Relationships & Processes within Schools: Ethnicity and Subcultures

All notes taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSH90Fzh1YE

What is a subculture?

• It is a group with its own norms and values that differ from mainstream norms and values

• Pro-school, anti-school, laddish and ethnic subcultures are common in education

What are Ethnic subcultures?

• Subcultures are often formed based on understanding of own ethnicity

• Asian girls (Shain)

• Muslim boys (Archer)

• Black Caribbean (Sewell)

Who did research on Asian Girls?

• Shain (2010)- Female school subcultures of Asain girls

  • Gang girls

  • Survivors

  • Rebels

  • Faith girls

• Gang girls- Refusal to integrate into mainstream culture as a reaction to perceive racist behaviours

Who did research on muslim boys?

• Archers (2003) examined the rejection felt by Muslim boys education

• Identified with black culture

• Macho-subculture focused on male dominance

Who did research on black subcultures?

• Sewell (2008)

  • Conformists

  • Innovators

  • Retreats

  • Rebels

• Innovators and Rebels adopted anit-school stances, but behaviours differed in Rebels more reactive to racism

What are the evaluations of relationships and processes within schools?

• The victim-blaming approach of Sewell has been criticised

• Is the cause of subculture due to ethnicity or a reaction to racism in schools?

• Some groups were pro-education but anti-school- Fuller’s research

• Explanations for identity formation