Ethnic differences in achievement (culutral deprivation)

Question 1

What are the major three reasons for ethnic differences on achievement?

Answer 1

Cultural deprivation, material deprivation and racism in wider society.

Question 2

What categories are under cultural differences?

Answer 2

Intellectual and linguistic skills, attitudes and values and family structure and parental support.

Question 3

How do intellectual skills affect achievement for w/c black children?

Answer 3

The lack of development of intellectual stimulation means that they won’t have the problem-solving skills they need for school leading to underachievement.

Question 4

Describe Bereiter and Engelmann’s views on African-American language

Answer 4

Inadequate for success as it is ungrammatical, disjointed and incapable of explaining abstract ideas.

Question 5

Is language a barrier to educational success?

Answer 5

No, Gillborn and Mirza (2000) - Indian pupils do very well despite not having English as their home language.

Question 6

How do attitudes and values affect black children’s achievement?

Answer 6

Black children - socialised into a fatalistic attitude - lack of motivation - unequipped for success.

Question 7

What did Moynihan (1965) say about lone black mothers and socialisation?

Answer 7

1. Cannot provide adequate care to their children as they struggle financially due to no male breadwinner.
2. Cannot be role models of achievement to their sons.

Question 8

What does Moynihan call cultural deprivation?

Answer 8

A cycle - raised by inadequate parents - fail school - become inadequate parents.

Question 9

What does Murray (1984) say about underachievement?

Answer 9

High rate of lone parenthood and a lack of positive male role models = low achievement for some ethnicities.

Question 10

Which sociologist said that some ethnic minorities underachieve because they could not assimilate into British culture?

Answer 10

Scruton (1986)

Question 11

What distinctions did Pryce (1979) make between Asian and black students?

Answer 11

Asian students had higher self-esteem compared to Afro-Caribbean students.

Question 12

What were the two reasons why black students had lower achievement levels than Asian students? (Pryce)

Answer 12

1. Low self esteem due to low resistance to racism.
2. Colonialism - slavery had culturally destroyed black people’s family structure, language and religion whereas colonial rule did not have the same affect on Asian families.

Question 13

What did Sewell view as the ‘biggest barrier’ to black boys achievement?

Answer 13

Other black boys.

Question 14

What is the substitute of fatherly love for some black boys?

Answer 14

Anti-school black masculinity which Arnot (2004) describes as ‘the ultra-tough ghetto superstar’.

Question 15

Why does Sewell believe that black pupils are more likely to fail school than Asian pupils?

Answer 15

Because black boys are being ‘nurtured by MTV’ - need to have higher aspirations and greater expectations placed on them for school.

Question 16

What is a critique to Sewell’s view?

Answer 16

Gillborn (2008) - not peer pressure but institutionalised racism which is the cause for black boys underachieving.

Question 17

What is institutional racism?

Answer 17

Any kind of system of inequality based on race which exists in institutions such as the police or education.

Question 18

What does Lupton (2004) say about why Asian students do well in school?

Answer 18

Adult authority in Asian families is similar to that of school - respectful behaviour was expected of children which had a knock-on effect in school.

Question 19

What is a difference between a white-working class family’s views towards education and an ethnic minority family’s?

Answer 19

Lupton - white w/c families have a negative attitude towards education, whereas ethnic minority families see it as a ‘way up in society’.

Question 20

According to Evans (2006), why do white w/c pupils underachieve?

Answer 20

The brutal street culture in white w/c areas can be transferred into school, acting as a place for w/c children can engage in those power games and intimidate others - disruptive behaviour leads to underachievement.

Question 21

Critiques of cultural deprivation

Answer 21

Driver (1977) - ignores the positive impact of ethnicity on achievement. The lone black mother in Caribbean families acts a role model for young black girls.

Lawrence (1982) - Critiques Pryce, black boys underachieve because of racism not low self-esteem.

Keddie - cultural deprivation is victim blaming; they are not culturally deprived but culturally different. Ethnic minorities underachieve as schools are Eurocentric