T2 | Ethnicity and achievement (internal) Flashcards
What is ethnicity?
Ethnicity is where a group of people share the same cultural values, beliefs, language and/or religion who define themselves as a distinct group.
What are the 5 internal factors contributing to differences in achievement in ethnicity?
- Institutional racism
- Ethnocentric curriculum
- Labelling and teacher racism
- Segregation
- Subcultures
What is institutional racism?
Institutional racism is discrimination that is built into the way institutions operate.
If schools were institutionally racist, it would mean that the school system as a whole is racist, or that schools are organised in such way that children from ethnic minority backgrounds are systematically disadvantaged in education compared to those from a White British culture.
What may institutional racism look like?
— The curriculum may be ethnocentric; the way subjects are taught or the way school year and holidays are organised may cause children from ethnic minorities to not feel included.
— May be observed through exclusion policies which might show if rules and exclusions are biased against the cultural practices of students from particular ethnic backgrounds (eg. when a student is getting told off it may be seen as rude if they don’t look at the teacher, when in some cultures it’s seen as respectful).
— Teacher stereotypes and labelling; when teachers have different expectations of different ethnic groups and/or treat pupils differently based on their ethnicity.
— Could be seen through setting and streaming when students from ethnic minorities are over presented in lower sets.
What is the ethnocentric curriculum?
Many schools have strong equal opportunities policies to tackle racism and include multi-cultural education to try to include minority ethnic group cultures within the school curriculum. This multiculturalism was described by Troyna and Williams (1986) as a means of making the education experience of ethnic minorities more palatable.
How may the ethnocentric curriculum present itself in education?
> Subjects:
— Many aspects of scholarship life and curriculum continue to show signs of ethnocentrism.
— Subjects and content taught may not include perspectives or experiences/achievements of role models from ethnic backgrounds (eg. RE focuses on large religions only especially christianity, food tech focuses on western culture dishes rather than dishes from a variety of cultures)
> Hidden Curriculum:
— All subjects break up at the same time including for catholic holidays, regardless if the school is religious or not.
— Some religions have cultural clothing which uniform disregards and does not acknowledge.
— Morals and values are taught that are believed in white western cultures specifically White British (eg. what it means to be a virtuous member of a western society).
EVALUATION : ETHNOCENTRIC CURRICULUM + INSTITUTIONAL RACISM
> Troyna and Williams (1986)
+ Believe that the national curriculum is based on White British Culture
+ This may affect ethnic students’ achievement as some may feel disconnected and unrepresented
> David (1993)
+ The national curriculum is specifically British.
+ It has a focus on teaching and learning British culture which ignores European arts and culture
> Matcher (1996)
+ Race issues are not a priority in the education system
+ This is because it is not an issue to the ethnic minority
+ This was reflective of the racial tension in the 1980s and 1990s towards ethnic minorities
+ Overall, it would appear that students of an ethnic background would be at a disadvantage in education regardless.
What is labelling and teacher racism?
Labelling is the process of teachers having a preconceived stereotype on a particular student based on their socio-economic status and/or ethnicity. Which then leads to them labelling them as either ‘bright’ or ‘deviant’ and holding particular expectations of them based on what label they have attached to them. Consequently, this may lead to the student performing in ways that reflects this label, this is known as the Self Fulfilling Prophecy or a halo effect.
When teachers hold racist beliefs or stereotypes on a particular ethnic background they may form attach labels to them which possibly don’t reflect the students true ability, behaviour or academic potential and this could be problematic in many ways.
What do Gillborn and Youdell (2000) say about labelling and teacher racism?
> Gillborn and Youdell (2000)
— They claim that teachers had racialised expectations
— They expected black students to have behaviour problems, so they viewed their behaviour as threatening, meaning they were more controlling of these students.
— 85% of all exclusions were Black Caribbean boys
— Typically, black students felt picked on
COUNTER ARGUMENT:
+ Teachers attend many training schemes and programs which focus on the inclusion of students; promoting equality and diversity.
EVALUATION : LABELLING AND TEACHER RACISM
> Wright
+ Studied primary schools and found that Asian pupils can also be the victims of teacher labelling
+ Despite equal opportunities, teachers held ethnocentric views. They took standardised english for granted and saw them as superior
+ This affected how they related to Asian pupils (eg. teachers assumed they would have a poor grasp of english and excluded them from class discussions).
+ Teachers have ignored Indian and Chinese pupils. However, they still achieved above average, often making greater progress, constantly obtaining higher levels of attainment at GCSE and A-Level so it does not appear to have affected them.
What are subcultures?
Subcultures are sub-groups formed within a large group. Members of these subcultures share the similar values and beliefs and tend to be overlooked or targeted by the education system.
What research did Fuller (1984) carry out on subcultures within education?
> Fuller (1984) : Study on London Comprehensive on year 11 Black girls
— The girls did not fit the stereotype at the time due to high educational achievement and aspirations
— Because of racism, in and out of school, black girls channeled their frustration into their school work
— They rejected teacher expectations and approval and only conformed to school work, however, they appeared not to be interested.
What research did Mirza (1992) carry out on subcultures within education?
> Mirza (1992) : Study on Black girls
— Found that the girls were subjected to teacher racism
— Found that it was applicable to both genders
— Due to this racism, Mirza found that the oppression was because of blocking career paths
According to Mirza there were 3 categories that teachers were placed in and this determined their approach to ethnic minorities:
1. THE COLOUR BLIND - teachers who did not discriminate / didn’t see much of a difference between students of varying backgrounds.
2. THE OVER-RACISTS - teachers who believed black people are inferior and actively oppressed them
3. THE LIBERAL CHAUVINISTS - teachers who believed black students are culturally deprived and therefore lowered the expectations for them.
What research did Sewell (1998) carry out on subcultures within education?
> Sewell (1998) : Black British identity and achievement
— Sewell found that there were 4 types of responses:
- REBELS - A minority group but the most visible and influential, they conformed to the black macho lad and represented black masculinity which equated to a greater sexual experience. They did not approve of white boys and conformists.
- THE CONFORMISTS - The largest group, succeeded in school goals, overall a “good” social group. Individuals in this group did other want to line up with the negative stereotype.
- THE RETRIEATISTS - A tiny minority, disconnected with education, no affiliation to a subculture however, these individuals were not approved of by the rebels.
- THE INNOVATORS - Second largest group. Pro-education but anti-school, valued education and success but did not depend on teacher expectations, they focused on not being a stereotype.
What is segregation?
The act of setting someone apart from others.
