Ethnic Differences In Educational Achievements

Question 1

According to Bereiter and Engelmann (1966), how is the language used in black households inadequate and how does this affect students educational achievement?

Answer 1

“Language used in low-income black American families is Ungrammatical, disjointed and incapable of expressing abstract ideas”
This means that they do not have the same verbal tools to express and even understand the same concepts as white pupils.

Question 2

How do the attitudes and values some black children are socialised into leave them ill equipped for education?

Answer 2

Rather than being socialised into the mainstream culture of ambition and competitiveness, some black children are socialised into a fatalistic and present time oriented culture that devalues education.

Question 3

Explain Moynihan’s (1965) research into black lone mother families and their effect on education.

Answer 3

There are two effects of 51% of black families being singularly matriarchal: the children are deprived of adequate education because the mother struggles financially and the young boys lack an adequate role model of male achievement.
This is a cycle.

Question 4

Explain Pryce’s (1979) comparison of the effect of colonialism on Black Carribean and Asian pupils.

Answer 4

Pryce argued that black Caribbean culture was less resistant to racism and provides less self-worth than Asian culture, causing black pupils to underachieve. This is due to the devastating effects of colonialism and slavery on Black language, religion and family structure.

Question 5

Summarise Sewell (2009) and the effect of street gangs and peer pressure on educational achievement.

Answer 5

Many young black boys seek the ‘tough love’ (respectful and non-abusive discipline) that they do not get from patriarchs in street gangs that offer ‘perverse loyalty and love’. These groups often viewed speaking in Standard English and doing well in school as selling out and so pressure members to not.

Question 6

Give a criticism of Sewell (2009) including a theorist.

Answer 6

Gillborn (2008): it is institutional racism that systematically produces the failure of large numbers of black boys.

Question 7

Why did Lupton (2004) argue that Asian families achieve higher?

Answer 7

The authority of adults in Asian families reflects that of teachers in schools, Asian students and pre-disposed to this system so are rewarded.

Question 8

What did Lupton (2004) say was the difference between W/C white and BAME parents’ views on education?

Answer 8

White W/C parents have a negative attitude
BAME W/C parents are more likely to view it as “a way up in society”.

Question 9

Give three criticisms of cultural deprivation theory (including theorists)

Answer 9

Driver (against Moynihan): lone mother creates positive matriarchal figure for young black girls
Lawrence (against Pryce): racism not low self-esteem
Keddie: BAME children are “culturally different not deprived” and are punished by the ethnocentric white culture favouring system

Question 10

Give 2 of Palmer’s (2012) 4 examples of BAME material deprivation.

Answer 10

• ethnic minority children are 2x as likely to live in low income housing (1/2 vs. 1/4)
• ethnic minorities are 2x as likely to be unemployed
• ethnic minority households are 3x more likely to be homeless
• Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers are 2x as likely to earn less than £7/hour (1/2 Vs. 1/4)

Question 11

Give two reasons why ethnic minorities may be at greater risk of material deprivation.

Answer 11

• Asylum seekers may not be allowed to work
• Cultural factors like Purdah which prevent women from working
• Foreign qualifications that are not recognised by Uk employers

Question 12

Summarise Wood at al’s (2010) experiment on racism and employment.

Answer 12

Fictitious near identical applications to 1000 job vacancies; 1/3 appearing white, 2/3 appearing to be from BAME.
- 1/16 BAME applicants offered an interview as against 1/9 white applicants

Question 13

What are the three external factors in education achievement in ethnic minorities?

Answer 13

• Cultural deprivation
• Material deprivation
• Racism in wider society

Question 14

According to Gillborn and Mirza (2000), what was the difference in black children’s achievement on entering primary compared to GCSE.

Answer 14

20 percentage points above local average on entry.
21 percentage points below average on GCSEs, the worst of any ethnic group.

Question 15

Explain Gillborn and Youdel’s (2000) findings on teacher labelling of black pupils and how it affects educational achievement.

Answer 15

Teachers expect black pupils to present more discipline problems.
They discipline black pupils quicker and more harshly, largely disproportionately.
This has multiple consequences, all of which lead to black pupils struggling:
- Higher rate of official exclusion
- Higher rate of internal exclusion
- Higher rate of referral

Question 16

How does streaming disproportionately affect black pupils? How is it cyclical?

Answer 16

Stereotyping and teacher racism => black pupils are placed in lower sets => black pupils struggle to achieve academically in the A-C economy => teachers feel vindicated in their racism and stereotypes

Question 17

According to Wright (1992), how do the perceptions of Asian and black students differ, and treatments as such?

Answer 17

Black pupils are seen as a threat and dangerous, as such they are punished harshly and disproportionately.

Asian pupils are seen as a problem, but passive and ignorable, as such they are mistreated in a more naturalised manner - mispronouncing names, open mockery, etc.

Question 18

What are the three different pupil identities and how do they achieve, according to Archer (2008)?

Answer 18

The ideal: a heterosexual white middle-class masculinised identity;
- achieves the ‘right’ way, through natural ability and initiative

The pathologised: an asexual or sexually oppressed Asian feminised identity;
- ‘conformists’ who achieve the ‘wrong’ way, hard work over natural ability

The demonised: a black or white W/C hyper sexualised identity
- doesn’t achieve due to unintelligence

Question 19

What is the implication of the teacher view of Chinese students, in Archer and Francis (2007), on ethnic achievement?

Answer 19

Teachers view the success of Chinese students as due to passive, hardworking conformism rather than natural talent, as wrong.

If you fail, the racists were right about you.
If you succeed, you did it wrong and aren’t deserving of reward.

Question 20

What are the implications of Fuller (1984) and Mac an Ghail (1992) on pupil response to teacher racism?

Answer 20

Students may still succeed even if they refuse to conform (such as by befriending those in lower streams) and negative labelling does not always lead to failure.

Additionally, how students respond will be depend on factors like previous education.

Question 21

According to Mirza (1992) What are the three main types of racist teachers?

Answer 21

• Colour blind: believes all pupils are equal but does not challenge racism
• Liberal chauvinists: believes black pupils are culturally deprived and doesn’t expect much
• Overt Racists: believes black pupils are inferior and actively discriminates

Question 22

What is the difference between the group of ambitious black girls in Fuller (1984) and Mirza (1992)?

Answer 22

Fuller’s girls successfully subverted the system and were able to succeed, their strategies for avoiding racism worked.
Mirza’s girls were put at a significant disadvantage by their strategies - choosing specific staff members for help and not choosing options that were taught by racists.

Question 23

Define ‘Locked-in inequality’.

Answer 23

A system is so historically and deeply discriminatory that inequality is perpetuated without the need for anyone to consciously discriminate.

Question 24

According to Gillborn (1997), how does marketisation increase inequality?

Answer 24

Schools are given more freedom to select pupils => stereotypes and racism leads to less BAME students getting into better schools => more difficulty later in life

Question 25

Give five ways the education system is institutionally racist.

Answer 25

• Marketisation
• The Ethnocentric Curriculum
• Assessment
• Access to Opportunities
• The ‘New IQism’

Question 26

What is meant by an ‘ethnocentric curriculum’?

Answer 26

The education system disregards and refuses to accommodate any culture that is not the dominant European (usually British) culture.

Question 27

How does Ball (1994) criticise how history is taught in the National Curriculum.

Answer 27

He argues it promotes ‘little englandism’ and ignores ethnic diversity, for example, by glorifying empire and ignoring its negative effects on Black people.

Question 28

How does Coard argue that ethnocentric curriculum lead to underachievement?

Answer 28

Black and brown pupils are taught that the British brought ‘civilisation’ to the ‘primitive’ people they colonised. This can undermine their self esteem or create anti-school sentiment, both of which lead to underachievement.

Question 29

Give a criticism for the negative effects of the ‘ethnocentric curriculum’

Answer 29

• It ignores Asian cultures and yet Indian and Chinese pupils regularly achieve above the national average.
• Stone (1981): black children do not suffer from low self-esteem.

Question 30

What assessment for primary school pupil was switched to in 2003 that disproportionately affected black pupils?

Answer 30

Baseline assessments were switched to ‘foundation stage profiles’

Question 31

Why does Gillborn (2008) call ‘the assessment game’ rigged?

Answer 31

If black children succeed as a group, ‘the rules will be changed to re-engineer failure’.

Question 32

Why did the change from baseline assessments to FSP make it appear as if Black pupils were suddenly doing much worse?

Answer 32

FSP is mostly based on teacher judgement and happens later in education. As such, teacher racism, labelling and stereotyping is given more time to take effect and now has more of a consequence.

Question 33

Why do Gifted and Talented Programmes create racial educational inequality?

Answer 33

Because of Archer’s (2008) ‘ideal pupil’, Gillborn notes that white pupils are 2x as likely to be identified as ‘gifted and talented’.

Question 34

Why do exam tiers disproportionately hurt black pupils?

Answer 34

Black pupils are more likely to be placed in lower sets and be entered for lower tier tests. No matter how bright they are, they cannot achieve more than a C.

Question 35

What is Gillborn’s ‘New IQism’?

Answer 35

Teachers and policymakers make false assumptions about pupils ‘potential’ (a fixed quality that can be measured and acted upon). This is stupid, a test can do nothing more than tell you what a person has already learned, not what they are capable of learning.

Question 36

Give two criticisms of the education system as institutionally racist.

Answer 36

• Sewell argues that the school system is not racist enough to prevent individuals from succeeding.
• If racist, why Indians and Chinese pupils succeeding?