Ethnicity and Education – External Factors Flashcards
Parental control and expectation
- Stand (2007): Indian student are the ethnic group most likely to complete homework five evenings a week
- Francis and Archer (2007) found that a high value is placed on education by Chinese parents, coupled with a strong cultural tradition of respect for one’s elders. High educational aspiration transmits from parents to children, and students derive positive self-esteem from constructing themselves as good students.
Single parent households
- 20.7% of Black African households are made up of single parent with dependent children - higher % out of ALL ETHNIC GROUPS
- Abbott (2002) concerns about the development of ‘gangsta’ culture with the absence of positive Black role models at home as well in schools
The culture of anti-school black masculinity
Sewell (1997): Black Caribbean boys may experience considerable pressure by their peers to adopt ‘urban’ or ‘street’ subculture
-> CRITICISM: Blaming BC for their own failure, rather than taking into account possible racism within education
Language barriers
- Crozier (2004) found Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents ‘kept their distance’ from their children’s schools because they trusted the professionals to do their jobs
- Lacked confidence in use of English and there were no translators
Immigrant paradigm
Developed theory that first generation immigrants are enthusiastic about education, seeing it as a real opportunity to help their children progress in new country, whereas enthusiasm where’s off for second and third generations
-> can explain why BA overachieve compared to white students
-> BC underachieve - theory that BC families have become assimilated into mainly poor working class neighbourhoods and so their children have adopted lack of enthusiasm for education
Criticism
Over simplistic to suggest all families of different ethnicities feel and behave in the same way - suggest there may be other factors (internal)
