Relationships & Processes within Schools: Ethnicity and Subcultures

What is a subculture?

• A subculture 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

Ethnic subcultures:

• Subcultures are often formed based on an understanding of one's own ethnicity

• Asian girls (Shain)

• Muslim boys (Archer)

• Black Caribbean (Sewell)

Asain 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

Muslim boys:

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

• Identified with black culture

• Macho-subculture focused on male dominance

Black subcultures:

• Sewell (2008)

  • Conformists

  • Innovators

  • Retreats

  • Rebels

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

Evaluations:

• 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