Topic 3- Ethnic Differences in Achievement Flashcards
how can ethnic differences in achievement be outlined?
Through the home, family and the impact of wider society
what do cultural deprivation theorists argue?
That many children from low income black families lack intellectual stimulation. this leaves them poorly equipped for school as they have poor reasoning skills
Berieter and Englemann
Language used in low income black homes are inadequate for educational success
Gillborn and Mirza
Indian pupils achieve well even though English is not their first language
attitudes and values
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
what is the mainstream culture
it instils ambition, competitiveness and willingness to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve long term goals
what does Moynihan argue
many black families are headed by a lone mother , who trys to replace the male breadwinner , the children are deprived of adequate care
moynihan sees…
cultural deprivation as a cycle where inadequately socialised children go to school and fail, then become inadequate parents themselves
Murray
high rate of lone parenthood and lack of positive male role models leads to the underachievement of some minorities
Pryce - Caribbeans
black Caribbean culture is less cohesive and less resistant to racism , therefore black Caribbean students underachieve
Sewell, underachievement
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
what is selling out to the white establishment?
(for black boys)
- being academically successful , speaking in standard English
Labelling
attach a meaning of definition to a person.
E.g.teachers might label a student as bright, thick, troublemaker or hardworking
Dunne and Gazely
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.
Rays Rist
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
outline the self fulfilling prophecy
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
Who did a study on the self fulfilling prophecy?
Ann Oakley or Rosenthal and Jacobson
Rosenthal and Jacobson
What is streaming?
streaming involves putting children into different ability groups
Who benefits from streaming, MC or WC?
why?
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
Streaming and the A-C economy
Gillborn and Youdell - show how teachers use stereotypical notions of ability to
what are the patterns of ethnic achievement within groups?
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
what are rthe main external factors effecting ethnic differences in achievement
cultural deprivation, material deprivation and class and racism in wider society
cultural deprivation theory
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.
Berieter and Englemann
black families
claim that the language of poor black American families is ungrammatical and disjointed
Sewell- Asian work ethic
Chinese and Indian pupils benefit from supportive families with an ‘Asian work ethic’
Sewell (black families)
the lack of fatherly nurturing leads to the underachievement of black boys
Street gangs offer loyalty and love
white working class pupils
also underachieve- maybe because of low aspirations , being a result of white working class culture * refer to Lupton and evans
Lupton -poor levels of behaviour
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
Evans -street culture
street culture in white working class areas can be brutal and brought into school
compensatory education
- an educational policy that aims to reduce cultural deprivation - through access to extra resources
give two examples of compensatory education
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
criticisms of cultural deprivation
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
material deprivation and class
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
Racism in wider society ,ethnic minorities
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
what are the internal factors in ethnic underachievement
labelling
pupil subcultures
ethnocentricity and institutional racism
internal factors in ethnic underachievement
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
Black pupils ( Gillborn and Mirza)
In one area, black children were the highest achievers in primary schools , when it came to GCSE,they were 21 points below average
Gillborn and Youdell - teachers had racialised expectations , black pupils are expected more discipline problems and saw their behabviour as threatening
- this means they’re more likely to be punished for bad behaviour , resulting in higher levels of exclusion for black boys
wright
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
Collony ( Asian pupils)
Primary school teachers saw Asian pupils as passive and conformist , Asian boys were seen as more vulnerable and feminine
Pupil subcultures
Sewell
black boys adopted a range of responses to teachers racist labelling of themselves, they labelled them as rebellious and anti school
what are the main types of pupil subcultures?
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
Show the significance of rejecting negative labels through fuller
- 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
Outline the types of pupil identities (archer) The ideal pupil identity The pathologised pupil identity the demonised pupil identity
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.
Institutional racism
Racism within schools and colleges , discrimination between ethnic minorities
REMEMBER TO TALK ABOUT INDIVIDUAL RACISM
critical race theory
Gillborn
institutional racism is a locked in feature , the educational system is institutionally racist in many ways
Individual racism
outpouring prejudiced views onto individuals
Ethnocentric curriculum
Williams
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
Give an example of institutional racism
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
Model minorities ( Gillborn)
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
how does the ethnocentric curriculum produce underachievement?
coard- the image of black children as inferior undermines black childrens self esteem and leads to their faliure.
Acess to opportunities
the gifted and talented programme
exam tiers
gifted and talented programme
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
exam tiers
blacks were more likely to be entered for lower tier exams , this meant they could only gain a c in gcse.
new iq ism
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.