EDUCATION - ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVNMENT EXTERNAL

Which ethnicity has the highest academic achievement?

Chinese

Why may "Chinese" perform well?

Family pressure/support, high aspirations, longer school hours, China is industrialized - so parents have good jobs, can get resources for their kids

Which ethnicity has the lowest academic achievement?

Black

Why may "black" not perform well?

Racism, less teacher attention, historically were not allowed an education - so children dont try, underdeveloped schools (lack of resources), English may not be their language so unable to access content

Cultural deprivation theorists see underachievement as the result of inadequate socialization

• this can be categorized in 3 aspects, what are they?

1. Intellectual and linguistic skills

2. Attitudes and values

3. Family structures and parental support

What do cultural deprivation theorists believe low income black children lack?

Intellectual simulation and enrichment experiences

What does "intellectual simulation" include?

Books, numeracy, computers, tablets, television - things that they learn from

How is the language spoke by black families said to impact the child's achievement?

The language spoken is inadequate for educational success

Who came up with the idea of speech codes?

Bernstein - elaborated and restricted code

Which code for black students speak in?

Restricted code

There is also concern for children who do not speak English, is this a major factor?

No

Why may these student struggle with English?

At home, these parents may want them to speak their own languages at home

Which students tend to do well, despite not speaking English at home? (Which ethnicity)

Indian pupils

In what ways does having English as an additional language affect a students academic ability? Do all non-English speaking students perform badly?

Yes - this would hold students back, unable to access the content, slower understanding, for exmaple if a child was to join in year 10/11, hard to access GCSE content, held back in essay based subjects (English), not maths (universal)

No - some students who don’t speak English still do well, parental support, textbooks at home, teacher assistants to translate

Cultural deprivation theorists argue black children are socialized into what subculture?

A subculture that instills fatalistic, "live for today" attitude that does not value education and leaves them unequipped for success

Who also talked about working class students having fatalistic attitudes for schooling?

Sugarman

Are there any cultural influences that lead to black children having a fatalistic attitude towards school?

Lack of male role models, Eg. Not in education only in terms of fame

Geographical mobility, moving around so don’t bother trying

May believe society is out to get them - racism, Eg, Black people being the last people to get picked for a job

If parents fail to socialize their children, what is this the result of?

A dysfunctional family structure

What did Maynihan argue about the structure of most black families?

Most black families are headed by a lone mother, and the children are deprived of adequate care because she struggles financially (due to the lack of a male breadwinner)

Why may a lack of male role model lead to higher achievement in schools?

• teachers children good work ethic

• may push children to do better for themselves

Why does Moynihan see cultural deprivation as a cycle?

Where inadequately socialized children from unstable families go on to fail at school and become inadequate parents themselves

Which group would agree with this idea? Of the cycle?

The New Right - inadequate socialization leads to people doing the same for their children

How could someone counteract Moynihan's view?

This can happen in any family, not just black, an absent father may push children to do well in education and not fail

What does Charles Murray say about lone parenthood causing?

Causing underachievement of some minorities

What does Scruton argues low achievement is down to?

Failure to mainstream British culture

Which culture are more and less resistant to racism? Asian or Black Caribbean?

More resistant - Asian

Less resistant - Black Caribbean

How does colonialism affect Asian people and Black Caribbean people?

He argues that slavery wad culturally devastating to the black population as they lost their language, religion, and entire family systems

And Asian family structure, linkages, and religion was not destroyed

How can we AO3 this point about slavery?

• racism still happens

• the slavery was centuries ago - doesn’t directly effect people now

• not necessity racism that effects achievement, maybe disabilities

Sewell argues that it is not the absent fathers/role models which causes black boys to underachieve, but what?

Gangs - and the lack of "tough love"

Why would black boys have a lack of "tough love"?

He is saying that mums are not tough enough on their sons, so unable to socialize them well

Where else do boys learn values/culture from male role models?

Rap lyrics (specifically black rappers)

Is this the case for all black boys? Is this just an influence for black boys?

Not only an influence on black boys

What did Sewell say was the greatest barrier to success?

Peer pressure from other girls

Which boys need to have greater expectations placed on them to raise their aspirations?

Black boys

Critical race theorists argue it is not peer pressure, but what? (That causes underachievement)

Institutional racism

What is in situational racism?

Teachers and other boys singling black boys (racism)

Which ethnicity has a good work ethic as they place a high value on education?

Asian

Why do Asian families tend to place a high value on education?

Parents value education highly, and they also have long school days

Are Asian parents supportive or not supportive of school behavior policies?

Supportive

If parents are supportive, how does this impact children?

They are treated the same way at school and at home, which means they aspire higher

Which family structure has led to possible causes of underachievement?

Black family structures

Why is this not always the case? (Black family structures is causing underachievement)

White working class pupils often under achieve and have low aspirations as well

A study found ethnic minority pupils are more likely to go to university than white British pupils, whymay this be?

Ethnic minority backgrounds come from poverty, so aspire higher, and want to go to uni, but white British people are more privileged and have the belief that they can just gain benefits

Which race and which class tended to behave the worst?

White working class pupils

What does this demonstrate about academic achievement? (White working class pupils be behaving bad badly)

Poor achievement is not just based on class, it is also based on ethnicity

What did teachers blame this bad behavior on?

Lower levels of parental support and the negative attitude towards educating from working class parents

Why do working class? Parents tend to have a negative attitude towards education?

They may have faced discrimination themselves, as well as a lack of knowledge of the education system

What is a criticism of the cultural deprivation theories?

It ignores the positive effects of ethnicity on achievement

How do black Caribbean families have a positive impact on the girls?

They raise strong, independent women (who are more successful in education than the boys)

What is the main reason that Black pupils underachieve?

Racism

What does Keddie see cultural deprivation as? Why?

Victim blaming

• ethnic minority children are not culturally deprived, they are culturally different, because schools are ethnocentric

What does ethnocentric mean?

Just focusing on your culture and believe it is superior

What are the compensatory education schemes that we have looked at?

Free school meals, pupil premium, Aim Higher, Sure Start, Education Action Zones

How do you qualify for pupil premium?

If you have a single house income or a parent is the armed forces

Critics proposed there are two main alternatives, what are they?

1. Multicultural education (recognizing values and minority cultures in the cirriculum)

2. Antiracist education (challenging the prejudice that exist in schools)

What is material deprivation?

A lack of physical necessities that are essential for general life

Which class are more likely to face material deprivation?

Working class people

Give som examples of material deprivation?

No clean and hot watermelon technology, weather appropriate clothing, housing, nutritious food, study area, school resources, textbooks

Which minorities are more likely to be unemployed?

Ethnic minorities

Which minorities are more likely to be homeless?

Ethnic minorities

Which workers earn less than minimum wage?

Bangledeshi and Pakistani workers

Give an example where workers earn less than minimum wage?

Car washes

What type of areas do ethnic minorities tend to live in?

Economically deprived areas with high unemployment and low wages

Ethnic minorities may also live in students areas, how may this impact them?

Loud, party culture on the same street as families with young children (effects daily life)

What is the culture called where women are separated from men?

Purdah

In some cultures, the men may restrict the women’s language skills, why is this?

The men stopped women from learning English - this is a form of control, women are unable to ask for help, cant leave the man (this then teaches the same values to the children)

How does “parents working shifts” positively and negatively affect a child’s education?

Positively - teaches them a good work ethic if their parent is dedicated, may become more independent

Negatively - less parental attention, which may cause misbehavior at school, parents been able to help with homework and provide nutrition

How does “stay at home parents/housewives” positively and negative affect a child’s education?

Positively - may want to aspire higher and do better than their mum, parents can spend more time with children and help with homework, put them to sleep and provide meals

Negatively - if girls see their mum at home they won’t try as hard and aspire low

Does discrimination worsen in poverty? Why?

It leads to social exclusion

How are ethnic minorities excluded in terms of housing?

Ethnic minorities are more likely to be forced into substandard housing (damp, damaged, dirty)

How are ethnic minorities excluded from employment?

Some employers pick white people over ethnic people, even if they have better qualifications and are more suitable for the job