Ethnicity and educational achievement

Question 1

The average attainment 8 score (an average score across 8 GCSEs) was 69.2 for chinese students in 2021

Answer 1

compared to 50.9 on average, out of 90, with asian groups on the whole scoring an average of 55.8

Question 2

The average attainment 8 score in 2021 for roma gypsy pupils was 22.7

Answer 2

and for white british and black pupils it was around average, but it was below average for black caribbean students (40)

Question 3

In 1985, the Swann Committee found that

Answer 3

IQ scores are not a cause of differing results between ethnic groups, suggesting it must be due to other factors

Question 4

Exclusion rates are up to 5x higher than average

Answer 4

for black caribbean pupils (The Guardian)

Question 5

Exclusion rates in some areas are up to 9x higher than average

Answer 5

for roma gypsy pupils

Question 6

Overall, black caribbean, pakistani, bangladeshi and gypsy/roma/irish traveller pupils

Answer 6

have below average reading skills

Question 7

at the beginning of primary school, most ethnic minorities (excluding chinese) lag behind white british students

Answer 7

however, most groups (especially indian students) make greater progress than white pupils and narrow this gap, except black caribbean boys, whose performance between KS1 and KS4 deteriorates

Question 8

Black caribbean pupils are 1.5x as likely to be categorised as having

Answer 8

emotional, behavioural or social difficulties compared to white british studetns

Question 9

Black caribbean, pakistani, bangledeshi and traveller/gypsy pupils

Answer 9

are the most likely groups to leave school without any qualifications

Question 10

17% of university teaching staff are

Answer 10

BAME

Question 11

in 2020, 8.7% of first year university students were black

Answer 11

despite only making up 4% of the population

Question 12

12.2% of university entrants in 2020 were asian

Answer 12

despite only being 9.3% of the total UK population

Question 13

Social class and material factors

Answer 13

• students from ethnic minorities are more than 2x as likely to be living in poverty
• minorities are more likely to face the impacts of poverty on education (lack of resources, cultural deprivation etc)
• the percentage of indian and chinese students eligible for FSM is below average
• Gillborn and Mirza (2000) point out that, whilst social class remains the biggest influence on educational achievement, ethnic inequalities are still present even within the same social class (eg white MC pupils outperform MC black pupils)
• House of Commons Educational Committee (2014) found that white british pupils from the most deprived social groups have the lowest levels of educational attainment

Question 14

Language

Answer 14

• 18% of primary school students and 13% of secondary did not have english as their first language in 2013
• english is not the first language for the majority of pupils in 1 in 9 schools
• middle-class teachers may mistake language differences as lack of ability
• The Swann Report (1985) - whilst language factors may hold back some children, for the majority they have little importance
• Department for Education (2005) - impact of language differences decline as pupils get older
• Dep. of Education (2013) - pupils who speak another language at home outperformed students with english as their only language in the EBacc

Question 15

Family life and parental support

Answer 15

• The Swann Report (1985) and Pilkington (1997) found that students from some minorities had greater parental support than others - Asian families are characterised by close-knit extended families with high aspirations for their children
• Lupton (2004) - WC white british families in the most disadvantaged areas have a negative or indifferent attitude to their children’s education
• Bhatti (1999) - pakistani, bangledeshi and indian parents were very supportive and interested in their children’s education though they often didn’t know much about the schools, so avoided direct involvement or visiting, often finding schools unwelcome, and their own education level meant they were sometimes unable to help with schoolwork
• 57% of black caribbean children are raised by lone parents - practical issues in supporting education, providing breadwinner role models for girls
• Vincent et al (2011) - MC black parents were actively involved in education, enrolling in more extracurriculars and making more effort, but often felt badly treated by teachers
• Wright, Standen and Patel (2010) - high levels of support for education in black communities
• Moon and Ivins (2004) - telephone survey, found greater parental involvement in education in minority groups
• Modood (2006) - parental aspiration and support was an important factor in pushing BAME students into higher education

Question 16

Barnard and Turner (2011) point out that

Answer 16

the complex relationships between class, gender and ethnicity create a wide variation between and within ethnic groups, making generalised statements very difficult. However, many share common experiences, particularly discrimination and racism.

Question 17

Racism among pupils

Answer 17

• Cline et al (2002) found racism was common among pupils, with a significant proportion of BAME students reporting race-related name calling, unkindness because of their ethnicity or verbal abuse at school or while travelling to/from school, with this harassment often continuing for an extended time period

Question 18

Racial prejudice definition

Answer 18

a set of assumptions about a racial or ethnic group which people are reluctant to change even when they receive information which undermines this assumption

Question 19

in 2013, 2.7% of headteachers

Answer 19

and 7% of teachers came from non-white ethnic groups

Question 20

Teacher expectations, stereotyping and labelling

Answer 20

• The Swann Report - a minority of teachers were consciously racist, but many held unconscious bias
• Bhatti (1999) - through interviews, questionnaires and participant observation at London school - found south asian pupils thought they were more likely to be ignored, not be chosen to answer questions, not be helped, not be given responsibilities and be unfairly punished
• Wright (1992) and Connolly (1998) found some teachers have ethnic stereotypes (eg asian girls to be well behaved, black boys to be disruptive) and this affects treatment of students
• Wright (2010) - media demonization of young black people influences racial prejudice
• Gillborn (2008) - teachers had low expectation and perceived more behavioural issues among black students
• Strand (2012) - teachers’ judgements of academic ability are influenced by their perceptions of behaviour
• Gillborn and Youdell (2000) - racism disadvantages black students through negative stereotypes and labelling

Question 21

Conflict between black caribbean pupils and teachers

Answer 21

• London Development Agency Education Commission (2004) - relationships between black caribbean pupils and white teachers were characterised by “conflict and fear”
• black students more likely to be excluded
• pushed to join anti-school subcultures etc

Question 22

Teacher expectations and educational triage

Answer 22

• Gillborn and Youdell - educational triage reinforces the failure of black students, who are often allocated to lower streams and seen as less able
• Gillborn (2011) - the introduction of the EBacc in 2010 to measure school performance made it harder for black pupils to succeed, as they are denied opportunity when viewed as unlikely to succeed

Question 23

Pupil responses and subcultures of resistance

Answer 23

• Stuart Hall (marxist) - ‘culture of resistance’ among black caribbean youth, rejection of schooling
• Sewell (1998) - black caribbean male students reacted to denial of statist by what they saw as racist schooling by asserting a ‘black macho masculinity’
• Sewell (1998) - teachers often held stereotypes of all black caribbean boys as anti-school, and some students tried to escape this stereotype by conforming and accepting school
• Mac an Ghaill (1992) - racism and negative labels don’t necessarily lead to poor attainment, as pupils can resist school in other ways (eg breaking uniform rules)
• Wright (2013) - interviews of London and Nottingham pupils - black students who had been excluded resisted negative school experiences and worked to transform their negative labelling into a desire to have a positive educational outcome

Question 24

Multicultural education definition

Answer 24

a recognition of the diversity and cultures in society, and teaching about the culture of other ethnic groups besides that of the majority culture

Question 25

Troyna and Williams (1986) - schools use multiculturalism as a way of making the educational experience of minority ethnic groups more palatable by

Answer 25

using the 3 Ss (saris, samosas and steel bands) to overcome the 3 Rs (resistance, rejection and rebellion)

Question 26

Ethnocentrism definition

Answer 26

a view of the world in which other cultures are seen through the eye’s of one’s own culture, with a devaluing of the others

Question 27

Ethnocentrism in schools

Answer 27

• role models are frequently white in stories
• history focuses on white history
• religious education emphasises christianity
• languages taught in schools are mostly european
• music, literature and art all focus on white people
• in the hidden curriculum, uniform requirements, arrangements for changing for PE and assemblies featuring christian celebrations may contrast other faiths
• ethnocentrism could lead to lower self-esteem of minority pupils
• in applying Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory, minority pupils may underachieve because the education system is predominantly reflecting white, middle class, british culture

Question 28

Reasons for underachievement of some minority ethnic groups

Answer 28

• social class
• ‘culture of resistance’
• racism of teachers and pupils
• negative self-image
• ethnocentric curriculum
• language barriers
• deprived social conditions
• low teacher expectations and labelling
• family life
• lack of cultural capital