P1 Education - External Factors and Achievement (Ethnicity) Flashcards
What are the external factors of achievement in education?
- Cultural deprivation
- Material deprivation
- Racism in wider society
What are the different examples of cultural deprivation?
Inadequate socialisation at home can lead to ethnic underachievement in school. For example:
1. Intellect and Linguistic
2. Attitudes and Values
3. Family structure and Parental Support
How does lack of intellect and linguistic skills of ethnic minority children have a major impact on education?
Many children from low income black families lack intellect, stimulation and enriching experiences - poorly equipped for school.
What does Bereiter and Engelmann say about language spoken by black families?
They say it’s inadequate for educational success (ungrammatical and disjointed). Also children who do not speak English at home can be held back educationally
What do Gilbourn and Mirza argue?
indian pupils do well despite English being their second language
How does attitude and values affect ethnic minority students chance of success?
Cultural deprivation theorists see lack of motivation as a major cause of failure of black children.
Black children are socialised into a subculture that instals a fatalistic “live for today” attitude that does not value education and leaves them unequipped for success.
What does Daniel Moynihan argue about family structure and parental support?
As many black families are headed by a lone mother, black children are deprived of adequate care because she struggles financially without a “male breadwinner”. The fathers absence also means boys lack a male role model. he sees a cycle of children failing and becoming inadequate parents themselves
What does Charles Murray argue?
A high rate of lone parenthood and lack of positive male role models leads to the underachievement of some minorities
What does Sewell say about fathers?
Tony Sewell argues that that it’s not the absence of the father role models that lead to black boys underachieving, the problem is the lack of fatherly nurtuing or “tough love”.
This results in black boys finding it hard to overcome the emotional and behavioural difficulties of adolescence
What does Sewell say about gangs?
The lack of fatherly, nurturing love results in street gangs of other fatherless boys offering black boys “perverse loyalty and love”. These present boys with a media inspired role model of anti school black masculinity
- Many black boys are therefore subject to powerful anti education peer pressure: Sewell found that those who he interviewed were mostly subject to peer pressure from other boys.
What does Sewell say about culture?
Sewell argues that black students do worse than their Asian counterparts because of cultural differences in socialisation and attitudes to education.
Sewell concluded that black children (mainly boys) need to have greater expectations placed on them to raise their aspirations
What is the family support system like in Asian families?
While many black families have absent fathers, Sewells view Indian and Chinese pupils benefit from supportive families that have an “Asian work ethic” and place a high value on education.
Ruth Lupton - argues that adult authority in Asian families is similar to the model that operates in schools. She found that respectful behaviour towards adults was expected from children + this has a knock on effect in school
What is the family support system like in white working class families?
White working class pupils often underachieve and have lower aspirations. This low level of aspiration and achievement may be the result of a lack of parental support
What are criticisms of cultural deprivation theory?
- Driver 1977 - ignores the positive effects of ethnicity on achievement. Black Caribbean families provide girls with positive role models - which encourages success.
- Lawrence 1982 - argues that black pupils fail due to racism, not low self esteem
- Keddie - sees cultural deprivation as victim blaming, she argues that they are culturally different not culturally deprived. Underachievement is due to ethnocentric schools. Needs multicultural and anti racist education.
What did Guy Palmer say about material deprivation and class?
- 50% of all ethnic minority children live in low income households, 25% white children
- Twice as likely to be unemployed
-Three times as likely to be homeless
These inequalities are reflected in the proportion of ethnic minority children who are eligible for FSM
