Ethnicity and Attainment: Out of School

Question 1

Chua

Answer 1

Cultural Deprivation. Tiger Parents.
Chua studied Chinese parents and found that they had high expectations, which would explain why Chinese students are so motivated.

Question 2

Bernstein

Answer 2

Cultural Capital. Language Codes.
Some ethnic groups are at an advantage as they can access the elaborated code which is used in class and exams.

Question 3

Murray

Answer 3

The underclass, made up of a disproportionate number of single-black mothers, were a culture of welfare dependency, anti-authority and lazy values. The young black males in the family then have no role model to socialise effectively, and thus this leads to underachievement in education.

Question 4

Noon Evaluation

Answer 4

Impact of this is supported by Smith and Nobles’ 3 Barriers to Learning theory.
Although, this was simply one study and not necessarily representative of the experiences of all BME groups. Also out-dated 1993 so not the same as recent years.

Question 5

Chua Evaluation

Answer 5

This theory is supported by the high results achieved by Chinese students- better than white British students.
Although, there could be other explanations for their high achievement.

Question 6

Murray Evaluation

Answer 6

This theory makes the assumption that single black mothers are unable to socialise their children adequately, with no evidence to support this, and his theory also ignores that many ethnic minority families are forced to live on welfare as a result of society’s racist attitude.

Question 7

Rex & Smith and Noble/Howard

Answer 7

Rex explains that ethnic minorities are at a disadvantage in education because their parents on average earn 2/3 less than white parents, and this leads to material deprivation.