Topic 3- Ethnic Differences in Achievement

Question 1

how can ethnic differences in achievement be outlined?

Answer 1

Through the home, family and the impact of wider society

Question 2

what do cultural deprivation theorists argue?

Answer 2

That many children from low income black families lack intellectual stimulation. this leaves them poorly equipped for school as they have poor reasoning skills

Question 3

Berieter and Englemann

Answer 3

Language used in low income black homes are inadequate for educational success

Question 4

Gillborn and Mirza

Answer 4

Indian pupils achieve well even though English is not their first language

Question 5

attitudes and values

Answer 5

lack of motivation is the cause of underachievement for black students
-black children are socialised into a fatalistic attitude
this leaves them unequipped for educational success

Question 6

what is the mainstream culture

Answer 6

it instils ambition, competitiveness and willingness to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve long term goals

Question 7

what does Moynihan argue

Answer 7

many black families are headed by a lone mother , who trys to replace the male breadwinner , the children are deprived of adequate care

Question 8

moynihan sees…

Answer 8

cultural deprivation as a cycle where inadequately socialised children go to school and fail, then become inadequate parents themselves

Question 9

Murray

Answer 9

high rate of lone parenthood and lack of positive male role models leads to the underachievement of some minorities

Question 10

Pryce - Caribbeans

Answer 10

black Caribbean culture is less cohesive and less resistant to racism , therefore black Caribbean students underachieve

Question 11

Sewell, underachievement

Answer 11

there is a lack of fatherly nurturing or ‘topugh love’

- this results in black boys finding it difficult to overcome emotional and behavioural difficulties as they age

Question 12

what is selling out to the white establishment?

Answer 12

(for black boys)

- being academically successful , speaking in standard English

Question 13

Labelling

Answer 13

attach a meaning of definition to a person.

E.g.teachers might label a student as bright, thick, troublemaker or hardworking

Question 14

Dunne and Gazely

Answer 14

schools persistently produce working class underachievement , teachers normalised the underachievement of wc pupils and believed that they could overcome the underachievement of mc
e.g.: teachers put wc for easier exams and mc for extension work.

Question 15

Rays Rist

Answer 15

Study of an American kindergarten shows that teachers used information from a pupils home background to place them in separate groups
e.g.: tigers, clowns and cardinals

Question 16

outline the self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 16

Step 1 : Teacher labels a pupil
Step 2: Teacher treats the pupil accordingly
Step 3 : Pupil internalises the teachers expectation, this becomes apart of their self image

Question 17

Who did a study on the self fulfilling prophecy?

Ann Oakley or Rosenthal and Jacobson

Answer 17

Rosenthal and Jacobson

Question 18

What is streaming?

Answer 18

streaming involves putting children into different ability groups

Question 19

Who benefits from streaming, MC or WC?

why?

Answer 19

The middle class benefit from streaming as the schools habitus is middle class.
Becker shows us that teachers do not  usually see WC as ideal pupils , therefore, they have low expectations of them

Question 20

Streaming and the A-C economy

Answer 20

Gillborn and Youdell - show how teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to

Question 21

what are the patterns of ethnic achievement within groups?

Answer 21

Black and Pakistani students do worst, Chinese and Indian do best
- whie pupils are very close to the national average , because they form the majority of the school population

Question 22

what are rthe main external factors effecting ethnic differences in achievement

Answer 22

cultural deprivation, material deprivation and class and racism in wider society

Question 23

cultural deprivation theory

Answer 23

cultural deprivation theory claims the children from low income black families lack intellectual stimulation , as a result, they develop reasoning and problem solving skills
Swann report - language is not a major factor in under achievement. Indian children do well, while they do not speak English at home.

Question 24

Berieter and Englemann

black families

Answer 24

claim that the language of poor black American families is ungrammatical and disjointed

Question 25

Sewell- Asian work ethic

Answer 25

Chinese and Indian pupils benefit from supportive families with an ‘Asian work ethic’

Question 26

Sewell (black families)

Answer 26

the lack of fatherly nurturing leads to the underachievement of black boys
Street gangs offer loyalty and love

Question 27

white working class pupils

Answer 27

also underachieve- maybe because of low aspirations , being a result of white working class  culture 
* refer to Lupton and evans

Question 28

Lupton -poor levels of behaviour

Answer 28

teachers reported poor levels of behaviour in white pupils , which they linked to the lack of parental support and the negative views that white working class parents had towards education

Question 29

Evans -street culture

Answer 29

street culture in white working class areas can be brutal and brought into school

Question 30

compensatory education

Answer 30

• an educational policy that aims to reduce cultural deprivation - through access to extra resources

Question 31

give two examples of compensatory education

Answer 31

operation head start -in the USA that would compensate children for the cultural problems that they are seen to suffer because of their deprived backgrounds
sure start -in the UK aims to support the development of pre school children in deprived areas

Question 32

criticisms of cultural deprivation

Answer 32

Keddie- argues that cultural dep gives a victim blaming explanation , minority ethnic students are seen as culturally deprived , they underachieve because schools are ethnocentric.
Ball- minority ethnic groups are at a disadvantage because they don’t know how to navigate the education system , this results in cultural exclusion

Question 33

material deprivation and class

Answer 33

ethnic minorities are likely to face problems such as :

• half of ethnic minority children live in low income households
• ethnic minorities are twice as likely to be unemployed
• minorities face discrimination in housing and labour markets

Question 34

Racism in wider society ,ethnic minorities

Answer 34

ethnic minorities are likely to experience low pay or be unemployed, effecting their child’s opportunities
Wood- sent job applications , ethnic minorities received less offers in comparison to white

Question 35

what are the internal factors in ethnic underachievement

Answer 35

labelling
pupil subcultures
ethnocentricity and institutional racism

Question 36

internal factors in ethnic underachievement

Answer 36

labelling - teachers often see black and Asian pupils as far from the ' ideal' pupil which is seen to be white , middle class
Black pupils are often seen as disruptive and Asian passive

Question 37

Black pupils ( Gillborn and Mirza)

Answer 37

In one area, black children were the highest achievers in primary schools , when it came to GCSE,they were 21 points below average

Question 38

Gillborn and Youdell - teachers had racialised expectations , black pupils are expected more discipline problems and saw their behabviour as threatening

Answer 38

• this means they’re more likely to be punished for bad behaviour , resulting in higher levels of exclusion for black boys

Question 39

wright

Answer 39

Asian primary school students were stereotyped as passive and conformist
teachers thought that they had a poor grasp of English, they used simplistic language whilst speaking to them
-they saw them as a problem that they could ignore

Question 40

Collony ( Asian pupils)

Answer 40

Primary school teachers saw Asian pupils as passive and conformist , Asian boys were seen as more vulnerable and feminine

Question 41

Pupil subcultures

Sewell

Answer 41

black boys adopted a range of responses to teachers racist labelling of themselves, they labelled them as rebellious and anti school

Question 42

what are the main types of pupil subcultures?

Answer 42

conformists- keen to succeed, accepted the schools goals
innovators- pro education but anti school , they valued success but not the teachers approval
Retreatists-minority of individuals, disconnected from the school and the black subcultures out of it
rebels- rejected the schools stereotype of black macho lad pupil

Question 43

Show the significance of rejecting negative labels through fuller

Answer 43

• high achieving group of black girls that recognised the value of education and had determination to achieve , they worked hard but appeared as not doing so , they did not seek the approval of teachers
  A03- ( evaluation) Mac and Ghalil finds labelling as deterministic , it does not result in a self fulfilling prophecy
  Mirza’s study shows us that this sometimes restricted their opportunities , they did not accept the labels but were put at a disadvantage

Question 44

Outline the types of pupil identities
(archer) 
The ideal pupil identity 
The pathologised pupil identity 
the demonised pupil identity

Answer 44

The ideal pupil identity- white middle class , masculinized identity, this pupil was achieving through natural ability and initiative 
The pathologised pupil identity - an Asian identity, oppressed sexuality, an overachiever through hard work rather than natural ability 
The demonised pupil identity-black or white, working class identity , this pupil is seen as unintelligent , peer led, culturally deprived and an underachiever.

Question 45

Institutional racism

Answer 45

Racism within schools and colleges , discrimination between ethnic minorities
REMEMBER TO TALK ABOUT INDIVIDUAL RACISM

Question 46

critical race theory

Gillborn

Answer 46

institutional racism is a locked in feature , the educational system is institutionally racist in many ways

Question 47

Individual racism

Answer 47

outpouring prejudiced views onto individuals

Question 48

Ethnocentric curriculum

Williams

Answer 48

refers to an attitude that favours the dominant culture whilst downgrading others
williams - Shows us that it gives priority to the white culture and the English language

Question 49

Give an example of institutional racism

Answer 49

Access to opportunities- whites are over twice as likely than blacks to be identified as gifted and talented
the gifted and talented programme aims to meet the needs of more pupils in inner city schools

Question 50

Model minorities ( Gillborn)

Answer 50

the model minorities are seen to be indian and Chinese, it shows us that the education system is institutionally racist

• it makes the system seem meritocratic, Indian and Chinese students succeed because they make the effort and take the advantage
• ignores that the model minorities still suffer from institutional racism

Question 51

how does the ethnocentric curriculum produce underachievement?

Answer 51

coard- the image of black children as inferior undermines black childrens self esteem and leads to their faliure.

Question 52

Acess to opportunities

Answer 52

the gifted and talented programme

exam tiers

Question 53

gifted and talented programme

Answer 53

created to meet the needs of more able students
this hopes to benefit bright pupils from minority backgrounds
gillborn- whites are over twice as likely to be entered as gifted and talented

Question 54

exam tiers

Answer 54

blacks were more likely to be entered for lower tier exams , this meant they could only gain a c in gcse.

Question 55

new iq ism

Answer 55

teachers have’ racialised expectations’, black students would have more behavioural problems
new iqism- teachers and policy makers make false assumptions about the nature of pupils ability or potential.