Ethnicity - Internal Factors - The Ethnocentric Curriculum Flashcards
What does the term ‘ethnocentric’ mean?
The term ‘ethnocentric’ describes an attitude or policy that gives priority to one particular ethnic group’s culture and viewpoint, while disregarding others.
The curriculum refelcts culture of one dominant ethnic group.
What is the ethnocentric curriculum and example of?
The ethnocentric curriclum is an example of institutional racism as it builds a racial bias into the everyday workings of schools and colleges.
What are examples in the curriculum that present that schools are ethnocentric?
Examples in the curriculum are:
- languages, literature and music
- history
What does Troyna and Williams say about languages in the ethnocentric curriculum?
Troyna and Williams note the little opportunites there is in the teaching of Asian lanaguages as compared with European languages in the national curriculum.
What does David say about languages, literature and music in the ethnocentric curriculum?
David (1993) describes the national curriculum as a ‘specifically British’ curriculum that largely ignores non-European languages, literature and music.
How does Ball critise the national curriculum on the teachings of history in the ethnocentric curriculum?
Ball (1994) critises the national curriculum for ignoring ethnic diversity and for promoting an attitude of ‘little Englandism’.
He argues that the history curriculum tries to recreate a ‘mythical age of empire and past glories’, while ignoring the history and black and Asian people.
What is ‘little Englandism’?
Little Englandism refers to how the ethnocentric curriculum focuses on British history and culture, thereby reinforcing it.
Little Englandism therefore leads to feelings of rejection by ethnic minority groups who do not feeel represented in the education system.
How does Coard link underachivement with the ethnocentric curriculum and history in the national curriculum?
Coard (1971;2005) explains how the ethnocentric curriculum may produce underachievement.
For example, in history the British may be presented as bringing civilisation to the people they colonised.
He argues that the image of black people as inferior undermines black children’s self-esteem and leads to their failure.
What is the evaluation (AO3) for the ethnocentric curriculum?
It is not clear what impact the ethnocentric curriculum has.
For example, while it may ignore Asian culture, Indiand and Chinese pupils’ achievement is above national average.
How does Stone evaluate the ethnocentric curriculum?
Stone (1981) argues that black children do not suffer from low self-esteem.
