external factors influencing ethnic differences in achievement Flashcards
1
Q
what are the main explanations for external ethnic differences in achievement?
A
- cultural deprivation
- material deprivation and class
- racism in wider society
2
Q
1 cultural deprivation
A
- cultural deprivation theory explain ethnic underachievement as caused by inadequate socialisation in the home
- three main aspects:
- intellectual and linguistic skills
- attitudes and values
- family structure and parental support
3
Q
how do cultural deprivation theorists view intellectual and linguistic skills?
A
- lack of skills seen as major cause of underachievement
- many low-income black children lack intellectual stimulation
- few enriching experiences at home
- leaves them poorly equipped for school
- because of underdeveloped reasoning and problem-solving skills
4
Q
what do bereiter and engelmann say about language in low-income black families? (intellectual and linguistic skills)
A
- their language is seen as inadequate for educational success
- described as ungrammatical, disjointed, and unable to express abstract ideas
5
Q
does not speaking english at home hold children back educationally? (intellectual and linguistic skills)
A
- not a major factor according to official stats
- in 2010, pupils with english as first language 55.2%, without 52.0%
- only 3.2 point gap in gaining five GCSE A*-C grades including english and maths
- gillborn and mirza note indian pupils do very well even if english is not their first language
6
Q
what do cultural deprivation theorists say about attitudes and values?
A
- see lack of motivation is a major cause of failure in many black children
- most children socialised into mainstream culture with ambition, competitiveness, and long-term goals
- this equips them for success in education
- however, black children also socialised into a subculture with a fatalistic, ‘live for today’ attitude
- this attitude doesn’t value education and leaves them unequipped for success
7
Q
what do cultural deprivation theorists say about family structure and educational failure?
A
- failure to socialise children adequately is due to a dysfunctional family structure
-
moynihan argues many black families are headed by a lone mother
- their children are deprived of adequate care due to financial struggle without a male breadwinner
- father’s absence means boys lack a role model for male achievement
- moynihan sees cultural deprivation from unstable families leads to failure at school and becoming inadequate parents themselves
8
Q
why do new right thinkers say some minorities underachieve? (family structure and parental support)
A
- murray (1984): high rate of lone parenthood, lack of positive male role models
- scruton (1986): underachievement due to failure to embrace mainstream british culture
9
Q
why does pryce (1979) think black caribbean pupils underachieve? (family structure and parental support)
A
- he compares black and Asian pupils, and claims asian pupils achieve more because their culture is more resistant to racism
- asian culture gives a greater sense of self-worth
- black caribbean culture is less cohesive
- less resistant to racism
- many black pupils develop low self-esteem
- low self-esteem leads to underachievement
10
Q
why does pryce say black and asian families are different?
A
- differing impact of colonialism on both groups
- slavery was culturally devastating for blacks
- blacks lost language religion and family system
- transported and sold into slavery
- asians kept family structures languages and religions
- colonial rule did not destroy asian culture
11
Q
what does sewell say causes black boys to underachieve?
A
- unlike Murray, Sewell says it’s not absence of fathers as role models
- it’s the lack of fatherly nurturing or ‘tough love’
- tough love means firm, fair, respectful, non-abusive discipline
- without it boys struggle with emotional and behavioural issues in adolescence
12
Q
how do street gangs influence black boys without fathers? (Sewell fathers gangs and culture)
A
- they offer ’perverse loyalty and love’
- promote anti-school black masculinity
- arnot: describes media-inspired role model as ‘ultra-tough ghetto superstar’
- reinforced by rap lyrics and mtv videos
13
Q
due to the street gangs and lack of tough love, what peer pressure do black boys face in education?
A
- anti-educational peer pressure
- Sewell interview: academically successful black boys feel pressure from other boys
- speaking standard english viewed with suspicion
- doing well in school seen as ’selling out’ to the white establishment
14
Q
why do black students do worse than asian students, according to sewell?
A
- argues there’s cultural differences in socialisation
- one group nurtured by mtv, the other focused on education
- black boys need greater expectations to raise aspirations
15
Q
weakness: Gillborn
A
- critical race theorists disagree
- believe it’s not peer pressure but institutional racism within the education system
- systematically produces failure of black boys
16
Q
what is sewell’s charity and what does it provide?
A
- generating genius
- offers a ’nurturing programme’ for students from disadvantaged communities
17
Q
why do Indian and Chinese pupils perform better than black pupils, according to sewell?
A
- benefit from supportive families
- ‘asian work ethic’
- place high value on education
18
Q
similar to Sewell, why do Asian pupils perform better, according to Lupton?
A
- argues adult authority in Asian families similar to school model
- found respectful behaviour expected towards adults
- has knock-on effect in school because parents more likely to be supportive of school behaviour policies
19
Q
why do white working-class pupils underachieve, according to research?
A
- white working-class pupils also underachieve
- lower aspirations among white working-class pupils
- survey of 16000 by mcculloch: found ethnic minority pupils more likely to aspire to university than white British pupils
20
Q
what causes low aspiration and achievement, according to Lupton?
A
- lack of parental support
- studied four mainly working-class schools
- two predominantly white, one Pakistani community, one ethnically mixed community
21
Q
what did Lupton find about white working-class schools through her study?
A
- found teachers reported poorer behaviour and discipline in white working-class schools
- despite fact that fewer pupils on free school meals
- teachers blamed this on lower parental support and negative attitudes towards education
- by contrast, ethnic minority parents more likely to see education as “a way up in society”
22
Q
what does Evans argue about street culture in white working-class areas?
A
- similar to lupton
- argues street culture can be brutal
- young people must learn to withstand and intimidate others
- school becomes a place for power games, from the streets
- leads to disruption and makes it hard for pupils to succeed
23
Q
what policy tackles cultural deprivation?
A
- compensatory education
- eg operation head start in the USA aimed to compensate children
- compensates for cultural deficit due to deprived backgrounds
24
Q
weakness of cultural deprivation theory: driver
A
- criticises for ignoring positive effects of ethnicity on achievement
- shows that the black Caribbean family, far from being dysfunctional, provides girls with positive role models of **strong independent women
- argues this is why black girls tend to be more successful in edu than black boys
25
weakness of cultural deprivation theory: Lawrence
- challenges **pryce’s** view that black pupils fall because culture is weak and they lack self esteem
- argues that black pupils **under achieve** because of **racism**
26
criticism of cultural deprivation theory: keddie
- sees theory as **victim blaming explanation**
- argues ethnic minors children are **culturally different** not deprived
- they under achieve because schools are **ethnocentric**
- ethnocentric: biased of **white culture** and against minority
27
criticism of cultural deprivation theory: compensatory education
- critics oppose compensatory education
- see it as an attempt to **impose dominant white culture** on children who already have culture of their own
- they propose two alternatives:
1) **multicultural education**: policy which recognises and values **minority cultures** and includes them in curriculum
2) **anti-racist education**: policy that **challenges the prejudice and discrimination** existing in schools and wider society
28
criticism of cultural deprivation theory: material deprivation
- some sociologists argue **material deprivation** is **main cause** of under achievement
29
what does material deprivation mean?
- **lack of physical necessities** essential for life
- **wc people** more likely to face **poverty** and **material deprivation**
30
what causes educational failure, according to material deprivation explanations?
- **substandard housing**
- **low income**
- **ethnic minorities** more likely to face these **problems**
31
what does palmer say about ethnic minorities and material deprivation?
- almost **half of ethnic minority children*( live in **low income households** (vs a quarter of white children)
- **ethnic minorities** nearly **twice as likely to be unemployed** as whites
- around **three times more likely to be homeless**
- almost half of **Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers** earn under **£7 per hour** (vs a quarter of white British workers)
32
what else does palmer say about ethnic minority workers?
- more likely to be in **shift work**
- **Bangladeshi and Pakistani women** more likely in **low paid home working**
33
why are some ethnic minorities at greater risk of material deprivation?
- live in **economically depressed areas** with **high unemployment** and **low wages**
- **cultural factors** like **purdah** may prevent Muslim women from working outside home
- **lack of language skills** or **unrecognised foreign qualifications** (esp. recent arrivals or refugees)
- **asylum seekers** may not be allowed to **work**
- **racial discrimination** in **labour and housing markets**
34
how does material deprivation explain differences in achievement between ethnic groups with such inequalities?
- shown in **free school meals** eligibility rates
- **pakistani pupils** do worse due to **class differences** than Indian and white pupils
- **indian pupils** generally achieve more, from **better-off backgrounds**
- eg: indians most likely to attend **private schools**
- attend at **twice the rate** of whites, **five times that of blacks**
35
why is it important to consider class when comparing ethnic achievement?
- ignoring **class differences** can **over-estimate cultural deprivation**
- may **under-estimate impact of poverty and material deprivation**
36
does material deprivation fully explain ethnic differences in achievement?
- **indian and chinese pupils** still do well despite **material deprivation**
- eg: in 2011, **86% of chinese girls on free school meals** got 5+ higher grade GCSEs vs **65% of white girls not on free meals**
- suggests **ethnicity still matters** despite material deprivation and social class factors
- **modood**: low income affects **white pupils more** than other ethnic groups
37
what do some sociologists say causes poverty among ethnic minorities?
- **poverty is a result of racism**
- **racism** affects **educational achievement**
- **mason**: discrimination is a **continuing and persistent feature** for **ethnic minorities in Britain**
38
how does rex link racism to poverty?
- Rex shows how **racial discrimination** leads to **social exclusion**
- worsens **poverty** for **ethnic minorities**
- in **housing**, discrimination forces minorities into **substandard accommodation**
- happens even when compared to **white people of same class**
39
what did wood et al find about discrimination in employment?
- there’s evidence of **direct and deliberate discrimination**
- sent three **matched applications** to almost 1000 job vacancies
- **white-sounding names vs ethnic minority names**
- **1 in 16 ethnic minority** applicants offered interview
- compared to **1 in 9 white applicants**
- explains **why** members of ethnic minorities face **unemployment and low pay**
- has a **negative effect** on children's **educational prospects**
40
contemporary
- chinese students in uk universities face **ethnic clustering and language barriers**, which affect social integration and academic success (higher education policy institute, december 2024)
- over half of **ethnic minority graduates** report feeling **disadvantaged in job applications** due to their ethnicity, especially black and asian graduates (itv news, may 2024)
- **uk employers** are less likely to **recruit disadvantaged ethnic minority graduates** from low socio-economic backgrounds compared to more advantaged white applicants (ucl, march 2025)
- teachers report a rise in **misogynistic and racist behaviour** in schools, linked to online influencers, affecting classroom dynamics and student wellbeing (the guardian, april 2025)
more pupils in scotland are leaving school early, driven by economic pressures and reduced school engagement after pandemic disruptions, impacting achievement (the times, april 2025)
