external factors: cultural deprivation

what are the external factors affecting ethnic differences in achievement?

• cultural deprivation

• material deprivation

• racism in wider society

what do cultural deprivation theorists see ethnic underachievement as the result of?

inadequate socialisation in the home

what are the 3 main aspects of cultural deprivation?

• intellectual & linguistic skills

• attitudes & values

• family structure & parental support

what do some theorists argue about children from low income black families?

they lack intellectual stimulation & enriching experiences

what do Bereiter & Engelmann say about linguistic skills?

the language spoken by low income black American families is inadequate for success because it is ungrammatical, disjointed & incapable of expressing abstract ideas

why is there concern regarding linguistic skills?

speaking english as a second language has held them back educationally

what is a criticism of linguistic skills?

• Gillborn & Mirza - indian pupils do very well despite being EAL

• there is no major difference between EAL and EFL students

what attitudes & values are black children seen to be socialised into?

fatalistic attitude that gives them a lack of motivation

what do cultural deprivation theorists argue about family structure?

black families cannot socialise children adequately because they have a dysfunctional family structure

what does Moynihan say about family structure?

many black families are headed by a lone mother

what does Murray say about family structure?

a high rate of lone parenthood & a lack of positive male models leads to the underachievement of some minorities

what does Scruton say about family structure?

the low achievement levels of some ethnic minorities are resulting from a failure to embrace mainstream British culture

what does Pryce say about family structure?

Asian culture is more resistant to racism, so they have higher self-worth, compared to black Caribbean students

what does Sewell say about family structures?

there is a lack of tough love & fatherly nurturing and it elads to black boys struggling to overcome emotional & behavioural difficulties

what does Sewell argue street gangs offer fatherless black boys?

perverse loyalty & love

what did Sewell find the greatest barrier to success academically successful black boys faced?

peer pressure from other boys

how does Gillborn criticise Sewell?

it is not peer pressure, but institutional racism within the education system that systematically produces the failure of black boys

why does Lupton argue Asian students achieve?

adult authority in these families is similar to the model that operates in education

what did McCulloch find?

meg students are more likely to aspire to go to university than white pupils and he credited this to a lack of parental support

what does Evans argue about white working class achievement?

street culture in white wc areas can be brutal so the youth have to learn to withstand intimidation & they play out these power games in education

what is the main policy adopted to tackle cultural deprivation?

compensatory education e.g., Operant Head Start

how does Driver criticise cultural deprivation theory?

ignores positive effects of ethnicity on achievement e.g., black Caribbean families provide girls with positive role models

how does Lawrence criticise Pryce?

black pupils underachieve because of racism

how does Keddie criticise cultural deprivation theory?

it is victim blaming as meg children are culturally different, not deprived because schools are ethnocentric

why do theorists oppose compensatory education?

they see it as an attempt to impose the dominant white culture on children who already have a coherent culture of their own

what alternatives to compensatory education do critics propose?

• multicultural education

• anti-racist education

what does Chua mean by tiger mums?

Asian mothers are strict & have high expectations which reflect the education system