Ethnicity in Education

Question 1

What is Labelling? (Gillborn and Youdell)

Answer 1

Teachers discipline black pupils more than others for the same behaviour. Teachers have “racialised
expectations”. When teachers acted on this misperception, the pupils responded negatively and further
conflict resulted.

Question 2

What is the A-to-C economy? (Gillborn and Youdell)

Answer 2

Teachers focus on those students who they believe are most likely to achieve a grade C at GCSE – a process
they call ‘educational triage’. As a result, negative stereotypes about black pupils’ ability that some teachers
hold means that they are more likely to be placed in lower sets and streams.

Question 3

What is the education triage?

Answer 3

When students are split into 3 groups depending on their success. The first group is students who will achieve a C regardless, the second group is students who require effort to achieve a C, and the third is ‘lost causes’, students who wont achieve Cs.

Question 4

What are pupil identities? (Archer)

Answer 4

Teachers discourse (way of seeing something) defines ethnic minority pupils’ identities as lacking
the identity of the ideal pupil

Question 5

What is the Ideal Pupil identity? (Archer)

Answer 5

a white middle-class, masculinised identity, with
a normal sexuality. This pupil is seen as achieving in the ‘right’ way,
through natural ability and initiative.

Question 6

What is the pathologised pupil identity? (Archer)

Answer 6

An Asian, ‘deserving poor’, feminised
identity, either asexual or with an oppressed sexuality. The pupil is seen
as a plodding, conformist and culture-bound ‘over-achiever’, a slogger who
succeeds through hard work rather than natural ability.

Question 7

What is the demonised pupil identity? (Archer)

Answer 7

A black or white, working-class,
hypersexualised identity. This pupil is seen as an unintelligent, peer-led,
culturally deprived underachiever.

Question 8

What did Archer argue for with Pupil identiies?

Answer 8

Archer argued that ethnic minority pupils are more likely to be viewed as demonised or pathologised pupils.

Question 9

What did Fuller find on rejecting negative labels?

Answer 9

Studied a group of black girls in Y11 of a London comprehensive school. They were high achievers and therefore “untypical”. They did not seek approval of their teachers as they regarded them as racist, and they were friends with black girls from lower streams. They conformed only as far as the schoolwork was concerned and relied only on themselves for success.

Question 9

What did Fuller find on rejecting negative labels?

Answer 9

Studied a group of black girls in Y11 of a London comprehensive school. They were high achievers and therefore “untypical”. They did not seek approval of their teachers as they regarded them as racist, and they were friends with black girls from lower streams. They conformed only as far as the schoolwork was concerned and relied only on themselves for success.

Question 10

What did Mirza find on teachers avoiding racism?

Answer 10

Mirza studied ambitious black girls who faced teacher racism and found racist teachers discouraged black pupils from being ambitious
through advice they would give them

Question 11

What are the 3 main types of teachers avoidance of Racism? (Mirza)

Answer 11

The colour blind: teachers who believe all pupils are equal but in practice allow racism to go unchallenged.

The liberal chauvinists: teachers who believe black pupils are culturally deprived and who have low expectations of them.

The overt racists: teachers who believe blacks are inferior and actively discriminate against them.

Question 12

What are the ‘colour blind’ teachers? (Mirza)

Answer 12

teachers who believe all pupils are equal but in practice allow racism to go unchallenged.

Question 13

What are the ‘Liberal chauvinists’? (Mirza)

Answer 13

teachers who believe black pupils are culturally deprived and who have low expectations of them.

Question 14

What are the ‘Overt racists’? (Mirza)

Answer 14

teachers who believe blacks are inferior and actively discriminate against them.

Question 15

What are the main 4 categories of pupil responses? (Sewell)

Answer 15

The rebels

The conformists

The retreatists

The innovators

Question 16

What are ‘The Rebels’? (Sewell)

Answer 16

The rebels were the most visible and influential group
but were only a small minority of black pupils. They
were often excluded from school.
They rejected both the goals and the rules of the school
and expressed their opposition through peer group
membership, conforming to the stereotype of the
anti-authority, anti-school, ‘black macho lad’.

Question 17

What are ‘The Comformists’? (Sewell)

Answer 17

The conformists were the largest group. These boys were keen to succeed, accepted the school’s and had friends from different ethnic groups. They were not part of a subculture and were anxious to avoid being stereotyped either by teachers or their peers

Question 18

What are ‘The Retreatists’?
(Sewell)

Answer 18

The retreatists were a tiny minority of isolated individuals who were both disconnected from school and black subcultures, and were despised by the rebels.

Question 19

What are ‘The Innovators’?
(Sewell)

Answer 19

The innovators were the second largest group. They were pro-education but anti-school. They valued success but did not seek the approval of teachers and conformed only as far as schoolwork itself was concerned. This distanced them from the conformists and allowed them to maintain credibility with the rebels
while remaining positive about academic achievement.

Question 20

What did Sewell argue?

Answer 20

However, while Sewell recognises that teachers’ racist stereotyping of black boys disadvantages them and can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, he argues that factors external to school, such as the role of peer groups, street culture and the lack of a nurturing father, are more important in producing underachievement.

Question 21

What did Troyna and Williams argue?

Answer 21

Troyna and Williams - we need to go beyond just teacher racism and look at the education system as an
institution