Ethnicity Education External factors

Question 1

Evidence of ethnic differences in achievement

Answer 1

Ethnic group definition : “People who share common history, customs and identity, as well as, in most cases, language and religion, and who see themselves as a distinct unit.” (Lawson and Garrod 2000)
Ethnicity is socially constructed Race is biological
There are inequalities of educational achievement of different ethnic groups existing in education
There are also important gender and class differences Intersectionality : Girls outperform boys M/c outperform W/c
There are also changes in how groups are achieving E.g. Increasingly white W/c boys are falling behind black and Asian peers
Sociologists are interested Why?

Question 2

Cultural deprivation : Lack of intellectual and linguistic skills

Answer 2

CD theorists see lack of intellectual and linguistic skills as cause of underachievement in BAME pupils:
Lack of stimulating and enriching experiences in BAME families (Intersection with social class)
Use of restricted code at home for BAME families (English as second language)

Question 3

Cultural deprivation : Lack of motivation

Answer 3

CD theorists see lack of motivation as cause of underachievement in BAME pupils :
Most white British children are socialised into the mainstream British culture of competitiveness and deferred gratification
In contrast BAME children are often socialised into and display fatalistic ‘live for today’ attitude This attitude does not value education - Only focus on the here and now not the future so education seems pointless

Question 4

Cultural deprivation : Dysfunctional family structures

Answer 4

CD theorists see dysfunctional family structures as cause of underachievement in BAME pupils :
Many black families are lone parent/single mother families These families often struggle financially as women are paid less (Intersectionality with social class) “59% of black Caribbean children live in lone-parent households, compared with 22% of white children” (Sewell 2010)
Neoliberal/new right say black Caribbean families have a lack of strong male role models as dads are not often around leading to underachievement especially in young black boys as they do not have good role model to look up to
This family structure leads to cycle of dysfunction as Black girls believe they have to be strong and independent single mothers like their mothers and Black boys believe they do not have to stick around for their family as their father did not The cycle continues

Question 5

Cultural deprivation : Black experience of slavery

Answer 5

Some CD theorists cite Black experience of slavery as culturally devastating Leading to low self-esteem amongst Black community :
Loss of traditional languages, religions, and family systems

Question 6

Cultural deprivation : Asian families

Answer 6

Asian families :
More positive attitude to education
Higher aspirations
Supportive parents
- This could be due to a different experience of colonialism Which was potentially less devastating Religions Languages Family systems still intact.
Children are socialised to have a respectful attitude to parents and elders This is helpful in hierarchy culture of school environment in education

However - stress and anxiety caused by high expectations Lead to bad mental health = underachievement? Controlling attitude towards girls May expect girls to finish education at 18 and not go to university Limiting choice

Question 7

Cultural deprivation : White W/c families

Answer 7

White W/c families :
BAME children often aspire to go to university more than white W/c children - BAME children see education as a way up in society Out of poverty Whereas white W/c children do not see university as something that is for them - It is something for the M/c, will I fit in, will I cope with workload, will I afford tuition and accommodation

White W/c street culture amongst children ( gangs, subcultures) is quire brutal and this often ‘spills over’ into schools E.g. school fights - This causes disruption and underachievement

“Research by the CSJ showed only 26 per cent of poor white British boys obtained five A* to C grades at GCSE including maths and English - compared to 40 per cent of black boys and 63 per cent of the country as a whole” (Independent 2013)

Question 8

Criticisms of cultural deprivation

Answer 8

Fails to recognise positive effects of ethnicity on achievement E.g. In black single mother families, the mother is Strong Independent role model for daughters (Black girls outperform black boys) (Intersectionality with gender)

Underestimation of teacher racism This may prevent Black student achievement rather than low self-esteem and ‘weak culture’

Is CD victim blaming? BAME students are not culturally deprived but actually they are culturally different and the British education system needs to provide for this - Ethnocentric (biased to white culture) curriculum and system is not suitable in a multicultural society

Question 9

Material deprivation

Answer 9

Material deprivation :
‘Lack of material necessities seen as normal for everyday life’
MD explanations see educational failure is result of substandard housing and poor income
There is material inequality between different ethnic groups - BAME families more likely to be material deprived E.g. Indian and white families generally have higher social class than Bangladeshi and Pakistani families This is reflected in educational achievement (Intersectionality ethnicity and social class)

There may be a danger that we overestimate the effect of cultural deprivation and underestimate the role of material deprivation But social class factors do not always override influence of ethnicity E.g. M/c black pupils do comparatively poorly compared to M/c pupils from other ethnic groups

Question 10

Racism in wider society

Answer 10

Poverty itself may be a by-product of racism :
Discrimination is a continuing persistent feature of the experience of Britain people of colour
Racial discrimination leads to social exclusion E.g. In housing, BAME people are often forced into substandard accommodation, In employment, companies are often more encouraging to white candidates over other candidates This helps to explain why minorities are more likely to face low pay and unemployment Affecting children’s educational achievement Links to material factor