ethnicity

• What are the four explanations for the gap in achievement?

  cultural differences and parental support (ex)

  material deprivation and social class (ex)

  labelling, identity and subcultures (in)

  institutional racism (in)
• What does Basit say?

  British Asians highly value education and ensure there are resources at home

  view education as capital by parents to obtain social mobility
• What does Modood say?

  Even amongst WC, Asian families promote staying on in education
• What does Connor et al say?

  Positive attitudes towards education are most common amongst Black African students
• what does tony sewell say?

  cultural factors such as lone parent families are a cause for concern for lack of academic achievement
• what is sewell criticised for?

  victim blaming and negative stereotyping
• What did Crozier say?

  All girls outperform boys at GCSE in all ethnic groups but Bangladeshi and Pakistan girls less likely to attend uni due to cultural expectations/marriage
• What are some possible solutions?

  in 1970s education policy was based around assimilation policies

  thinkers such as Scruton believes that it is culture that holds back pupils and that if they adopt British culture they will do better at school
• Argument for gap in education is due to poverty stats?

  Black and ethnic minority people are 2.5 times more likely to face poverty in the uk than white people

  despite only making up 15%of poulation in uk, more than a quater of those are in 'deep poverty'
• Why may poverty not be the cause?

  children from majority of ethnic groups (despite being in poverty) do better than average in education suggesting must be other factors

  Bangladeshi 57.3% of pupils getting grade 5 and above compared to white British 49.2%
• Material deprivation in ethnic minority groups?

  most ethnic minority groups experience higher levels of material deprivation than the national average

  According to labour force survey 2004/05 20% white British are in income poverty compared to 45% black African, 65% Bangladeshi
• What do craft and craft say?

  Found West Indian pupils who do not suffer material deprivation are still disadvantaged in education (racism?)
• What does Jimenez say?

  Discusses impact of the digital divide during covid

  students from low income families less likely to have access to internet leading to a gap in educational progress
• What does Palmer say?

  almost 50% of BAME students tend to come from low income families which can impact life chances.

  may not be able to afford high quality education - extra tuition, computers or internet.
• What do interactionists say?

  claim teachers rarely label black students as 'ideal students' and are guilty of racist labelling of black students especially boys
• What do Gillbourn and Youdell say?

  white female teachers have low expectations of black boys potential academic performance

  often dismissed as 'no hopers'

  African Caribbean boys more likely to be given detentions as their dress code and speech was seen to be challenging authority

  led to anti school subcultures
• What did sewell find?

  black boys masculinity came into conflict with school (pressure by peers to adopt the norms of an urban or street culture)

  leading to rejection of authority and not taking school seriously

  (sees work as effeminate compared with easy money made from gang related crime)
• What did Mac a Ghaill find?

  explored three subcultures: The Asian Warriors, the African-Caribbean Rasta Heads and the Black Sisters

  participant observation in and out school

  observed that African-Caribbean community experienced the world very differently mainly because of institutionalised racism in the college and he argued any anti-school subcultures were reactions against this racism.
• What is Asian student labelling?

  various students found that teachers label Asian girls as 'passive' and Asian boys as 'immature'

  Wright found that teachers openly labelled Asian culture as inferior to British assuming Asians had poorer grasp of English.

  led to them receiving least attention and often being excluded from classroom discussion and rarely asked to answer questions
• Evaluation of labelling (most observations)?

  observations may produce artificial rather than natural behaviour

  • many out of date and may reflect older values

  widespread racism among teachers is unlikely as likely to attract peer disproval and sanctions also against the law
• What is the critical race theory?


  academic concept that emerged in late 1970s and early 1980s

  core idea is that racism is a social construct and is something that is embedded in legal systems and policies
• What does Stephen Ball say?

  argues the British curriculum ignores cultural diversity and promotes English habitus 'Little Englandism'
• What does Coard say?

  argues what is taught in schools mainly reflects White culture

  Black culture, music and art are largely ignored

  Black students may see curriculum as irrelevant or insulting and switch off
• Evidence for institutionalised racism?

  Tiklys research - found African-Carribean students were aware of their invisibility in curriculum and were frustrated by focus on White people

  • Gillbourn - found white students 2x likely to get selected for 'gifted and talented' programmes than black students

  Ucas - white students with similar A-levels were more successful than ethnic minority at gaining places at uni
• what were the four subcultures sewell found in his study?


  conformists -> 41% -> rejected hypermasculinity and followed rules -> saw hard work as a route to success

  • innovators -> 35% -> saw education as important but rejected the process and formal schooling -> stayed out of trouble
  • retreatists -> 6% -> kept to themselves (mainly SEN)
  • rebels -> 18% -> rejected norms and values of the school -> saw no relevance in qualifications as racist society would disqualify them from decent jobs -> adopted hypermasculinity and were confrontational and challenging
• what did professor Farzana Shain find?

  pakistan 'gang girls' -> range of subcultural responses to teacher racism

  • survivors -> conformed and ignored racism
• what did Cecil Wright find?

  found that teachers perceived ethnic minority children different from white children

  • african and caribbean children were expected to behave badly, were seen as aggressive and disruptive and more likely to be disciplined for bad behaviour than children from other backrounds
• what did David Gillbourn find?


  teachers tended to see african-caribbean children as a threat when no threat was intended and reacted accordingly with measures of control

  • despite the fact teachers rejected racism, their ethnocentric perceptions were racist consequently -> african-caribbean students experienced more conflict in relationships with teachers and more subjected to the schools detention system
• what is hypervisibility?


  the feeling of being overly visible because of an individuals race or ethnicity

  • this can be due to cultural differences, perceived 'loudness' or 'aggression' simply due to ethnocentric norms and ideas
  • hair policies can also contribute to hypervisibility
• What did Gillbourn and youdell find about setting and streaming?

  black Caribbean students were overrepresented in lower sets

  • talk of how those in lower sets get 'written off' because they have no hope of them achieving A-C
• Evaluations for internal reasons?

  the ethnocentric curriculum cannot explain why so many ethnic groups do better academically than white students

  • most of the research done on in-school factors focuses on african-caribbean underachievement which is a narrow focus -> other differences too -> gypsy roma e.g have very low attainment levels
• what is institutionalised racism?


  the systematic distribution of resources, power and opportunities in our society to the benefit of people who are white and the exclusion of people of colour
• who are the sociologists who provide evidence for pro-education despite racism subcultures?

  Heidi Mirza

  Margaret Fuller

  Mac an Ghaill
• what does Jeffcoate say?

  argues that because the majority of the afro-caribbean students come from working class backrounds, it is reasonable to assume that they wil suffer the same disadvantages as white working class children
• what does Vincent say?

  MC parents would challenge racism in schools
• what did Archer and Francis find?

  in chinease families, they see homework as a 'family project'

  = value education