressed sexuality. they are seen as conformist + overachiever, succeeds through hard work not than natural ability
archer ; what is the demonised human identity
white/black WC hypersexualised identity, unintelligent, peer-led culturally deprived under-achiever
shain - what are the consequences of asians challanging stereotypes
dealt with more severe consequences of going against their stereotype than other pupils
why are chinese pupils pathologised even if they are hardworkers
they attain achievement in the wrong way, through hardwork, passive conformism rather than the right way - natural ability, they have tight and close families
evidence of blacks rejecting labels and not self fulfilling them
black girls - London, comprehensive school low streams, channelled anger towards challenging the stereotypes of them by working, do not seek approval from teachers
how did the girls who were rejecting their label meet the contradictory demands of school
remained friends with low streams + avoiding ridicule of black boys (anti-school), but secretly studying to meet academic demand of school
mirza; how do racist teachers treat black people
teachers discouraged black girls from choosing an aspirational career - advised against it
mirza; what are the categories of teachers racism
- the colour blind - believe all students are equal but let racism go unchallenged
-liberal chauvinists - believe blacks are culturally deprived - low expectations
overt racists - blacks = inferior + actively discriminate
sewell identifies 4 responses to racist stereotypes - the rebels
influential group, small minority, excluded rejects everything school stands for. black masculinity = virility
sewell identifies 4 responses to racist stereotypes - the conformists
largest group, keen to succeed, accepted schools goals, anxious to avoid stereotyping
sewell identifies 4 responses to racist stereotypes - the retreatists
isolated individuals, disconnected from both school and black subcultures, despised by the rebels
sewell identifies 4 responses to racist stereotypes - the innovators
2nd largest pro-education but anti-school valued success, but not the approval of teachers
how is labelling not the teachers fault but the education system
gillborn and youdell - league tables cause a A-C economy blacks are pushed to low streams/entered for low tier exams
institutional racism definition
discrimination that is built into the way institutions such as schools and colleges
what is the critical race theory
racism is an ingrained feature of society, does not involve intentional racism of an individual but also institutional racism
founders of the black panther party in USA Charmichael and hamilton define institutional racism as
less overt, more subtle, less identifiable in terms of specific individuals committing the acts… it originates in the operation of established and respected forces in society
gillborn s view of institutional racism
sees ethnic inequality as ‘so deep rooted and so large that it is a practically inevitable feature of the education system
gillborns argument of how marketisation causes inequality
negative stereotypes of ethnic minorities influence decisions of schools admissions
support of gillborns view of marketisation causing inequality
Moore + Davenport American research selection procedures lead to ethnic segregation, minorities failing to get into good schools e.g application process difficult for non English speaking parents
what is the ethnocentric curriculum
a curriculum that only entails 1 specific culture, the dominant MC white culture, including language, literature, music ,history
a criticism of the ethnocentric curriculum - Ball
national curriculum ignored ethnic diversity e.g history recreates a mythical age of empire and past glories, but ignores history of black + asians
a criticism of ethnocentric curriculum not being clear in the effect it has on ethnic minorities
while it ignores Asian culture, Asian pupils such as Chinese + Indian pupils as overachieving. stone argues blacks do not suffer from low self- esteem
how do assessments cause underachievement in ethnic minorities - gillborn
gillborn - assessments are rigged, if blacks achieve as a group, they will be changed to cause failure e.g. baseline tests (2000)blacks overachieving by 20% switched to foundation stage profile (2003), this made blacks do worse
how does the foundation stage profile cause underachievement
the foundation stage profile based on teachers judgements of baselines
foundation stage profile now taken at end of reception whereas baseline in start of primary school
how does gifted and talented programme cause gaps in achievement between ethnicities
in inner city schools created to meet needs of bright able students, gillborn points that official statistics show whites twice as likely than black Caribbean’s and 5 times as likely than black Africans
how do exam tiers cause underachievement between ethnicities
tikly et al 30 schools in aiming high initiative in raising blacks achievement =, blacks still more likely than whites to be entered for low tier exams. can get a grade C at best
gillborn the effect of a teacher judging a studetns abilities and potential based on assessments and own stereotypes
tests only measure what a student knows in the present, not the future, not accurate. the new IQism teachers + policy makers make false assumptions
rejection of the view that gillborn holds - institutional racism is major in affecting achievement
sewell ,argues racism is not powerful enough to prevent success, rather we need to focus on external factors e.g boys antischool subculture, nurturing role of the mother
questions of how Indians and Chinese are overachieving, even though they are ethnic minorities. Gillborn’s response :
-makes the system seem fair + meritocratic, they achieve because of opportunities
-justifies failure of other minorities e.g blacks due to their unaspirational home culture
-ignores the fact that Indians + Chinese still receive racism
how does ethncity intersect with gender to affect achievement
connolly study of 5 + 6 yr olds black boys = disruptive underachievers — punishment
asian boys = passive, confomrist, feminine
