Ethnic Differences in Education

• Ethnicity


  People who share common history, customs and identity
• Ethnic Minority


  Any ethnicity that is not in the ethnic majority (white british)
• B.A.M.E


  Black, Asian, Minority Ethnicity
• Percentage of pupils achieved in progress 8

  • Chinese: 79%
  • Indian: 76%
  • Bangladeshi: 62%
  • White British: 60%
  • Black African: 60%
  • Pakistani: 56%
  • Black Caribbean: 52%
  • Gypsy/Roma: 14%
• Factor 1: Cultural Deprivation


  • Sociologists say it is the result of inadequate socialisation within the home
  • It is split into intellectual & linguistic skills, attitudes & values and family structures & parental support
• Language and Intellect skills

  Many low income black family children are subjected to inequality within schools, which causes them to lack intellectual skills
• Attitudes and Values


  The authoritative nature Asian parents adapt at home is similar to the schools as they have more familial respect, therefore Asian pupils get better grades
• Family Structures and Parental Support

  Many children within black families have mothers as lone-parents. They do not receive familial support as the mother now has to act as a breadwinner for the family. This also robs boys of having a role model to look up to for male achievement
• New right sociologist Muarry (1984) says that low level achievement is the result of the education system failing to embrace mainstream British culture
• Arnot (2004) says that the media makes an impression on young black boys as it typically shows anti-school black masculinity. Says that the media reinforces 'the ultra-tough ghetto superstar'
• CRITICISMS


  • Lawrence (1982) says that black pupils fail because their culture is weak and that they lack self esteem. They fail within the education system because of racism.
  • Keddie sees cultural deprivation as victim blaming. She says that ethnic minority children are culturally different, not deprived and that they underachieve because the education system is ethnocentric and are biassed when it comes to white students.
• Factor 2: Material deprivation and class

  • Almost half of all ethnic minorities live in low income households
  • Ethnic minorities are twice more likely to be unemployed in comparison to whites
  • Ethnic minorities are three times more likely to become homeless
  • Almost half of Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers earn less than £7 per hour
• Modood (2004) found that the effects of low income were much less for other ethnic groups in comparison to the white british
• Factor 3: Racism in Wider Society

  • Manson (2000) says that 'discrimination is a continuing and persistent feature of the experience of Britains' citizens of minority ethnic origin'
  • Rex (1986) says that racial discrimination leads to social exclusion and effects worsley upon ethnic minorities who are impoverished. E.g. in housing, ethnic minorities would only get standardised accommodation meanwhile the white middle class would get different and better.
  • Wood Et Al (2010) found that 1 out of 16 ethnic minorities were chosen for a job, meanwhile 1 out of 9 white applicants got the job
• Teacher Labelling and Racism

  • Black Pupils: Gillborn and Youdell (2000) found that teachers were quicker to discipline black students than any other. They mistook their attitudes for challenging and threatening, causing teachers to negatively label them and therefore making black students feel degraded and unestimated.
  • South Asian Students: Wright (1992) found that asian students were also subjected to teacher labelling as teachers held ethnocentric views. This would affect asian students as teachers assumed they had a poor grasp on the english language, therefore leaving them out of class discussions and talking down upon them.
  • Asian Students: Archer (2008) says that teachers believe that the way Chinese students excelled within education was not in the normal way, but in a cheating way. Archer found that Chinese students excelled through hard work and conforming, rather than their natural ability, so teachers could legitimately label them as 'ideal pupils', despite them being model minorities
• Setting and Streaming


  • Gillborn and Youdell (2011) found that teachers would only focus on students that achieved higher than a C at GCSE. This highlights negativity on black students' ability as they are more likely to be placed in lower sets or streams.
  • Foster (1990) found that teachers stereotypes on black people and their attitudes resulted in them being placed into lower sets than other ethnic groups with the same ability. This can therefore lead black students into a self fulfilling prophecy of underachievement
• Pupil Response and Subcultures

  • Fuller (1984) found through a group of black year 11 students that they only conformed to the school system because it benefitted their education. They only respected themselves and not the school and its teachers.
  • Mirza (1992) found that racist teachers discouraged black students into being ambitious. Mirza separated teacher racism into 3 groups: the colour blind, the liberal chauvinists, and the over racists.
  • Sewell (1998) identified 4 ways black students reacted to the school system as result of racism and stereotypes: the rebels, the conformists, the retreatists, and the innovators
• Not all teachers hold racist stereotypes, and help work with ethnic groups, not steer them away
• There is a possibility that students who are labelled, streamed or put in a lower set can experience a self-fulfilling prophecy
• Black underachievement doesn't only happen in school. As a society, we need to focus on the bigger picture and understand where this perception has come from
• It is not the teachers fault, but stems from the organisation and operation of the education system
• The Ethnocentric Curriculum


  • Ethnocentrism - The action of prioritising one culture over the other (disregarding them)
  • The national curriculum being put in schools and colleges are ethnocentric as they can be seen as 'specifically British', and largely ignores Europe's language, literature and music
  • Ball (1994) Identified that the history behind black and asian people were being ignored. He also says that the education system promotes 'little englandism' instead. This can cause the underachievement of black and asian pupils as their learning has no correlation with their heritage
• Cultural deprivation


  A school or community that is lacking in cultural resources and opportunities
• Gladstone primary school was judged "inadequate" by Ofsted, the teaching inspectorate's lowest mark
• Gladstone primary school was asked to improve immediately, despite the students' kindness and dedication towards the school and their education
• Gladstone primary school was culturally deprived


  Yet they still were able to gain the education they needed
• British schools are becoming more multicultural
• Gladstone primary school


  • 80% of its students are from Pakistani descent
  • Many different languages spoken such as Kurdish, French, German, Latvian
• Many people within Gladstone primary school did not know how to speak English