Ethnic Differences (internal factors)

• Labelling (black students)

  • Gillborn and Youdell found that teachers had racialised expectations of black pupils and saw their behaviour as threatening
  • black pupils were more likely than others to be punished for the same behaviour as white pupils
• Labelling (black female students)

  • Fuller found that high achieving black girls maintained a positive self-image by rejecting teachers’ stereotypes
  • they did not seek teacher approval but valued education
  • Mirza found that black girls’ strategies for handling teacher racism disadvantaged them e.g. they would not ask for help
• labelling (asian pupils)

  • Wright found that Asian primary school pupils were stereotyped and treated differently
  • teachers used simple language as they assumed they would speak poor English
• Pupil subcultures

  • Sewell found that black boys developed responses to teachers racist labelling:
  • Conformists; keen to succeed, accepted the school’s goals
  • Innovators; pro-education, but anti-school, values success and 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’
• ethnocentric curriculum

  • Troyna and Williams state that the British curriculum prioritises white culture and the English language
  • e.g. holidays in line with Christian culture and a focus on white leaders in history