Education - Ethnicity & Achievement (External Factors)

Question 1

What are the 3 main external factors?

Answer 1

Cultural deprivation
Material deprivation
Racism in wider society

Question 2

What are the 3 main aspects of cultural deprivation?

Answer 2

Intellectual & linguistic skills
Attitudes & values
Family structure & parental support

Question 3

How does intellectual & linguistic skills affect achievement in ethnic minorities?

Answer 3

Children from low-income families are said to lack intellectual stimulation & enriching experiences so they are ill-equipped for school (as they havent been able to develop reasoning or people skills)

Question 4

SOCIOLOGISTS: What did Bereiter & Engelmann say about Intellectual & linguistic skills?

Answer 4

They consider the language spoken by low-income black American families as inadequate for educational success - seen as ungrammatical, disjointed & incapable of expressing abstract ideas

Question 5

Evaluation: What is the view of Gillborn & Mirza related to Intellectual & Linguistic skills?

Answer 5

They note that Indian pupils do well in terms of educational achievement despite not having English as a 1st/home language

Question 6

How does attitudes & values affect educational achievement?

Answer 6

Lack of motivation among black children is seen as a major cause of their educational failure.
Sociologists argue that black children are socialised into a ‘live for today’ culture that doesnt value education & leaves them unequipped for success (+ deviates from mainstream culture - instils competitiveness, ambition etc.)

Question 7

How is family structure & parental support seen to influence educational achievement?

Answer 7

It is argued that the failure to socialise children adequately results in a dysfunctional family structure - has a negative effect on achievement

Question 8

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Moynihan say about family structure & parental support?

Answer 8

Argues that as many black families are led by a single mother, her children are deprived of adequate care (she has to financially struggle - no breadwinner) so this absence of a father means boys lack a male role model for achievement

This cultural deprivation ends up being a cyclical process where these inadequately socialised children from unstable families go on to fail and end up as inadequate parents themselves.

Question 9

SOCIOLOGIST: What did Pryce say about the underachievement of black Caribbean pupils & Asians

Answer 9

Said that family structure contributes to the underachievement of black Caribbean pupils in the UK

Claims that Asians are more resistant to racism (as they have a greater sense of self worth) & argues that black Caribbeans are less cohesive & resistant to racism (causes low esteem & underachievement) + argues that the difference is the result of the impact of colonialism on the 2 groups as slavery was culturally devastating (black people lost their language, religion etc.) whereas colonial rule didn’t destroy Asian family culture

Question 10

SOCIOLOGIST: What did Sewell say about fathers, gangs & culture?

Answer 10

Argues that it isnt the absence of fathers as role models that leads to the underachievement of black boys it is that there is a lack of fathers nurturing ‘tough love’ which results in boys looking to street gangs for ‘perverse loyalty & love’. This presents boys with an inspired role model of anti-school black masculinity and leaves them subject to anti-educational peer pressure (many of black boys interviewed said the biggest barrier was other black boys)

+ said that black students do worse than their Asian counterparts is due to cultural differences in education - 1 group are nurtured by MTV another are clocking up the educational hours

Question 11

SOCIOLOGIST: What did Sewell concluded needed to happen so they can achieve better in education?

Answer 11

Black children (particularly boys) need to have greater expectations of them so they can raise their expectations & ultimately achieve higher

Question 12

Evaluation: What did Gillborn say in response to Sewell’s theory?

Answer 12

Argue that peer pressure doesn’t produce failure but the institutional racism does

Question 13

SOCIOLOGIST: What is Sewell’s view on Asian families?

Answer 13

Argue that Indian & Chinese pupils benefit from supportive families with an ‘Asian work ethic’ that places a high value on education

Question 14

SOCIOLOGIST: What did Lupton say about Asian families?

Answer 14

Argued that authority in Asian households works similarly to the model that operates in schools and found that respectful behaviour towards adults was expected of them. This has a knock-on effect in schools as parents are more likely to be supportive to the school’s behaviour policies

Question 15

SOCIOLOGIST: What did McCulloch’s survey of 16000 pupils find?

Answer 15

Ethnic minorities are more likely to aspire to go to university than white British pupils

Question 16

STUDY: What was the study conducted by Lupton & what were the findings?

Answer 16

Studied 4 mainly working class schools - 2 predominantly White, 2 largely Pakistani & 1 mixed ethnicity

Found that teachers reported poorer levels of of behaviour & discipline in the white working class schools (even though there were fewer children on free school meals = lower poverty)

Question 17

STUDY: What did the teachers blame the findings on in Lupton’s study?

Answer 17

The lower levels of parental support & negative attitude that white working class parents have towards education - ethnic minority parents are more likely to see it as a ‘way up in society’

Question 18

Evaluation: What did Evans say which criticises Lupton’s study?

Answer 18

Argues that street culture in white working class areas can be tough & this means that young people have to learn to withstand intimidation & intimidate others - this means that school can become a place where these power games erupt & it makes it harder for them to succeed & brings disruption

Question 19

What is compensatory education?

Answer 19

The main policy that has been adapted to tackle cultural deprivation & operation head start in the USA was to compensate children for there perceived cultural deprivation they are said to suffer from due to coming from deprived backgrounds

Question 20

Evaluation: What are criticisms of cultural deprivation theory?

Answer 20

Driver -> ignores the positive effects of ethnicity on education (black Caribbean families provide girls with positive role models of strong independent women -> explains why black girls tend to succeed more than the boys)

Lawrence -> challenges Pryce’s view & argues black pupils under achieve due to racism

Kedwell -> sees cultural deprivation as a victim-blaming explanation & argues that ethnic minority children are culturally different not deprived and underachieve as most schools are ethnocentric and are biased in favour of white culture.

Question 21

Why are ethnic minorities more likely to experience material deprivation?

Answer 21

Ethnic minorities are more likely to suffer from factors e.g. substantial housing which produces educational failure

Question 22

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Palmer say about material deprivation and ethnicity?

Answer 22

• Ethnic minorities almost 2x likely to be unemployed compared to whites.
• Ethnic minority households are around 3x likely to be homeless.

Question 23

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Palmer say that are the reasons for ethnic minorities so be more likely to suffer from cultural deprivation?

Answer 23

• Lack of language skills & foreign qualifications not being recognised by UK employers – more likely to affect recently arrived groups (many refugees) – most members of established minority groups are fluent in English
• Many live in economically depressed areas with high unemployment & low wage rates

Question 24

How are these inequalities reflected?

Answer 24

The proportion of children from ethnic minority groups who are eligible for FSM

Question 25

Are Indian pupils more or less likely to be from better-off backgrounds & what does this mean?

Answer 25

They are more likely, so they are 2x as likely than white people & 5x as likely to attend private school

Question 26

SOCIOLOGIST: What did Rex say that shows that racial discrimination leads to social exclusions & worsens poverty for individuals in ethnic minorities?

Answer 26

The housing discrimination that they face means they’re more likely to be forced into substantial accommodation than white people of the same class

Question 27

STUDY: What was the procedure for Wood et al’s study into employment discrimination?

Answer 27

Sent 3 closely matched job descriptions for every 1000 job vacancies (using fictitious applicants with stereotypical names from ethnic minorities)

Question 28

STUDY: What were the findings of Wood et al’s study?

Answer 28

Found that on 1 in 16 members in the ‘ethnic minority’ where offered an interview against 1 in 9 ‘white’ applications

Question 29

STUDY: What was the conclusion of Wood et al’s study?

Answer 29

Helps to explain why members of ethnic minority groups are more likely to face unemployment & low pay which ultimately affects their child’s education