Ethnic differences in achievement Flashcards
Three main cultural deprivation aspects to do with ethnicity
- Linguistic + intellectual skills
- Attitudes and skills
- family structure + parental support
Cultural deprivation theorists - Intellectual + Linguistic skills
Lack of intellectual and linguistic skills is a major cause of underachievement for black pupils leaving them poorly equipped for school
Bereiter + Engelmann - Languages
Language spoken in low-income American families as:
- ungrammatical
- disjointed
= inadequate for educational success
Statistic - English not the first language
In 2010 pupils with English as their first language were only 3.2 points ahead of those with English not as their first language
Gillborn + Mirza (2000)
Indian pupils do very well despite often not having English as their home language
Cultural Deprivation theorists - Attitudes and Values
Most black children are socialised into the fatalistic ‘live for today’ attitude that does not value education
Cultural Deprivation theorists - Family Structure and parental support
failure to socialise children adequately is the result of a dysfunctional family structure
Moynihan (1985) - Black families
Many black families are headed by lone mothers
- struggling financially
- lack male role model
- discipline
Scruton (1986) - lack of acceptance
The underachievement of ethnic minorities is due to the failure to embrace mainstream British culture
Sewell says…
“The biggest barrier facing black boys is actually-black peer pressure. We need to talk about how black students discourage their peers”
Gillborn (2008) - institutional racism
It is not peer pressure but institutional racism within the education system causing the failure of a large number of black boys
Asian families
Indian and Chinese pupils benefit from supportive families that have an ‘Asian work ethic’ and place a high value on education
Lupton (2004) - Adult authority
Adult authority in Asian families is similar to the model that operates in schools
- respectful behaviour towards adults was expected from children
McCulloh (2014) - University
Ethnic minority pupils are more likely to aspire to go to University then white British pupils
Keddie - Criticism of CD
Ethnic minority children are culturally different not deprived
- schools are ethnocentric biased in favour of white culture and against minorities
Multicultural education
A policy that recognises and values minority cultures and includes them in the curriculum
Anti-racist education
A policy that challenges the prejudice and discrimination that exists in schools and wider society
The ideal pupil identity - Archer
white, middle class, masculine identity
- achieving in the ‘right way’, through natural ability + initiative
The pathologised pupil identity - Archer
An Asian ‘deserving poor’, feminised identity, asexual/oppressed sexuality
- conformist + culture bound ‘over achiever’
- achieves through hard work
The demonised pupil identity - Archer
A black or white w/c hyper sexualised identity
- seen as unintelligent, peer led, culturally deprived, underachiever
Fuller - rejecting negative labels
black girls in a comprehensive were high achievers
- black pupils were put in low streams
- did not seek teachers approval
- did not limit choice of friends
Gillborn + Youdell - black pupil discipline
teachers were quicker to discipline black pupils than others for the same behaviour
- racialised expectations
- pupils quick reactions = more conflict
Bourne - black labelling by schools
schools saw black pupils as a threat
- labelling them negatively = exclusion
- exclusion affecting their achievement
Foster - streaming black pupils
stereotypes of black pupils could lead them to being placed in lower streams
= self fulfilling prophecy of underachievement
Mirza - racist teachers
racist teachers discouraged black pupils from being ambitious through advice they gave about careers and options
The colour blind
teachers who believe all pupils are equal but allow racism to still go unchallenged
The liberal chauvinists
teachers who believe black pupils are culturally deprived and teach them with low expectations
The overt racist
teachers who believe black pupils are inferior and treat them accordingly
Ethnocentric curriculum
many sociologists see it as a prime example of institutional racism
David - Language, literature and music
National Curriculum
- ‘specifically British’
- ignores non-European languages
- literature
- music
Rebels - Sewell
conformed to stereotypes
- small minority of black pupils
Conformists - Sewell
keen to succeed
Retreatists - Sewell
disconnected from school black subcultures
Innovators - Sewell
pro-education but anti-school
Gillborn - Assessment
the assessments are rigged to validate the dominant culture
David Cameron - Anonymous applications
no names on university applications
- reduce bias + racism
Tikly - exam tiers
Black Caribbean pupils still more likely to be entered for lower tier GCSE’s
Black + EM teachers
only 22 out of 4000+ teachers from African or African Caribbean background in 2010
- lack of role models for black pupils
Statistics - student attainment gap
black = 53.1% white = 78.4%
Statistics - % 5 A-C including Eng + Maths
Irish Heritage/gypsy/Romanian = 12% (below average)
Indian = 78% (above average)
Ethnic minority workers are more likely to engage in shift work
paid more
language qualifications needed to get a proper job
- parental support
Ethnic minority household are 3 times more likely to be homeless
not understanding system
resistant of authority
earn less money
- constant moving = missing lessons
