Ethnic external

• Intellectual & language skills

  • Berieter & Engelmann: language spoken by black families is ungrammatical.
  • Concerns about EAL students falling behind are dismissed as Gilborn & Mirza (2000) say Indian pupils excel despite English being their second language
• attitudes and values 


  • Black pupils socialised into a fatalistic live for today attitude that doesn’t value education instead of a mainstream culture of ambition, competitiveness, sacrificing for future goals
• father, gangs and culture (Sewell 2009)

  • lack of tough firm, fair respectful discipline
  • fatherless black boys turn to street gangs that often promote anti school masculinity
  • academic black boys are labelled as sellouts and subject to peer pressure
• dysfunctional family structures

  • Moynihan (1965): black lone mothers struggle with finances - children deprived of care and a male model. children fail in school and become inadequate parents themselves
  • new right sociologist Murray agrees
• culture 


  • Scruton: low achievement in minorities because they fail to embrace british culture
  • Pryce (1979): experiencing colonial rule fostered a strong sense of cultural identity and self worth in Asians whereas black pupils haven’t
• Asian families 


  
  

  • Sewell: indian & Chinese pupils benefit from supportive families that place high value on education (Asian work ethic)
  • Lupton(2004): adult authority in Asian families are alike to the ones in schools resulting in children respecting teachers. Asian parents more likely to support behaviour policies
• white WC families

  • McCollon(2014): surveyed 16k pupils and found more ethnic minorities than white pupils aspire to go uni
  • lupton argues this is due to lack of parental support
  • Evans(2006): white wc street culture causes disruption in school.
• criticisms

  propose multicultural, antiracists education

  • Driver: lone parents give black girls strong, independent role models
  • Lawrence criticises Pryce: black pupils fail due to racism in the education system not weak culture/ low self esteem
  • Keddie: it is victim blaming - not culturally deprived but culturally different