Ethnicity and Attainment: In School

Question 1

Gillborn

Answer 1

Racism leads to labelling which leads to a self fufilling prophecy.
Teachers label black boys negatively because they feel threatened which leads to a self-fufilling prophecy and anti-school subcultures.

Question 2

Wright

Answer 2

Asian students are labelled as passive and are ignored or patronised which could lead to a lack of motivation or involvement.

Question 3

Coard

Answer 3

Institutional Racism. Ethnocentric curriculum. The British curriculum in schools excludes ethnic minority groups which leads to marginalisation of these groups.

Question 4

Gillborn Evaluation

Answer 4

This could explain why exclusion rates are 3-6 times higher for black pupils than they are for White according to the Department for Education. Also supports The Swann Reports’ (1985) findings that teachers are institutionally racist.

Question 5

Wright Evaluation

Answer 5

However, Asian students are amongst the top achievers, suggesting that they are not labelled by teachers.

Question 6

Coard Evaluation

Answer 6

Social policy such as Every Child Matters has been set up in order to reduce the negative experiences of education that BME groups go through (from in school treatment to opportunities for learning outside of school).
Supported by Tickly et al (African Caribbean Invisibility)