Theorists - Ethnicity and Educational Achievement Flashcards
Key Theorists - Bereiter and Englemann: Cultural Deprivation
WHAT DID THEY FIND?
- The language spoken by Black American families was inadequate - it was ungrammatical and disjointed.
Key Theorist - Bowker (1968): Cultural Deprivation and Ethnic Educational Achievement
WHAT DID THEY ARGUE?
- A lack of standard English is a barrier to educational success and integration into society.
Key Theorist - Bowker (1968): Cultural Deprivation and Ethnic Educational Achievement
HOW CAN THE THEORY BE EVALUATED?
- Gillborn and Mirza (2000) believe that language is not a major factor in underachievement as Indian pupils still achieve highly.
Key Theorist - Pryce (1979): Family Structure and Parental Support
WHAT DID THEY ARGUE?
- Asian and black students have cultural differences.
- Asian students are more resilient to racism and have higher levels of self-esteem.
- Black culture was destroyed by colonialism - causing a loss of language, culture and religion.
- Asian culture was not destroyed by colonialism.
Key Theorist - Pryce (1979): Family Structure and Parental Support
HOW CAN THE THEORY BE EVALUATED?
- Lawrence (1982) challenges Pryce’s views that black students underachieve due to lower self esteem.
Key Theorist - Flew (1984): Family Structure and Parental Support
WHAT DID THEY ARGUE?
- Ethnic differences stem from differences in culture outside the education system, rather than discrimination within it.
Key Theorist - Scruton (1986): Family Structure and Parental Support
WHAT DID THEY ARGUE?
- The educational underachievement of black students is part of their failure to adopt British culture.
Key Theorists - Driver and Ballard (1981): Educational Achievement of Asian Students
WHAT DID THEY ARGUE?
- Parents have positive attitudes towards education and have high aspirations for their children.
- Asian parents are more supportive of their children, in working to achieve good grades and do well at school.
Key Theorist - Lupton (2004): Asian Family Attitudes
WHAT DID THEY ARGUE?
- There are similarities between the ways in which Asian families operate and the way in which school operates. This results in Asian parents being more supportive of school behaviour systems.
Key Theorist - Lupton (2004): Asian Family Attitudes
WHAT DID THEY STUDY?
- 2 white, 1 Pakistani and 1 mixed school.
Key Theorist - Lupton (2004): Asian Family Attitudes
WHAT DID THEY FIND FROM THEIR STUDY?
- Teachers reported poor behaviour in white schools despite the fact that fewer students were on free-school meals.
- Teachers blamed this on a lack of parental support and negative attitudes towards education.
- Ethnic minority parents were more likely to have a positive view of education.
Key Theorist - Lupton (2004): Asian Family Attitudes
HOW CAN THE THEORY BE EVALUATED?
- Khan (1979) believes that Asian cultures promote negativity, are bound by religion and control children (especially girls, who are stress ridden).
Key Theorists - Mori (2004): White Working Class Families
WHAT DID THEY FIND FROM THEIR STUDY?
- 80% of 11-16 year olds (part of ethnic minority groups), aspired to go to university.
- Only 68% of white pupils aspired to go to university. This may be due to a lack of parental support.
Key Theorists - Mori (2004): White Working Class Families
HOW CAN THE THEORY BE EVALUATED?
1) Driver (1977) believes that all theorists ignore the positive effects that ethnic cultures play. They believe that Black Caribbean families provide girls with positive role models and that this explains why black girls do well in education.
2) Keddie believes that cultural deprivation theories are victim blaming, and that ethnic minorities underachieve because the curriculum is ethnocentric, not because of their culture.
Key Theorist - Flaherty (2004): Material Deprivation
WHAT DID THEY ARGUE?
- Unemployment is three times more likely for African, Bangladeshi and Pakistani people than for white people.
