Ethnic Differences in Achievement (Internal) Flashcards
What are the seven internal factors?
- E - ethnocentric curriculum
- A - assessment
- O - access to opportunities
- L - labelling
- P - pupil identities
- S - pupil responses and subcultures
- S - selection and segregation
- ethnocentric curriculum
How can the curriculum in Britain be considered ethnocentric?
- prioritises white culture and English language
- ethnocentric curriculum
How could the curriculum make black people feel inferior?
- content ignores black people/ experiences
- lives studied and acclaimed are white
- black music, art, history etc are absent
- ethnocentric curriculum
How could black people feeling inferior impact on education?
- image of black people as inferior (ie. in history - whites bringing ‘civilisation’)
- undermines black children’s self-esteem and contributes to underachievement
- ethnocentric curriculum
How do the attitudes to race continue outside the classroom?
- reinforced by pupils outside
- can have consequences and contribute to black children developing a negative self-concept
- ethnocentric curriculum
How could the effects of the ethnocentric curriculum be challenged?
- effects are unclear, Indian and Chinese pupils’ results are higher than national average
- assessment
Give an example of how Gilborn argues the assessment game is ‘rigged’ to validate the dominant culture’s superiority
- primary schools used to use ‘baseline assessments’ (tested when started school)
- 2003: ‘foundational stage profile’ - overnight, black pupils appeared to be doing worse than white
- assessment
How did the change from baseline assessments to foundational stage profiles affect achievement differences?
- FSP = based entirely on teacher judgement, baseline assessments were written tests
- FSP = completed at end rather than start
- increased likelihood of teacher stereotyping
- assessment
How does a study into GCSEs prove what Gilborn has argued?
- gap between different ethnic groups = found most greatly in teacher marked tasks
- access to opportunities
What did Gilborn observe about the ‘gifted and talented’ programme?
- white pupils are 5 times more likely than black Africans to be identified
- access to opportunities
What did Strand find?
- white-black achievement gap in maths at age 14 as black pupils = systematically under-represented in higher tier tests, result of lower expectations, self-fulfilling prophecy
- labelling
What stereotypes have been identified by sociologists for different ethnic groups? What effects does Gilborn identify?
- black pupils as disruptive, ‘unruly’ ‘difficult’
- asians as passive
- black pupils = lower streams, more likely to be excluded, more detentions
- black pupils feel teachers underestimate their ability
- encourages a self-fulfilling prophecy, responding in accordance to their labels
- labelling
How might culture or dress be a source of conflict?
- misinterpreted dress/ manner of speech as a challenge to authority - reflected their ‘racialised expectations’
- labelling
What does Gilborn conclude?
- a lot of conflict between black pupils and teachers stems from racial stereotypes rather than actual behaviour
- labelling
What study did Wright carry out?
- 4 multicultural primary schools
- observations, interviews, analysis of results
- labelling
Wright found that the majority of teachers were committed to ideals of opportunity - how did they still discriminate in class?
- black boys received disproportionate amounts of negative attention and disapproval - reflected label of ‘disruptive and low achieving’
- asian girls seemed invisible, received less attention
- when attempts made to embrace different cultural experiences, mistakes often made
- labelling
Who did Mirza focus on - what were her findings?
- black females
- attended comprehensive schools
- found girls classified teachers into number of groups: overly racist (language/ behaviour)
liberal in attitude (well-intentioned but patronising)
anti-racists (over-zealous in campaign) - girls prepared to work hard for academic success
- labelling
What did Mirza conclude?
- not the effects of labelling but the result of well-meaning but misguided behaviour of teachers
- pupil identities
How does Archer define the dominant discourse of teachers towards ethnic minority pupils?
- defined as lacking the favoured identity of ‘ideal pupil’
- either ‘pathologised pupil identity’ - plodding, passive, ‘over-achiever’ (Asian girls)
or ‘demonised pupil identity’ - challenging, under-achiever (black boys)
- pupil responses and subcultures - why some BME groups do achieve
Who did Fuller focus her work on and what were her findings?
- Indian girls
- subculture emerged allowing them to reject applied labels
- frustrations became directed towards determination and pride
- they were pro-education, not pro-school
- negative labelling doesn’t always lead to self-fulfilling prophecy of failure
- selection and segregation
What does Gilborn identify as a key factor as to why ethnic minorities are at a disadvantage? Why?
- marketisation
- greater scope to select pupils
- some BME at a disadvantage - selection = scope for negative stereotypes
- selection and segregation
The Commission for Racial Equality found ethnic bias in British education - what did they find?
- primary school reports that stereotype pupils
- racist bias in interviews for places
- lack of application/ info forms in minority languages
- parents uninformed of waiting list/ deadline procedures
