ETHNICITY

• Educational achievement varies considerably by ethnicity and level of achievement
• At GCSE, White, Black-African, and Pakistani children have similar rates of achievement
• Chinese and Indian students 'overachieve', while Pakistani and Black Caribbean students slightly underachieve
• Black and Asian students are more likely to stay on in Further Education than White students
• Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black African, and Caribbean students are much less likely to get 3 A grades at A-level compared to White students
• Chinese and Indian students are more likely to get first-class degrees than White students
• Attainment 8 scores measure how far pupils have progressed in their eight major government-approved GCSE subjects over five years of secondary schooling compared to the average progress of all pupils
• In 2021, the average score for all ethnic groups together was 50.9/90
• Chinese children achieve 19% higher than the national average, Indian children 11% higher, and Bangladeshi children 5% higher
• Black Caribbean children underachieve by about 6% points
• Irish Traveller and Gypsy Roma children have the worst underachievement levels with 30% and 22% respectively
• Poverty has a negative impact on the educational attainment of pupils from all ethnic backgrounds
• White pupils have the lowest achievement rates among pupils in receipt of free school meals (FSM) with a score of just 36.1
• Black and Asian FSM pupils have broadly similar attainment 8 scores with scores of 44 and 48 respectively
• Chinese FSM pupils have the highest attainment 8 scores, with a score of 68.5, which is very close to non-FSM pupil scores
• Ethnic minorities (Black and Asian) students are more likely to carry on into further education compared to White students
• Chinese students have a significant over-achievement at A-level with 22.5% achieving at least 3 As
• Indian students do slightly better than average at 15%
• Pakistani and Bangladeshi students have significant underachievement at around 7%
• Black African and Caribbean students have terrible underachievement at 5.6% and 3.5% respectively
• White students gain significant ground on ethnic minority students in degree results, with 30.9% of White students gaining a first-class degree compared to 14% of Black students
• Differences in achievement rates between ethnic groups from GCSE to A-level and degree results need further investigation
• Cultural factors that influence educational achievement by ethnicity include: parental control and expectation, single parent households, peer group pressure, language barriers, and student aspirations
• Indian and Chinese families have higher levels of parental control and expectation
• Chinese parents place a high value on education and have a strong cultural tradition of respect for elders
• British Asian families, including British Indians and British Pakistanis, place a high value on education across three generations
• The New Right argues that single parent households fail to provide a conducive home environment for learning
• Black Caribbean boys may face pressure to adopt an anti-school 'street' culture
• Fordham and Ogbu argue that there are notions of 'acting white' and 'acting black' in relation to educational achievement
• Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents may face language barriers in engaging with their children's schools
• White children have lower educational aspirations compared to most ethnic minorities
• First generation immigrants are enthusiastic about education, while enthusiasm decreases in second and third generations
• South Asian women navigate cultural pressures to pursue higher education
• Variations in educational achievement by ethnicity exist within each ethnic group, influenced by social class and material deprivation
• In school factors that may explain differential educational achievement by ethnicity include:

  • Teacher labelling (positive and negative expectations based on ethnic group)
  • Pupil reactions to teacher labelling and pupil subcultures
  • Banding and Streaming, with some minority pupils overrepresented in lower sets
  • The Ethnocentric Curriculum marginalizing ethnic minorities
  • Institutional Racism at the policy level
• Classic research studies on teacher labelling of ethnic minorities:

  • Cecile Wright (1992) found differences in perception of Asian and African Caribbean children
  • David Gilborn (1990) identified ethnocentric perceptions leading to racist actions
  • Tony Sewell (1996) highlighted excessive discipline towards black boys
  • Connolly (1998) observed stereotypical high expectations of South Asian British boys
• Current issues on teacher labelling:

  • Less evidence of negative labelling of black boys today
  • PREVENT policy since 2015 monitoring extremist behavior in schools
  • Chinese students labelled as hyper-achievers
  • Anti-school subcultures among black boys affecting achievement
• Pupil subcultures and responses to teacher labelling:

  • Tony Sewell (1997) noted pressure on Black Caribbean boys to adopt 'urban' subculture
  • Mac an Ghail (1998) identified subcultures in inner city colleges
  • Mirza (1992) found negative teacher labelling affecting black girls' achievement
• Impact of banding and streaming on ethnic minority groups:

  • African Caribbean pupils did worse than white peers, even when controlling for socio-economic factors
  • Black Caribbean students less likely to be in higher sets/ bands/ streams and entered for higher tier exams
• Teacher labelling is to blame for the differential treatment of students in higher sets/bands/streams and exam entries