sociology ethnic differences in education

• Ethnic group


  Shared culture, identity, history. See themselves as a distinct group
• Ethnic groups by achievement


  • Black and Pakistani do worst
  • Chinese and Indians do best
  • White = average, because they form the majority of the school population
• Factors explaining ethnic differences in achievement

  • Internal factors
  • External factors
• Main external factors


  • Cultural deprivation
  • Material deprivation and Class
  • Racism
• Cultural deprivation


  Inadequate socialisation, including intellectual and language skills, and attitudes, values and family structure
• Intellectual and language skills


  • Children from low-income black families lack intellectual stimulation, fail to develop reasoning and problem-solving skills
  • Language of black American families is ungrammatical and disjointed, children unable to express abstract ideas – barrier to educational progress
  • Children who do not speak English at home may be held back
• Attitudes, values and family structure


  • Most socialised into mainstream culture – instils competitiveness and desire to achieve
  • Fatalism and immediate gratification: subculture some black children socialised is fatalistic, focused immediate gratification, resulting lack motivation
  • Lack male role model: encourage Afro-Caribbean boys to anti-educational macho 'gang culture'
  • Culture of poverty: Moynihan absence male role model of achievement in black matrifocal LPF produce inadequately socialised children who fail at school, become inadequate parents themselves, and perpetuate a culture of poverty
  • Impact of slavery: Black Caribbean culture less resistant to racism because of experience of slavery, many have low self-esteem and underachieve
  • Asian families: Sewell Chinese and Indian pupils benefit supportive families with 'Asian work ethic' contrasts with black LPF – lack fatherly nurturing, street gangs offer alternative perverse loyalty and love
• White working class pupils

  • Underachieve because: lower aspirations, result white working-class culture, lacking parental support
• Compensatory education


  Educational policy aims to counter effects cultural deprivation, based on assumption under-achievement caused by cultural deprivation
• Examples of compensatory education


  • Operation Head Start (USA)
  • Sure Start (UK)
• Victim blaming: minority ethnic children culturally different, not deprived. Under achieve as school is ethnocentric
• Cultural exclusion: ethnic minorities at a disadvantage less aware how to negotiate British education system. Results cultural exclusion rather than deprivation. Example: complex school application forms
• Cultural domination: imposes dominant white m.c. culture on minority ethnic pupils own
• Material deprivation


  Lack physical/economic resources essential normal life in society
• EM 2X likely be unemployed, face discrimination in housing and labour markets
• Whilst class plays a part doesn't override influence ethnicity e.g. m.c. black pupils do less well at GCSE than white or Asian middle class
• Racism in wide society


  Face direct and indirect discrimination at work and in the housing market
• Internal factors

  • Labelling
  • Pupil subcultures
  • Ethnocentricity and institutional racism
• Labelling


  Interactionists focus small-scale, face-to-face interactions e.g. pupils and teachers. Interested impact label has e.g. Black pupils = disruptive, Asian pupils = passive
• Negative racist labels, teachers may treat pupils differently, disadvantaging them, and bringing a SFP. Leads underachievement Studies into both Black and Asian pupils
• Labelling of black pupils


  • Teachers 'racialised expectations' expecting more discipline problems, and saw their behaviour as threatening. Black pupils more likely to be punished for same behaviour. Felt like their ability was underestimated and they were picked on
• Labelling of Asian pupils

  • Stereotyped and treated differently. Assumed would have poor English skills so used simplistic language when speaking to them. Mispronounced children's names. Saw them as a problem they could ignore. Result: Asian children especially girls, marginalised, prevented participating fully, affecting their self-esteem
• Pupil subcultures


  Reaction racist labelling
• Responses of black boys to racist labelling


  • Conformists: keen succeed, accepted schools' goals and had friends' different ethnicities
  • Innovators: pro-education, anti-school. Valued success, but not teachers' approval
  • Retreatists: disconnected from both school and black subcultures outside it
  • Rebels: rejected schools' goals and rules, turning to 'black macho lad' stereotype. Aim achieve status of 'street hood'
• Only a minority 'black macho lad', but teachers tended see all of them this way, resulted under-achievement because of discrimination
• Some remain committed to succeeding despite racist labelling, criticises the view that labelling is deterministic
• Institutional racism


  Discrimination built into way institutions such as schools run/operate, can be on unconscious level
• Ways institutions can be racist


  • Ethnocentric curriculum
  • Selection and segregation
  • Assessment
  • Access to opportunities
  • The new IQism
• Ethnocentric curriculum


  • Priority to white culture and English language. National Curriculum is 'specifically British' teaches culture of host community. History curriculum British schools recreating 'mythical age of empire and past glories', same time ignoring history black and Asian people. Result: EM feel they, their culture and their identity no valued, diminishing their sense of self-esteem, negative effect on educational achievement
• Not clear what the impact of ethnocentric curriculum is as Asian, Indian and Chinese cultures still achieve above average
• Selection and segregation


  • Marketisation gives schools ability to select pupils, negative stereotypes influence decisions. Leads to ethnic segregation
• The new IQism


  Secondary schools using old-school intelligence IQ tests to allocate students to different streams. False assumption potential is fixed quality that can be measured. Black pupils more likely to be placed in a lower stream as a result