ethnicity and attainment

• key themes: 2020-21


  national average attainment 8 score was 50.9 out of 90

  highest scores obtained by chinese pupils (69.2)

  asian groups each achieved around or higher than the national. average scoring 55.8 collectively

  black and white pupils around average

  black caribbean (44-48.3) mixed, roma and irish traveller below average
• issues with statistics


  • Some categories used in statistics can be too broad/narrow and difficult to understand. e.g. in the UK, the category of “Asian” usually refers to certain South Asian groups such as Indians, Bangladeshi, Pakistanis and “Asian others”, without specifying who the “others” are. Additionally, in other parts of the world, “Asian” may refer to East Asian groups rather than South Asians.
  • Using just one category such as ethnicity can obscure the impacts of other parts of a pupil's background and experience. e.g, a student's class/gender can also shape educational attainment.
• racism in schools


  • Research has frequently found that black boys are disciplined more frequently than other groups of school children.  According to a government report in 2015, black pupils are punished  more often and more severely than white pupils.
  • The report found that black children face ‘conscious and unconscious prejudicefrom teachers’.  This is partly based on stereotypes (oversimplified images or ideas of a particular type of person or group which are not based on reality).
• racism in schools


  • Such unconscious prejudice is likely to lead teachers to make assumptions about the behaviour and ability of black children and therefore lead to resentment of school and teachers among black children.
  • Studies have shown that teachers are more likely to see black boys as a potential threat to the classroom and are anxious to sort out from the start any behavioural problems that they assume there will be.
• labelling and low expectations


  Research also shows that teachers might label ethnic minority children as ‘low achievers’ from the outset and have low expectations of their potential.  Interactionist sociologists believe that if teachers have a low expectations of their pupils then this can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• labelling and low expectations


  • Black children are more likely to be put in lower sets than white students of the same ability.  When the children end up in these sets, research from interactioniststudies suggests they might be taught differently from children in other sets and are more likely to be entered for lower-tier exams.
  • In the UK, there is evidence that black Caribbean children are disproportionately entered for lower-tier maths and science exams.  Children from Chinese and Indian backgrounds are more likely to be put into higher sets.
• labelling and low expectations


  • Black children are more likely to be put in lower sets than white students of the same ability.  When the children end up in these sets, research from interactioniststudies suggests they might be taught differently from children in other sets and are more likely to be entered for lower-tier exams.
  • In the UK, there is evidence that black Caribbean children are disproportionately entered for lower-tier maths and science exams.  Children from Chinese and Indian backgrounds are more likely to be put into higher sets.
• institutional racism


  • Exclusion rates for Afro-Caribbean boys are three to four times higher than for others groups.  Children excluded from school are more likely to end up leaving the education system early and with few qualifications.  A government report suggests that this situation is partly due to institutional racism and stereotyping within education.  Institutional racism is the term used when the rules and procedures of an organisation, such as a school, discrimination on lines of race.
• institutional racism


  • If children from certain ethnic groups are streamed into lower bands or sets than white children of the same ability, then that is institutional racism.
• ways schools display institutional racism

  1. admissions policies
  2. involvement in classrooms
  3. school calendars
  4. ethnocentric curriculum
  5. school meals
  6. uniform regulations
  7. school information
  8. rejection of habitus
• admissions policies


  Selective admissions policies that include entrance examinations based upon the cultural norms of white British culture or promotion of white cultural values in their marketing literature 
• involvement in classrooms


  Continuous mispronouncing of student names or excluding those students from discussions in order to avoid embarrassment of mispronouncing names.
• school calendars


  School calendars are based upon Christian holidays and do not always reflect the different religious and cultural backgrounds in the school – e.g. planning for Ramadan etc. This can place some students at disadvantage in exams/assessments
• ethnocentric curriculum


  Selection of curriculum materials that neglects to engage with the multiple cultures that attend the school. This includes history and literature that centres on the experiences of white middle class only, or portrays non-whites in a negative light – e.g. as uncivilised or in need of education (Coard) or Little Englandism (Ball) 
• school meals


  School meals are often based upon a limited range of options and therefore do not consider the dietary requirements of some non-British pupils. E.g. lack of Halal, Kosher and vegan alternatives – expectation is those children prepare their own food
• uniform regulations


  School uniform regulations often lead to sanction for non-white students based upon appearance, e.g. haircuts. PE kits often do not respect cultural backgrounds of some students.
• school information


  Not having school information available in languages that reflect the diversity of the local culture – this places some students and  parents at a disadvantage when trying to understand what is required of them  
• rejection of habitus


  Imposition of white middle-class values, tastes and attributes onto children and disregarding elements of non-white cultural backgrounds. E.g. punishment for cultural expressions of frustration or colloquial language
• internal factors- labelling


  Cecile wright (1992)- labelling in primary schools

  • Asian children often ignored in class discussions and received least attention
  • Assumption that English was poor
  • Assumption that they are disciplined and motivated
  • African Caribbean children expected to behave badly
  • Seen as aggressive and disruptive 
  • Often criticised, even about behaviour overlooked in other children
• internal factors- labelling


  Tony sewell- black masculinities and schooling 1996

   Teachers threatened by black masculinities

  • Focussed on experience of black boys
  • Some students disciplined excessively by teachers who felt threatened by masculinity, sexuality and physical prowess
  • Highlighted teachers’ socialisation into racist attitudes
  • Boys felt their culture received little or no positive recognition
  • Held the boys responsible for their underachievement: their negative attitudes were the cause 
  • Did, however, recognise that teacher labelling exacerbated the problem
• internal factors- labelling


  Connolly (1998)

  Stereotyping of Asian students

  • Teachers had high expectations of south Asian British boys
  • Bad behaviour was interpreted as immaturity rather than deliberate disruption
  • Therefore, sanctions were more lenient than for black British boys
  • Asian girls were often successful, but overlooked by teachers
  • Stereotypical assumptions of them as passive and reluctant to discuss family life and gender roles, in particular
• internal factors- labelling


  David Gillborn (1990)

  African-Caribbean children as a threat

  • The majority of teachers tried to treat all students fairly
  • However, tendency to feel (unduly) threatened by Afro-Caribbean students
  • Therefore, harsh measures of control
  • Teachers rejected racism, but ethnocentric perceptions (labelling) meant that their actions were racist
  • Afro-Caribbean children experienced more conflict in relationships with other pupils, had more detentions, and were denied a legitimate way to complain
  • ‘The myth of the black challenge’
• internal factors- labelling


  Gillborn and Youdell (1999) 

  Racism in banding and streaming and the A-C economy

  • Marketisation has created an ‘A-C economy’ 
  • Black-Caribbean students less likely to be put in higher sets, even if they had the ability
  • Therefore, these students were not ‘pushed’ as hard and not entered for higher tier exams, leading to lower GCSE grades
  • This type of labelling linked to institutional racism
• internal factors- labelling


  Steve Strand (2012)

  Banding and streaming

  • Used data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)some of the difference 
  • Black Caribbean students less likely to be put into higher sets and higher tier papers
  • Blamed teachers’ labelling for this limiting of success
  • African Caribbean students did worse than their white peers
  • Black Caribbean students had higher exclusion rates and were more likely to have SEN statement, which might explain 
• internal factors- labelling


  Morris & Perry 

  ‘Girls Behaving Badly?"

  • African-American girls three times more likely than white girls to be sent to the school office for punishment.
  • This gap is significantly wider than the gap between black boys and white boys
  • Disproportionate referrals for dress code violation, disobedience and aggressive behaviour.
  • gendered interpretations lead to increased punishment frequency
  • “Using the framework of intersectionality, school discipline penalizes African American girls for behaviors perceived to transgress normative standards”
• internal factors- labelling, challenge to theory


  Safia Mirza (1992)

  • low expectations of black girls
  • Black students were not pushed to succeed in lessons and entered for lower tier papers
  • Careers advice was not aspirational
  • These students did value education and wanted to work hard
  • Due to labelling, they appeared not to care about school and seemed to focus more on their appearance
  • They avoided interactions with racist teachers
  • However, they did not achieve success at school or in their careers
  • Criticism of labelling as girls did not accept the label and their self-esteem was not affected
• internal factors- institutional racism

  Crozier (2004)

  Experiences of racism among pupils

  • Pakistani pupils ‘keep to themselves
  • Felt excluded by white peers and marginalised by school practices
  • Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils had experienced concerns about their safety and racist abuse
  • South Asian girls were not given careers advice because it was seen as a waste of time
  • They had no time off during Ramadan
  • Felt assemblies were irrelevant
• internal factors- institutional racism

  Gillborn (2008) 

  Critical Race Theory

  • over 40 years old
  • Race is a social construct 
  • Racism is not individuals’ bias, but is a systemic and institutional challenge over time
  • For example, assessment is biased towards dominant culture’s superiority 
  • White children were found to be twice as likely as black Caribbean children to be identified as gifted and talented, and five times as likely as black African children• ‘Aiming High’ project initiated to raise achievement in black children, but they were still less likely to be entered in higher exams
• internal factors- institutional racism


  Human Rights Watch study

  • Muslim students feel alienated by the way PREVENT policies have been implemented
  • Therefore, reluctant to freely discuss politics or religion because PREVENT was being interpreted through an Islamic lens
• internal factors- institutional racism

  Tariq Modood (2005)

  • White students are more likely to get an offer from the best universities
  • For example, a white student has 75% chance of receiving an offer, a Pakistani student only has a 57% chance
• criticisms of institutional racism arguments

  • Sewell argues that Gillborn focuses too much on internal factors. He argues that, although racism still exists, it’s not powerful enough to prevent individuals succeeding
  • Sewell argues that we should focus more on external factors such as anti-school attitudes, the peer group and the importance of the father’s role
• criticisms of institutional racism

  • Some people argue that institutional racism cannot exist as Indian and Chinese students perform better than the white majority
  • Connolly argues that other differences may be more important. For example, there is a bigger gap between achievements of white M/C and white W/C than there is between black M/C and black W/C
• internal factors- anti school subcultures

  Mairtin Mac an Ghaill

  ‘Young, Gifted and Black’ (1988)

  • ethnographic studies
  • 1> relations between white teachers and two groups of male students with anti-school attitudes (the Asian Warriors and the African Caribbean Rasta Heads)
  • 2> group of black female students of African Caribbean and Asian parentage, called the Black Sisters
  • Used participatory methods (because he was a popular teacher); adopted a ‘black perspective’
  • Challenged traditional view that students were to blame and said that subcultures were a response to institutional racism

  •
• internal factors-anti school subcultures

  Tony Sewell (1997)

  •  Black Caribbean boys experience peer pressure to adopt norms of an ‘urban’ subculture
  • Importance given to antagonistic behaviour towards other students and unruly behaviour with teachers
  • In 2000, Sewell researched over-representation of black boys amongst students excluded from school in one local authority area
• internal factors- anti school subcultures

  Tony sewell pt2

  • Black boys associated academic success with femininity and feared that success would lead to bullying; academic failure was seen as a mark of respect
  • Blamed black Caribbean boys for their own failure
  • But did confirm existence of some impact of racism
  • Also, suggested that “fashionable black youth culture” is adding to pressures for young black men, and asked whether black boys are becoming too “sexy for education” (Sewell, 1997)
• internal factors- anti school subcultures

  Tony Sewell (1997)

  Anti-school subculture

  • Responses to socialisation due to racist stereotyping by teachers, 4 responses:

  1. rebels: minority of black students; excluded; rejected goals and rules of school’ confirmed to ‘black-macho-lad’ stereotype
  2. conformists: largest group; keen to succeed and accepted school’s goals
  3. retreatists: tiny minority; isolated; disconnected from school and subculture; despised by the rebel
  4. innovators: second largest group; pro-education but anti-school; valued success but did not seek approval from teachers
• internal factors- anti school subcultures

  Archer (2007)

  Pupil identities

  • Three pupil identities:
  • ideal: white, middle-class, masculine identity; heterosexual; seen to be achieving in the ‘right’ way, natural ability and initiative
  • pathological: Asian, ‘deserving poor’, feminised; either asexual or with an oppressed sexuality; seen as a plodding, conformist and culture-bound ‘over-achiever; a slogger who succeeds through hard work rather than natural ability
  • demonised: black or white, working class, hyper-sexualised identity; seen as unintelligent, peer-led, culturally deprived under-achiever
• internal factors- ethnocentric curriculum

  • Where the range and content of subjects are biased towards the majority ethnic group and marginalises minority ethnic groups
  • White British culture
  • 1985: The Swann Report: criticised the ethnocentric curriculum in the UK

  examples

  1. European viewpoint of history
  2. positive spin on colonialism
  3. white European language taught in MFL
  4. underrepresentation in  textbooks
  5. assemblies having a Christian focus
  6. School holidays around Christian observances
• internal factors- ethnocentric curriculum


  • However, to what extent is the curriculum today ethnocentric?
  • Have schools made some progress?
  • OFSTED now promotes cultural diversity (egBlack History Month)
  • But: Tikly et al (2006) studied 30 comprehensive schools and found that Asian students still felt relatively invisible in the curriculum
• type of school


  i

  • Smith & Tomlinson (1989): studied 18 comprehensive schools
  • Identified a range of factors that impact the performance of ethnic minority students, including:
  • quality of teaching
  • availability of resources
  • commitments and policies established to create equal opportunities (FREDIE?)

  If all these factors are sufficient, ethnic minorities would not underperform