Ethnicity and educational achievement Flashcards
The average attainment 8 score (an average score across 8 GCSEs) was 69.2 for chinese students in 2021
compared to 50.9 on average, out of 90, with asian groups on the whole scoring an average of 55.8
The average attainment 8 score in 2021 for roma gypsy pupils was 22.7
and for white british and black pupils it was around average, but it was below average for black caribbean students (40)
In 1985, the Swann Committee found that
IQ scores are not a cause of differing results between ethnic groups, suggesting it must be due to other factors
Exclusion rates are up to 5x higher than average
for black caribbean pupils (The Guardian)
Exclusion rates in some areas are up to 9x higher than average
for roma gypsy pupils
Overall, black caribbean, pakistani, bangladeshi and gypsy/roma/irish traveller pupils
have below average reading skills
at the beginning of primary school, most ethnic minorities (excluding chinese) lag behind white british students
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
Black caribbean pupils are 1.5x as likely to be categorised as having
emotional, behavioural or social difficulties compared to white british studetns
Black caribbean, pakistani, bangledeshi and traveller/gypsy pupils
are the most likely groups to leave school without any qualifications
17% of university teaching staff are
BAME
in 2020, 8.7% of first year university students were black
despite only making up 4% of the population
12.2% of university entrants in 2020 were asian
despite only being 9.3% of the total UK population
Social class and material factors
- 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
Language
- 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
Family life and parental support
- 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
Barnard and Turner (2011) point out that
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.
Racism among pupils
- 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
Racial prejudice definition
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
in 2013, 2.7% of headteachers
and 7% of teachers came from non-white ethnic groups
Teacher expectations, stereotyping and labelling
- 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
Conflict between black caribbean pupils and teachers
- 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
Teacher expectations and educational triage
- 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
Pupil responses and subcultures of resistance
- 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
Multicultural education definition
a recognition of the diversity and cultures in society, and teaching about the culture of other ethnic groups besides that of the majority culture
Troyna and Williams (1986) - schools use multiculturalism as a way of making the educational experience of minority ethnic groups more palatable by
using the 3 Ss (saris, samosas and steel bands) to overcome the 3 Rs (resistance, rejection and rebellion)
Ethnocentrism definition
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
Ethnocentrism in schools
- 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
Reasons for underachievement of some minority ethnic groups
- 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
