Ethnicity - External Factors

Question 1

What is an ethnic group?

Who defines this?

Answer 1

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 & Garrod (2000)

Question 2

What are sociologists interested in when looking at ethnicity?

Answer 2

Interested in the reasons for these differences, and break down the differences into external and internal factors

Question 3

What are the 3 external factors influencing ethnicity?

Answer 3

• cultural deprivation
• material deprivation
• racism in wider society

Question 4

What are 4 causes of underachievement in minority groups that cultural deprivation theorists identify?

Answer 4

• lack of intellectual and linguistic skills
• lack of motivation
• dysfunctional family structure
• blacks experience of slavery

Question 5

Why do cultural deprivation theorists believe a lack of linguistic and intellectual skills are a factor of underachievement?

Answer 5

• lack of stimulating and enriching experiences in BAME families
• use of restricted code at home by BAME families

Question 6

Why do cultural deprivation theorists believe a lack of motivation is a factor of underachievement?

Answer 6

• most children are socialised into the mainstream culture which promotes competitiveness and deferred gratification
• by contrast, BAME children often display a fatalistic ‘live for today’ attitude that does not value education

Question 7

Why do cultural deprivation theorists believe a dysfunctional family structure is a factor of underachievement?

Answer 7

• many black families are lone parents/single mother families which struggle financially
• lack of strong male role models (neoliberal/new right)
• “59% of black Caribbean children live in lone parents households, compared with 22% of white children”
• cycle of dysfunction

Question 8

Why do cultural deprivation theorists believe that the blacks experience of slavery are a factor of underachievement?

Answer 8

Some cultural deprivation theorists cite that blacks experience of slavery as being culturally devastating, leading to low self esteem amongst the black community- loss of language, religion, and family system

Question 9

Explain how Asian families live & how they view education

Answer 9

• more positive attitude to education
• higher aspirations and supportive parents
• different experience of colonialism: perhaps not as devastating? (Religion, language, family system intact)
• respectful attitudes to parents expected of children, helps in the school environment
• however- stress and anxiety caused by high expectations: controlling attitude towards girls

Question 10

Explain how white working class culture sees education compared to other minority groups
Explain research done showing statistics about GCSE results

Answer 10

• BAME children often aspire to attend university where as white w/c children not so much
• BAME children often see education as a ‘way up’ in society and out of poverty
• white w/c street culture amongst children is often quite brutal, which often ‘spills over’ in the schools - causing disruption
• research by the CSJ showed that 26% of poor white British boys obtained 5 A*-C GCSEs including maths and English -compared to 40% of black boys and 63% of the country as a whole - independent- 2013

Question 11

When criticising cultural deprivation when looking at ethnicity, how does the theory fail to recognise positive effects of ethnicity on achievement?

Answer 11

-in black single mother families, the mum is often a strong, independent role model for their daughters (black girls outperform black boys)

Question 12

How can cultural deprivation be criticised using 2 internal factors?

Answer 12

• The ethnocentric curriculum is biased and favours white culture, which also leads to underachievement
• underestimation of teacher racism, which may prevent black student achievement rather than low self esteem and ‘weak culture’

Question 13

What can cultural deprivation theory be criticised by doing?

Answer 13

Victim blaming..

-not culturally deprived, simply culturally different

Question 14

Define material deprivation

Answer 14

Lack of material necessities seen as normal for everyday life

Question 15

MD theorists see educational failure as a result of what?

Answer 15

-result of substandard housing and poor income
•material inequality between ethic groups
•for example: Indians and whites generally have a higher social class position than Bangladeshis and Pakistanis - this is reflected in educational success
-there may therefore be a danger, we over estimate the effect of CD and under estimate the role of MD

Question 16

Give an example that proves that ‘social class factors do not always override the influence of ethnicity’

Answer 16

-m/c black pupils so comparatively poorly compared to m/c pupils from other ethnic groups

Question 17

What does racial discrimination lead to?

Answer 17

Leads to social exclusion (in housing for example, minorities are often forced into substandard housing)

Question 18

How does racism affect employment?

What does this help explain?

Answer 18

Companies are more likely to employ white candidates over others
-this helps explain why minorities are more likely to face low pay and unemployment, affecting their children’s educational achievement

Question 19

Is poverty a by-product of racism?

Answer 19

Yes