Ethnicity and Achievement Flashcards
What does labelling refer to?
Labelling refers to the process where meaning is attached to behaviour
Which ethnic minorities are more likely to be given negative labels?
Ethnic minority students such as Black Caribbeans are more likely to be given negative labels having a negative impact on their educational achievement
What are Black Caribbean twice as more likely to be labelled as having?
Black Caribbean twice as more likely to be labelled as having behavioural, emotional or social difficulties compare to white British boys
What effect do labels have on Black Caribbean boys?
Labels can have a powerful effect on Black Caribbean boys achievement as they are likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Boys internalise the labels they’ve been given and act accordingly
What is the misallocation of sets?
Where students are put in the wrong set
What can being in the bottom set have a negative impact on?
Being in the bottom set can have a negative impact on a students self confidence
What did Fuller find out from studying Black Caribbean girls in Year 11 in a London school whose teachers gave them negative labels?
Fuller found out the girls didn’t develop a self-fulfilling prophecy, instead they rejected the labels and were determined to succeed.
At school - anti-school subculture
At home - determined to succeed
What is the ethnocentric curriculum?
Ethnocentric curriculum is the idea that the school curriculum regards white British culture as superior to other cultures and does not value the contribution of other cultures
What are some examples of ways schools are ethnocentric?
Schools only teach European languages
History is taught from a British perspective
School holidays are set according to Christian festivals
Arrangements for P.E
How is schools only teaching European languages ethnocentric?
Only teaching European languages devalues the languages of some ethnic minorities
How is history being taught from a British perspective ethnocentric?
History being taught from a British perspective may lead to a biased view of the history of other cultures
Black history taught in schools is based around slavery and colonialism - make black children feel their culture is inferior resulting in low self esteem
How is school holidays being set according to Christian festivals ethnocentric?
Christianity is the dominant religion in Britain thus ignoring other religious festivals in other cultures
Children from other faiths may have to attend school on big festivals
How is arrangements for P.E ethnocentric?
e.g. showers, changing rooms, dress code may go against cultural requirements for modesty.
Muslim girls are expected to keep their bodies covered
What does the ethnocentric curriculum reflect?
Ethnocentric curriculum reflects critical race theory, that racism is ingrained feature of society
What can the ethnocentric curriculum not explain?
Ethnocentric curriculum cannot explain the underachievement of white working class students
What has the government introduced to support other cultures?
Government introduced policies supporting a multi-cultural education to celebrate and teach about the cultures of different ethnic groups e.g. cultures week, Black history month
What are some examples of institutional racism?
A lack of ethnic minority teachers
Subconscious decisions about giving responsibility to students of certain ethnic groups in school
Disciplining some ethnic groups more than others
What did Mirza find about girls strategies to deal with racism?
Mirza found out that the girls developed strategies to deal with racism such as not taking part in class discussions and not choosing subjects that had racist teachers
Girls strategies restricted their opportunites to achieve at school resulting in low achievement
What are the criticisms of institutional racism?
Not just black students who develop strategies to deal with racism, their parents do to
Historically black children have not done well at school and black middle-class parents worry that teachers will have low expectations of their children
Why can running a school like a business disadvantage some ethnic groups such as Bangladeshi and Pakistanis?
Running a school like a business might disadvantage some ethnic groups because they may not be fully aware of how to ‘play the system’
What examples are there of how running a school like a business disadvantage some ethnic groups?
Prospectus may not be available in their language
May not understand application process (educational capital)
Cannot afford transport costs to send their children to schools outside their catchment area (material deprivation)
Lack cultural capital to challenge school decisions about admissions
What types of capital do middle class Chinese and Indian families tend to possess?
Chinese and Indian families tend to be middle class, possessing all 4 types of capital - economic, cultural, educational and social
What are middle-class families with all 4 types of capital able to do?
Middle-class families with all 4 types of capital are able to ‘play the system’ ensuring their children get accepted into the best schools
Schools more likely to ‘cream-skim’ Chinese and Indian students believing that they will achieve excellent exam results
What did Sewell find from studying pupils subcultures among Black Caribbean boys?
The rebels - rejected the goals and rules of schools. Anti-authority. Only a small number of black boys were ‘rebels’ although this is how most teachers saw them
The conformists - they wanted to do well, accepting the goals of the schools and making friends with different ethnic groups
The retreatists - isolated individuals ‘loners’ not part of a subculture
The innovators - pro-education but anti-schools. Valued success but didnt seek approval from their teachers
What did Gilbern argue marketisation allowing school to select pupils did?
Gilbern argued it disadvantaged some ethnic groups e.g.
Information about schools and the application process may not be available in their first language
Reports from primary schools may stereotype ethnic minority pupils
What problem does ethnic minority groups lacking educational capital create?
Ethnic minority groups lacking educational capital means parents may be less able to ensure their children attend the best performing schools
What problem does ethnic minority groups lacking cultural capital create?
Ethnic minority groups lacking cultural capital means parents can’t challenge schools about admission decisions as they don’t feel comfortable approaching schools and talking to teachers
What problem does ethnic minority groups suffering from material deprivation create?
Ethnic minority groups suffering from material deprivation cannot afford transport costs to send their children to schools outside their catchment area
Why does ethnic groups lacking all 4 types of capital suggest that parentocracy is a myth?
These disadvantages mean that not all parents have an equal opportunity or choice when choosing what school to send their child to
