Ethnic Differences: Internal

Question 1

Gillborn + Youdell

Answer 1

• Black children were highest achievers in primary, but worst of any ethnicity for GCSEs (21 points below average).
• Racialised expectations - teachers expected black pupils to present more discipline problems + misinterpreted their behaviour as threatening.

Question 2

Archer

Answer 2

• Teachers’ dominant discourse, where EM aren’t seen as an ideal pupil.
• Ideal pupil identity: white; m/c; hetrosexual; male.
• Pathologised identity: Asian; female; ‘deserving poor’.
• Demonised identity: black / white; w/c; hyper-sexualised.
• Chinese students were seen as over-achievers.

Question 3

Bourne

Answer 3

Black boys are seen as a threat, negatively labelled + excluded - achievement after exclusion: 1/5 achieved five GCSEs.

Question 4

Osler

Answer 4

Placed in internal exclusions (PRU) with lack of access to the main curriculum.

Question 5

Foster

Answer 5

Negative stereotypes of black pupils, so placed in lower streams.

Question 6

Wright

Answer 6

Teachers assumed Asian students had a poor grasp on English, so used simplistic language + excluded them in discussions.

Question 7

Shain

Answer 7

Asian girls who challenge stereotypes are dealt with more severely.

Question 8

Fuller

Answer 8

Negatively labelled black girls rejected their labels + passed.

Question 9

Mac an Ghaill

Answer 9

Black + Asian A-Level students didn’t accept negative labels.

Question 10

Mirza

Answer 10

• Racist teachers discouraged black pupils from aspiring to professional careers.
• These strategies put them at a disadvantage by restricting their opportunities.

Question 11

Sewell

Answer 11

• Rebels - anti-school.
• Conformists - succeeders.
• Retreatists - disconnected from the school + subcultures.
• Innovators - pro-education but anti-school.
• Main reasons external factors: boys’ anti-school attitudes; peer group pressure; nurturing role of the father.

Question 12

Troyna + Williams

Answer 12

Institutional racism - discrimination that is inbuilt into the way institutions (e.g. schools + colleges) operate.

Question 13

Critical Race theory

Answer 13

• Locked-in inequality - inequality becomes self-perpetuating.
• Gillborn: inequality is an inevitable feature of the education system.

Question 14

Marketisation + Segregation

Answer 14

• Gillborn: as marketisation gives schools more scope to select pupils, it allows negative stereotypes to influence school admission decisions.
• Moore + Davenport: selection procedures lead to ethnic segregation as it favours white pupils + disadvantages EMs.
• Commission of Racial Inequality: racist biases in Britain, e.g. interviews for school places; reports: stereotype minority pupils.

Question 15

Ethnocentric Curriculum

Answer 15

• David: National Curriculum ignores non-European languages + literature.
• Ball: National Curriculum ignores the history of black + Asian people.

Question 16

Assessments

Answer 16

• Gillborn: FSP had black children ranked lower than whites, which is ranked based on teachers’ judgements.
• Sanders + Horn: tasks assessed by teachers rather than written exams widened the score gap between ethnic groups.

Question 17

Opportunities

Answer 17

• Gillborn: ‘Gifted + Talented’ programme - white 2x likely to be identified as gifted + 5x more likely to be seen as talented.
• Tikly: ‘Aiming High’ attempts to raise black Caribbean pupils’ achievements, but entered in lower tier GCSE exams: maximum C grade.
• Strand: black pupils are underrepresented in entry to higher tier tests - test tiers reflect teacher expectations, leading to a SFP.

Question 18

Internal Factors Criticisms

Answer 18

• Model minorities - overachievement of Chinese + Indian students compared to white students disproves institutional racism.
• Evans: relationship between gender + class instead of just ethnicity.
• Connolly: class + gender interact differently with ethnicity, e.g. gap between the achievements of the white m/c + w/c compared to the black m/c + w/c.