External Factors

• Cultural deprivation


  Lack of intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences that leave some ethnic minority students poorly equipped for school
• Some ethnic minority backgrounds

  Lack intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences
• Ethnic minority backgrounds more likely from working class

  More likely to use the restricted speech code (Bernstein)
• Restricted speech code (Bernstein)


  Language that relies on single words and disjointed phrases, does not enable the analytical and abstract language skills required for success in school
• Bereiter and Engelmann (1966) consider the language spoken by low-income black American families as inadequate for educational success
• Students who do not speak English at home

  May be held back educationally
• A03

  •Bereiter and Engelmann’s research is from 1960s America and so not particularly relevant to UK in the 21st century!•In 2010, pupils with English as their first language were only 3.2 percentage points ahead those without English as their first language when it came to gaining 5 GCSEs A*-C.•Gillborn and Mirza also point out that Indian pupils often do very well without having English as their first language.••All of this suggests that having English as a first language is not that significant a factor in educational attainment.
• Cultural deprivation: attitudes and values


  •Like WC pupils, some argue that some (especially black) ethnic minority children are socialised into values such as immediate gratification and a fatalistic ‘what will be will be’ attitude that does not value education and leaves them poorly equipped for success.
• Cultural deprivation: attitudes and values Eval


  •The same criticisms apply to this argument as for class differences in education. It is seen as victim blaming (criticising disadvantaged people and assuming they are at fault for their own problems) and overlooks the fact that parents may value education and be ambitious for their children, but lack the time, money or confidence to put this into practice.
• NEW RIGHT sociologists

  Such as MURRAY
• Male African Caribbean underachievement


  Related to family structure
• Female headed lone parent families

  • Often struggle financially due to a lack of a male breadwinner
  • Lack of a stable male role model is seen to lead boys to seek delinquent or even criminal male role models instead
• Pryce (1979)

  Pupils of Asian heritage have been more successful than those of black pupils because their culture is more resistant to racism and gives them a sense of self worth
• Pryce (1979)


  Black Caribbean culture is less resistant to racism and as a result black pupils have lower self-esteem and underachieve
• Sewell (2009)


  Absence of 'tough love' that fathers provide (firm, fair, respectful discipline) means black boys in female headed lone parent families struggle in school
• In the absence of a father figure

  Some black boys turn to street gangs for a sense of loyalty and belonging
• Street gangs


  • Give boys a model of anti-school masculinity based on toughness, which can be enforced through peer pressure
• Cultural deprivation

  Family structure and parental support
• STRAND (2007): 'There is a strong emphasis on self improvement in Indian and Chinese culture - Indian parents have high aspirations for their children and encourage their children to be ambitious'
• Lupton (2004): 'Expectations of respectful behaviour towards adults in Asian homes models the behaviour expectations in schools'
• Educational underachievement among white WC pupils

  Result of a lack of parental support
• Lupton's study of four mainly working class schools

  • Four mainly white, one mainly Pakistani and one ethnically mixed
  • Teachers reported poorer behaviour in the two mainly white schools (although they had fewer children on FSM suggesting lower levels of poverty)
  • Teachers blamed lack of parental support and a negative attitude towards education held by parents
• Driver: 'Cultural deprivation theory overlooks the positive impact of ethnicity on achievement: e.g. female headed lone parent families in black communities give girls strong, positive role models'
• Pryce's argument that black culture is weaker because it is less resistant to racism


  Racism is the fault of wider society, not those who are on the receiving end of it
• Keddie: 'Cultural deprivation is a victim-blaming argument. We should not blame ethnic minority children for cultural differences, but rather the schools which are ethnocentric and fail to accept other cultures'
• Evidence from Strand contradicts the idea that African Caribbeans are less motivated by education
• Strand's study indicated that African Caribbean pupils and their parents have high educational aspirations and positive attitudes towards schooling
• Some ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience poverty
• The ethnic groups that are more likely to underachieve are also more likely to be living in poverty
• Almost half of all ethnic minority children live in low income households, compared to a quarter of white children
• Ethnic minorities are almost twice as likely to be unemployed compared with white British people
• Ethnic minorities are around three times as likely to be homeless
• Almost half of Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earned under £7 per hour, compared with only a quarter of white British workers
• Material Dep

  Ethnic minorities are more likely to live in economically depressed areas with high unemployment and low wage rates.

  More recent immigrants may face a language barrier that prevents them gaining employment, or find that qualifications from abroad are not accepted by UK employers.

  Racial discrimination in the labour market and housing market.
• Indian pupils are one of the best performing ethnic groups, whilst Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils do less well on average
• The proportion of pupils on free school meals from these ethnic groups correlates to their performance
• Class does not completely override the influence of ethnicity
• Indian and Chinese pupils who are materially deprived still do better than most
• In 2011, 86% of Chinese girls eligible for FSM achieved 5 GCSEs A*-C, compared to only 65% of white girls NOT on FSM
• The effects of low income are worse for white pupils than for other ethnic groups