ethnicity- external

• • Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are over three times more likely than whites to be in the poorest fifth of the population. Women stay at home- less integration with main society and cultural deprivation of 1st gen immigrants as they won't know elaborative code
• Material deprivation- The largest effect of poverty can be seen in White British students. With an 11% difference in achievement between FSM and Non FSM compared to a 1% difference for Bangladeshi students. This suggests that there are cultural factors which may mitigate the lack of resources for some ethnic groups and accelerate it for others. 
•  Cultural capital- Modood suggests that many ethnic minority parents have more access to cultural capital than is normal for their class and position. If they are recent immigrants to the UK they may be downwardly mobile. That is they take jobs that are not in line with their educational achievement, skills and experience due to discrimination or lack of knowledge of the British system so they may be better educated than majority of British parents
• Does class override culture?

  No-  rich Chinese students tend to do better than poor Chinese students and rich White British students tend to do better than poor white British students. 

  However even those Chinese students who are materially deprived still do better than most. In 2011 86% of Chinese Girls who received free school meals achieved five or more GCSE’s compared to Whit British Girls who achieved 65%. 
• • Unemployment is three times higher for African and Bangladeshi/Pakistani people than whites.- social capital- no connections due to institutional racism and it's easier to not hire them if they can't pronounce their names and lack of cultural capital as their qualifications may not be recognised in the UK
• • 15% of ethnic minority households live in overcrowded conditions, compared with only 2% of white households.
• In 2019, 72% of Oxford undergraduates were white- material deprivation of ethnic minorties
• Platt 2011-  The highest rate of pay was Chinese ethnic groups followed by Indian, White British, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi and finally Pakistani. This broadly correlates with educational achievement in these ethnic groups suggesting that lack of access to resources rather than culture could be the primary driver to success or lack off.
• National pupil database 2011- gap between FSM and non FSM at the end of KS4 without 5 or more GCSES

  • 11% Difference in white FSM and non white FSM- CULTURE
  • Only 1% difference in FSM and non FSM Bangladeshi and 2% difference in Blacks- 1st generation immigrant effect
• parental attitudes to education- Daniel Moynihan (1965) argues that many black families are headed by a lone mother which means boys have no male role model to look up to thus creating educational underachievement.  British Chinese students are the most successful ethnic grouping. Research by Archer and Francis suggests this may be because of the exceptionally high value that Chinese parents placed on education. White working class pupils underachieve might be because of a lack of parental support. 
• Bernstein- EAL (eng alternative lang) pupils won't understand lang-can't assess the curriclum, lie at parents evening when translating etc and parents have to apply for schools, look at OFSTED ect in English- won't understand
• Basit 2013- education is capital- Studied impact of Cultural Factors on educational achievement in three generation (grandparents, parents and children) of British Asian communities All older groups saw free education in the UK as a blessing as it offered more opportunity than was available in their country. Children were supported both in terms of resources and with help completing work. Education was seen as a source of capital which would transform the life of younger generations.
• 20% black African households are lone parent but 48% get 5 or more GCSES and only 16.6% black afro carribean are lone headed but only 30% get 5 or more gcses
• According to DfE Black piupils are;

  • More likley to be permenently excluded
  • 1.5 times as likely to be identified with SEN need
  • Disproportionately put in bottom sets
  • Less likely to be identified as gifted and talented.
  • black children have a 'live for today' attitude which leaves them unequipped for success
• Family structure- Charles Murray argued that a high rate of lone parenthood and lack of positive male role model led to underachievement of certain ethnic minorities. Other sociologist have argued that this underachievement is the result of ethnic minorities failure to embrace mainstream british culture.- Mother is always at work so nobody to punish child
• Sewell (1997) argues that many black families are headed by a lone mother which means boys have no male role model to look up to thus creating educational underachievement. This makes them more llikely to be attracted to gang culture and encouraged to take on an aggressive macho form of masculinity. 

  Sewell argues that Black students do worse than their Asian counterparts because of cultural diffrences in socialisation and attitudes towars education. but Dianne Abbot (1st black MP) sent her son to priv school- single mum
• Asian Families (Sewell & Lupton)

  Indian and Chinese students benefit from supportive families that have an ‘Asian Work Ethic’ and place high value on education. Asian families have a hierarchical model of adult authority that is similar to schools in which respectful behaviour to adults is expected. This make it easier to Asian students to deal with it in school and has a knock on effect that Asian famileis are more supportive of school B4L policies. 
• Divorce rate is the highest for Black afro carribean and lowest for asian
• White Working Class Families (Lupton)

  White working class families have low aspirations. Lupton studies 4 working class schools (two white, one largely pakistani and one mixed). Teachers reported poorest level of behaviur in white working class. Teachers blamed this on low level of parent support and the negative attitudes working class have towards education.

  • Paul Willis- don't need education, just get a job
  • Compensatory education to break loophole but SFP- if parents place no value on education neither will kids
• Positive side of ethnicityDRIVER 1977


  • Strong independent women provide girls with a positive role model which explains why black girls tend to be more successful than black boys
• criticisms

  Keddie argues that ethnic minority children are culturally different not culturally deprived, and they underachieve because schools are ethnocentric: biased to favour the white culture. 

  This underacheivment in Black Group should not be exagerated. Sewell is criticisms for blamin black culutre and aposed to the inequalities Black students encounter within the education system itself.
• some African Caribbean pupils hae very high acheivment. In addition white working class children in inner cities have recently been highlighted as making the least progress. 
• Racism in wider society- Macpherson report- metropolitan police are institutionally racist
• Only 34.8% black Caribbean get grade 5 or above in English and maths compared to 79.6% Chinese