Social inequalities Flashcards
Low aspirations/ little support
Ethnic minorities are more likely to come from backgrounds where their parents did not attend university. Such students often have a lack of role models and can have low aspirations.
Ethnic minorities also often lack academic support at home. This is again due to their parents own education and in some cases due to language barriers.
Ethnic minorities often lack support not only with school work but also on how to apply for university etc.
For example, due to a lack of support at home, by the end of the 4th grade, African-American, Hispanic and low-income students are already 2 years behind their grade level. By the time they reach the 12th grade they are 4 years behind.
Lack of qualified teachers
Teachers in the USA are paid based on their qualifications and years of experience. This means that the best qualified and most experienced teachers are paid more.
Since better qualified teachers are paid more, schools with less funding struggle to staff their schools and often end up with either inexperienced teachers or not enough teachers.
For example, 27% of core academic classes (i.e. maths/English) in high poverty secondary schools are taught by teachers with no certification in the subject. This is compared to only 14% in low poverty secondary schools.
