Ethnicity and education

Question 1

What is the definition of race?

Answer 1

Physical perceived differences that groups and cultures consider socially significant

Question 2

What is the definition of ethnicity?

Answer 2

Shared culture such as language, ancestry, practices and beliefs

Question 3

Who spoke about linguistics?

Answer 3

Bowker

Question 4

What did Bowker say about linguistics?

Answer 4

Argues there’s a lack of standard English in BAME cultures and backgrounds = a barrier to UK education

Question 5

What did the swann report find?

Answer 5

Language has a very limited impact on educational achievement and couldn’t explain why those from other backgrounds and outperform white British learners

Question 6

Why was the swann report created?

Answer 6

To give attention to the education needs and attainment of pupils of West Indian origin and to make recommendations asap in interest of this group

Question 7

How is cultural capital relevant?

Answer 7

Symbolic elements such as clothing, posture, linguistics (colloquialism) come into play when considering achievement as most upper class individuals are white and british thus aspiration tend to be white british ideals

Question 8

What did Arnott say about attitudes and values of BAME?

Answer 8

The media have created a negative anti school role model for black pupils, described as ‘the ultra tough ghetto superstar’ reinforced through rap lyrics and MTV videos

Question 9

What did strand find about attitudes and values of BAME?

Answer 9

found that Indian students are the ethnic group most likely to complete homework 5 evenings a week, parents are most likely to always know where their child is

Question 10

What did Francis and archer say about attitudes and values of BAME?

Answer 10

High value is placed on education by parents, coupled with a strong cultural tradition of respect of ones elders

Question 11

What family is to blame for ethnic underachievement according to Murray?

Answer 11

Single parent familes - single mothers
- African Caribbean lone parenthood to blame
- Lack of male role models means that mothers struggle to socialize children adequately (Murray)
- Causes black boys to seek role models elsewhere

Question 12

What does Hall say?

Answer 12

The impact of slavery means that much of the black culture has lost its language, religion, ancestry etc. thus making them less likely to integrate and assimilate with white middle class UK
- Called a “culture of resistance”

Question 13

What did Pryce say in addition to Hall’s point?

Answer 13

Asian culture: more able to resist racism due to social cohesion = not effected by it as much

Question 14

How does material deprivation play a part?

Answer 14

Flaherty:
- Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are 3x more likely than white counter parts to be in the poorest 1/5 of the population#
- Africans, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are 3x more likely to be unemployed than white counter parts
- 15% of minority groups live in overcrowded homes (2% for white counter parts)
- Pakistanis are 2x as likely to be in semi/unskilled jobs compared to white people

Question 15

What did the Swann report find in relation to MD?

Answer 15

Social class differences account for a high proportion of differences in achievement between ethnic groups

Question 16

What statistics are there for educational achievement between ethnic groups?

Answer 16

Attainment 8 data 2018 by ethnicity - Point score for GCSES
Asian - 50
Indian - 56
Chinese - 64
Black - 45
African - 48
Caribbean - 40
White - 46

Question 17

What does the statistics show?

Answer 17

Indians and Chinese do significantly better than other counterparts
Gap between Africans and Caribbean
Africans perform better than Carribeans and Whites = difference between the 2 cultures (A&C)

Question 18

What scholars support the differences in educational achievement in Asian groups?

Answer 18

Basit - Indian and Pakistani families have a culture of promoting educational capital to obtain social mobility
Modood - even amongst the working class, asian families promote education

Question 19

What scholars support the differences in educational achievement in Black groups?

Answer 19

• Sewell: 24% of black households are single parent compared to 10% white
  > overwhelming workload
• Vincent et al: black middle class parents had high level of interest in child’s education
  > in school factors maybe to blame for lower educational achievement

Question 20

What are critiques of ethnic differences in achievement?

Answer 20

• Intersectional nature of students’ experiences
  > class and gender have an impact
• Outdated research based in 1960s and 70s
  > generalisations and contemporary society
  > focused on 1st generation of migration in the UK, ignores 3rd generation and etc who have been exposed to the norms and values of british society
• Underrepresentation and inequality in life chances for groups that excel in education according to statistics

Question 21

Who speaks about racism as a whole?

Answer 21

Mason, Rex and Noon

Question 22

What did Mason argue?

Answer 22

‘Discrimination is a continuing and persistent feature of the experience of britain citizens of minority ethnic origins’

Question 23

What did Rex find?

Answer 23

Racism leads to social exclusion and poverty
> shown in housing, employment and education
> racism leads to discrimination inside and outside the classroom

Question 24

What did Noon do?

Answer 24

Sent identical letter to 100 top UK companies but altered between the names “Evans” and “Patel”
> Replies to the ‘white’ candidate were more helpful and informative

Question 25

Who spoke about the euro centric curriculum?

Answer 25

Xasan

Question 26

What is a euro/ethno centric curriculum?

Answer 26

Focus of the curriculum on 1 particular ethnic group to the detriment or exclusion of other group

Question 27

What did Xasan say?

Answer 27

Euro centric curriculum can cause those from BAME backgrounds to feel marginalized and excluded from the education system

Question 28

What else is there to note about the euro centric curriculum?

Answer 28

The past and background of individuals are left out of the education system = exclusion and reinforced cultural resistance
- Map used in schools, not to scale very Eurocentric
> eg: Africa is much bigger than the map presents it to be

Question 29

What did Ball say about the eurocentric curriculum?

Answer 29

Called it ‘little englandism’ - the triumphs of empire and colonialism focusing o achievements of white british elites

Question 30

What does the eurocentric curriculum miss?

Answer 30

Limited mention of african and carribeans in the curriculum, content on them is based on slavery and civil rights
- No reference to Asian culture
(note: negative representation of the working class such as the industrial revolution)

Question 31

What is the impact of the eurocentric curriculum?

Answer 31

• Portrayal of white elites as leading figures in society,
  civilizing the rest of the world supposedly bringing religion, democracy and technology to the world
• the erasure of minority ethnic cultures, doesnt cover colonised civilisations that gained independence

Question 32

What does eurocentrism look like outside the curriculum?

Answer 32

Holidays organized around christian celebrations
- western sports
- western uniform regulations (ignores diversity of cultural dress)

Question 33

What policies evidence eurocentrism and education?

Answer 33

1960s and 70s educational policies focused on assimilation (abandon their own culture and accept dominant culture) rather than integration (maintain own culture, participate in broader society)

Question 34

What are examples of these assimilation policies?

Answer 34

Citizenship tests and the teaching of english

Question 35

Which scholars talk about eurocentrism in education?

Answer 35

Troyna and Williams: curriculum still focuses on white culture giving them an advantage
Coard: Curriculum saw ‘white as civilised’ and ‘black as primitive’ (extends to other cultures)
Tikly et al: Black African and Carribean students excluded from learning about their own heritage

Question 36

What policies were put in place to combat eurocentrism?

Answer 36

• Changes to exams: broaden languages avaliable at A-level and GCSE
• Greater inclusion in the curriculum
• Programmes: Aim High -focus on minority ethnic groups achievement in HE

Question 37

Who speaks about self fulfilling prophecy and teachers?

Answer 37

Hargreaves at al

Question 38

What did Hargreaves say?

Answer 38

Teachers have a very limited idea about their students identity when they first enroll based on the area they came from = have to build an image throughout school year

Question 39

What are the 3 stages of classification?

Answer 39

Speculation: make guesses about the type of student (tentative in typing, willing to amend views)
Elaboration: hypothesis tested, confirmed or contradicted - typing refined
Stabilization: teacher feels they know the students, little difficulty making sense of their actions (interpreted based on general type of student)

Question 40

How are students affected by the stabilization phase?

Answer 40

Students regarded as deviant making it difficult for any of their future actions to be regarded in a positive light

Question 41

What’s a critique of negative labelling?

Answer 41

can sometimes have the opposite effect
- Margaret Fuller’s research on black girls in London comprehensive school found that they were labelled as low achievers
- response: was to study hard to prove their teachers and the school wrong