4. Ethnic differences in Educational Achievement

Question 1

Which ethnic group is the highest educational achiever?

Answer 1

Chinese and Indian

Question 2

Which ethnic group is the lowest achiever?

Answer 2

Gypsys and Black Carribeans

Question 3

Examples of External factors:

Answer 3

-Social class/ Material factors
-Family life/Parent support
-Language barriers
-Racism in society

Question 4

Internal factors:

Answer 4

-Racism in schools
-Teacher labelling/stereotypes
-Ethocentric curiculum
-Subcultures of resistance

Question 5

Social class and material factors:
where are minority ethnic groups likely to live?

Answer 5

Low income households

Question 6

Social class and material factors:
Which families have highest rates of poverty?

Answer 6

Bangladeshi family’s have highest rates of poverty followed by black africans

Question 7

Social class and material factors:
Bangladeshi and black African pupils more likely to…

Answer 7

-have unemployed parents
-be in free school meals
-live in crowded homes
-live in poorest areas

Question 8

Social class and material factors:
Where are Indian and Chinese pupils more likely to come from?

Answer 8

Business and professional middle class families

Question 9

Family life and parental support:
Which ethnic group is more succesful than any other due to family support?

Answer 9

British Chinese pupils more successful than any other ethnic group due to famine support

Question 10

Family life and parental support:
What do Chinese parents do

Answer 10

Chinese parents place exceptionally high value in education

Question 11

Family life and parental support:
Which ethnic minority families are very supportive of children eduction?

Answer 11

Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents are very supportive of children’s education - keen for children to aim high regardless of wealth

Question 12

Family life and parental support:
which ethnic group has high lone parenthood?

Answer 12

Black caribbean’s - poses problems financially and practically yet girls often do very well

Question 13

Family life and parental support:
what percentage if parents go to parents evening when there’s a chance?

Answer 13

82% of parents went to parents evening when there’s a chance

Question 14

Family life and parental support:
What percentage of Uni applications were from ethnic minorities and why was this?

Answer 14

24% of accepted university applications were from ethnic minorities - parent aspiration, support and encouragement is thought to be a key factor

Question 15

Family life and parental support:
What does Sewell point out about black pupils?

Answer 15

Black pupils tend to do worse in education than any other group, they lack discipline provided by fathers, may be attracted by gang culture which rejects academic values.

Question 16

Family life and parental support:
Black boys inparticularly are?

Answer 16

-More likely to to be excluded from school
-Less likely to be identified as gifted and talented

Question 17

Family life and parental support:
What does Sewell say is down to black pupils doing worse?

Answer 17

High proportion of lone-parent families - no male role models = gangs, aggression, macho masculinity -

Question 18

Language barriers:
What percentage of primary and secondary pupils don’t have english as first language?

Answer 18

17% primary and 14% secondary pupils

Question 19

Language barriers:
In how many schools is English not the majority language?

Answer 19

English is not the majority language in 1 out of 9 schools

Question 20

Language barriers:
Who often has lower levels of attainment?

Answer 20

Pupils whom English is additional language often have lower levels of attainment

Question 21

Language barriers:
What problems do language barriers cause?

Answer 21

communicating with teachers, understanding the work, completing homework

Question 22

Language barriers:
What do teachers mistake language barriers for?

Answer 22

Teachers mistake language differences for lack of ability even heavily accented english is also penalised

Question 23

Language barriers:
What did the Swan Report (1985) find?

Answer 23

The Swan report (1985) sound language differences don’t negatively impact most children

Question 24

Language barriers:
What did the DfES (2005) find?

Answer 24

found any impact declined and was
overcome as children got older.

Question 25

Language barriers:
What do bilingual children do?

Answer 25

Bilingual children usually outperform peers

Question 26

Racism in society:
what is racism found to do?

Answer 26

racism is found to influence attitudes and aspirations in school

Question 27

Racism in society:
How are Indian and Chinese considered?

Answer 27

‘Model minorities’ - clever and hardworking

Question 28

Racism in society:
What happens to Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black africans?

Answer 28

They are commonly rejected in society.

Question 29

Racism in schools: What are schools? and how do they disadvantage black pupils?

Answer 29

Schools are racist, teachers help disadvantage black pupils e.g through setting schemes for the able and less able

Question 30

Racism in schools: How do teachers disadvantage black pupils?

Answer 30

Teachers (especially female) disadvantage black pupils through setting schemes resulting in black pupils being relegated to the lowest sets due to low expectations.

Question 31

Racism in schools: What are black pupils viewed as?

Answer 31

Black pupils viewed as ‘no hopers’

Question 32

Racism in schools: Which race are more likely to be excluded?

Answer 32

Black Caribbean’s more likely to be excluded due to teacher bias

Question 33

Racism in schools: How does racism affect minorities differently?

Answer 33

‘model minorities’ treated differently from minorities who are seen as potential problems

Question 34

Racism in schools: What is entrenched in the organisation of schools?

Answer 34

Institutional racism is entrenched in the organisation of schools

Question 35

Racism in school: How do teachers label Asian students?

Answer 35

Teachers label Asian girls as ‘passive’, and boys as ‘immature’. Teachers label Asian culture as inferior and assume Asian children have a poor grasp of English.

Question 36

Teacher labelling: What labels are African Caribbean’s usually given?

Answer 36

‘unruly’ ‘disrespectful’ and ‘difficult to control’

Question 37

Teacher labelling: What do schools see black pupils as ?

Answer 37

Schools see black pupils as a threat which leads to negative labelling and eventual exlusion.

Question 38

Teacher labelling: What do teachers see as a challenge to their authority?

Answer 38

Teachers interpret dress and speech of African Caribbean pupils as representing a challenge to their authority

Question 39

Ethnocentric curriculum: How do African Caribbean males often react to white dominated education system?

Answer 39

African Caribbean males often react angrily to and reject the white dominated education system - gaining status and recognition through other means

Question 40

Ethnocentric curriculum: How do Indians react to white dominated education system?

Answer 40

Indians show anger but don’t reject education system - they succeed by using it to their advantage

Question 41

Subcultures: What do black males do in response to negative teacher labels?

Answer 41

In response to labels black males construct a form of identity earning them represent from peers and females

Question 42

Subcultures: What is seen as a badge to wear for black pupils?

Answer 42

Educational failure is seen as a badge to wear gaining black pupils ‘street cred’

Question 43

Subcultures: What has there been concern over?

Answer 43

Development of ‘gangsta’ culture due to absences of positive black role models at home as well as in schools

Question 44

Subcultures: What leads to the development of ‘gangsta’ culture?

Answer 44

Lack of positive black role models in home and at schools

Question 45

Ethnocentric curriculum: What does the curriculum do?

Answer 45

Curriculum disadvantages ethnic minorities

Question 46

Ethnocentric curriculum: Why does the curriculum disadvantage ethnic minorities?

Answer 46

Knowledge they encounter at school may not connect with their own cultural experience

Question 47

Ethnocentric curriculum: What is said about outdated material?

Answer 47

Outdated materials often seen as offensive reflecting colonial values + stereotypes

Question 48

Ethnocentric curriculum: What does the content of education ignore?

Answer 48

The content of education ignores black people resulting in low self esteem

Question 49

Ethnocentric curriculum: What is the result of content of the education system ignoring black people?

Answer 49

Results in low self esteem

Question 50

Ethnocentric curriculum: Despite low self esteem what have many black pupils maintained?

Answer 50

Maintained a strong positive self image

Question 51

Institutional racism: What is the critical racism theory?

Answer 51

Racism is a feature of society, institutional racism is a locked in inequality so historical that it is no longer a conscious thought, racism is so ingrained in education that it is inevitable.

Question 52

Institutional racism: How does marketisation and Segregation lead to racism in schools?

Answer 52

Marketisation allows for more covert selection which can lead to segregation, leading to ethnic minority pupils in the unpopular schools.

Question 53

Institutional racism: How does access to educational opportunities lead to racism in schools?

Answer 53

In gifted and talented programmes white pupils are twice as likely to be identified as gifted and talented over ethnic minorities, who are less likely to be entered for higher tier exams, down to teacher labelling and stereotyping.