Ethnicity and achievement Flashcards
External factors
Cultural deprivation
Material deprivation
Racism in wider society
Cultural deprivation
Linguistic skills
Theorists see lack of intellectual and linguistic skills as the cause of underachievement in minority pupils
May be due to lack of stimulating and enriching experiences in black asian minority ethnic families
Use of restricted code of English used
Cultural deprivation
motivation
Lack of motivation as cause
Most children socialised into mainstream culture which promotes competitiveness and deferred gratification
BAME children often display fatalistic ‘live for today attitude’, not favouring education
Cultural deprivation
Family structure
Sees dysfunctional family structures as cause of underachievement-
Many Black families are lone parent/single mother which struggle financially
Lack of strong male role models
59% of Black Carribean households are lone parent compared to 22% of white households
Sewell 2010- Many Black boys lack father figure growing up to act as a role model, provide discipline while they are growing up
Asian families
-More positive attitude to education
-Higher aspirations and supportive parents
-Respectful attitude to parents expected of children, helps in school environment
-However, stress and anxiety caused by high expectations, controlling attitudes towards girls
White W/C families
BAME children often aspire to attend university more than white W/C children
BAME children see education as way out of poverty
Increasing evidence says white W/C children are falling behind their black and Asian peers
White W/C often socialised into street culture causing overspill into school
causes disruption
Research
Only 26% of poor white british boys obtained five atoc grades at gcse compared to 40% of black boys- independant 2013
Criticisms of cultural deprivation
Fails to recognise positive effects of ethnicity on achievement
In Black single mother families, mother is often a strong, independent role model for their daughters
Underestimation of teacher racism, which may prevent black students achievement rather than low self esteem and weak culture
Victim blaming?
Ethocentric curriculum
Racism in wider society
Poverty itself may be a by-product of racism
Racial discrimination leads to social exclusion (in housing) eg minorities are forced into substandard accommodation
In employment, often companies are more encouraging to white candidates over other candidates
Explains why minorities are more likely to face low pay and unemployment, affecting children’s educational achievement
Material deprivation
Lack of necessities seen as normal for everyday life
MD explanations see educational failure as results of substandard housing and poor income
Material inequality between different ethnic groups eg Indians and whites have a class social higher position than Bangladeshis and Pakistanis reflected in educational achievement
May be danger we overestimate role of CD and understimate MD
however social class factors do not always override influence of ethnicity
eg m/c black pupils do poorly compared to m/c pupils from other groups
Internal factors
Pupil identities
Pupil responses and subcultures
Institutional racism
Labelling and teacher racism
Pupil identities
Archer (2008) found that teachers construct student identities according to their ethnicity:
- Ideal pupil- white m/c, normal sexuality, achieves right way
-Pathologised pupil- Asian, deserving poor, asexual, the plodding conformist
-Demonised pupil- Black/white, w/c, hypersexualised, unintelligent, culturally deprived
Teachers place BAME students in 2 or 3, seeing black pupils as loud, challenging, excessively sexualised, seeing Asian pupils as docile, passive and quiet
Pupil responses and subcultures-
Mary Fuller (1984) Black girls in London comprehensive schools
Untypical high achievers in high streams where most black girls were in low streams
Did not seek teacher approval
Maintained relationships with lower streamed pupils
Only conformed to school work, not rules
Relied on own efforts and abilities to pass exams
Fuller: way of coping with the contradictory demands of the white british m/c education system while adding ridicule of black boys and maintaining friends with lower streams
pupil responses and subcultures tony sewell
1992- response of black boys to teacher racism
1) the rebels- small minority, reject goals and rules, anti-authority, black ‘macho lad’, identify with hegemonic masculinity
2) the conformists- largest group, accept rules and goals, keen to succeed, wish to avoid stereotype
3) the retreatists- tiny minority, isolated individuals, disconnected from school and subcultures and despised by the rebels
4) the innovators- second largest group, pro education but anti school, only conform to school work, friendly w/ rebels
Institutional racism
british education system is institutionally racist, whereby policies personnel actively discriminate against ethnic minorities
unintentional racism a feature of many schools
lack of black role models in education
lack of black headteachers
BAME pupils receive more negative criticism than white students
Ethnocentric curriculum often focuses on education activities and histories of white european peoples. (white male stale)
histories of BAME pupils and their activities and culture often left out of education
has demotivating effect
Labelling and teacher racism
black pupils seen as aggressive, asian pupils seen as passive
teachers may teach minority pupils differently
Gillbourn and Youdell (2000), teachers quicker to discipline black pupils as they have racialised expectations. black pupils in turn feel teachers underestimate and pick on them
Bourne and Olsen
black pupils more likely to be sent out of class/expelled
black pupils more likely to be placed in lower streams from perceived behaviour rather than academic ability
labelling and teacher racism
asian pupils
cecile wright- teachers held ethnocentic ciews saw british culture and standard english to be superior
teachers tend to assume asian pupils will have poor english
asian pupils often feel isolated when/if teachers show disapproval for their customs or mispronounced names, prevents from from engaging fully
labelling and teacher racism
heidi mirza
argued three types of teachers
colour blind- believe all students are equal but does not challenge racism he/she witnesses
liberal chauvanists- teachers who believe black pupils are culturally deprived and have low expectations
overt racists- teachers who believe blacks are inferior and actively discriminate against them
