Topic 3 - Ethnic Differences in Achievement

• Trends in statistics have shown Chinese pupils to achieve the best in education, whereas black Caribbean and Gypsy Roma pupils have fallen behind. Some sociologists identify ethnic differences in achievement as the result of factors outside the school, such as language skills, family structure, attitudes and values, and material deprivation - which place minority ethnic groups at a disadvantage. However, some sociologists argue ethnic differences occur through factors inside the school environment - notably, the ethnocentric curriculum, labelling, pupil subcultures and institutional racism.
• Linguistic skills


  Some pupils speak a different language and some pupils speak an informal version of English
• Bereiter and Engelmann state that the black Caribbean language is ungrammatical and disjointed, which means they cannot convey abstract ideas
• Family structure


  There are higher rates of lone-parent families in black ethnicities
• Moynihan found that many black families are headed by a lone mother, leading to lower achievement of black boys due to how they do not have a male role model
• Attitudes and values


  Some sociologists argue that some black pupils have a fatalistic outlook on life, meaning they want immediate gratification and have limited motivation to achieve in the long term
• Material deprivation


  Many minority ethnic groups are victims of racism in wider society, subsequently they face direct or indirect discrimination at work or in the housing market, and in turn, they may be in low paid jobs or unemployed. This impacts upon the children's educational opportunities
• Internal Factors


  Factors within an organisation or system that can influence outcomes
• Labelling

  • Racialised expectations of black pupils
  • Expecting more discipline problems from black pupils
  • Seeing black pupils' behaviour as threatening
  • Black pupils more likely to be punished for same behaviour as white pupils
• Black pupils

  • High achieving black girls maintaining positive self-image by rejecting teachers' stereotypes
  • Black girls not seeking teacher approval, but valuing education
  • Black girls' strategies for dealing with teacher racism still disadvantaging them (e.g. not asking for help)
• Asian pupils


  • Stereotyped and treated differently by teachers
  • Teachers using simple language because they assumed Asian pupils would speak poor English
  • Teachers becoming frustrated when Asian pupils pronounced their names incorrectly
• Conformists


  Keen to succeed, accepted the school's goals
• Innovators


  Pro-education, but anti-school. Valued success, but not teacher's approval
• Retreatists


  Disconnected from the school and black subcultures outside of it
• Rebels


  Rejected the school's goals, and conformed to the stereotype of the 'black macho lad'
• Sewell found that black boys developed a range of responses to teachers racist labelling
• Ethnocentric curriculum


  The British curriculum prioritises white culture and the English language, for example through holidays in line with the Christian calendar, and a focus on white leaders in History
• Troyna and Williams state that the British curriculum prioritises white culture and the English language