Ethnicity & Achievement

Question 1

What ethnicities are thehighest achievers with percentages? (3)

Answer 1

79% Chinese
78% Indian
62% Bangladesh

Question 2

What ethnicites are the lowest achievers? (4)

Answer 2

Poorest White British boys and girls
Black Caribbean
Pakistani
Gypsy/ Roma
Traveller of Irish heritage pupils.

Question 3

What external factor can affect their achievement?

Answer 3

Material deprivation

Question 4

How can material deprivation affect their achievement?

Answer 4

BAME groups are twice more likely to live in poverty as White British. 40% Black.
But, not all BAME groups are materially deprived, Chinese and Indians have relatively high incomes.

Question 5

What did Madood argue?

Answer 5

He argued that while children from low income families did less well, the effects of low income were much less for other ethnic groups than for white pupils.
So, children from poor ethnic minorities did better than children from white ethnic backgrounds. It could be cultural factors instead.

Question 6

Why might White poor people underachieve on average compared to W/C BAME groups? (3)

Answer 6

Less strict parents
White privilege
White people are more likely to get offers from the best universities.

Question 7

What did Lupton argue?

Answer 7

She saw white underachievement as a result of low levels of parental support.
Teachers reported poorer levels of behaviour and discipline in the whire w/c schools.
They blamed this on low levels of parental support and a negative attitude towards learning because their parents didn’t put any value on it.

Question 8

What concept did Madood itroduce and what example did he use?

Answer 8

Ethnic capital.
A person’s ethnic background, values and attitudes may act as an advantage to success.
Due to racial discrimination, migrants suffered a downward social mobility when coming to Britain.
The only jobs available were often below their qualification levels and below the social class level.
They valued education more and saw it as part of the process to reverse the downward mobility, especially in the lives of their children.

Question 9

What concept did Basit introduce and what example did they use?

Answer 9

Aspirational capital.
Some groups like Bangladeshis and Pakistanis come from poorer countries seeking a better life for themselves and future generations.
Parents saw free education as a ‘blessing’ because it offered more opportunities than were available in their own country.
So they viewed education as a capital and had high aspirations to achieve and get a good job.

Question 10

What concept did Archer introduce and what concept did she use?

Answer 10

Family capital.
Chinese parents and families were considered a resource investing time, effort and money into their children. They monitored their children’s progress and often hired tutors to help.
They viewed education as a family project.

Question 11

What does Sewell’s study argue?

Answer 11

Underachievement of Black Caribbean pupils is due to their family structure and bein raised in lone parent families.
Some boys lack strong male role models and the discipline of tough love that can be given by fathers.
As a result of this, they may be more attracted to gangs and anti-school subcultures looking for peverse love and loyalty.
Black students often do worse due to cultural differences in socialisation and attitudes to education.

Question 12

What did Gillborn and Mirza find out?

Answer 12

Black children were the highest achievers on entry to primary schools but by the time it came to GCSEs they had the worst results of any ethnic group.

Question 13

How does Gillborn and Mirza’s fact chalenge the assumption made by Sewell?

Answer 13

It contradicts his theory. Home background is not the issue when it comes to underachievement. Instead it is an internal factor meaning there are issues within the education system.

Question 14

What factors might help to explain the underachievement of some black pupils? (7)

Answer 14

Setting and streaming.
Negative labelling
Anti-school subcultures
Nike identities
Culture clash/ symbolic violence
Discrimination/racism
Tougher punishments.

Question 15

What is Gillborn and Youdell’s study and what ethnic group do they include?

Answer 15

Teachers were quicker to disclipline black pupils than other for the same behaviour.
This is because they had racialised expectations meaning that teachers expected black pupils to present more discipline problems and misinterpreted their behaviour as threatening or a challenge to authority.
Black pupils responded to this negatively and further conflict was caused because their treatment was unfair.

Question 16

How can Gillborn and Youdell’s study has an impact on their experience and achievement?

Answer 16

They will face harsher punishments including exclusions. If they are not in school, there will be gaps in their education.
They may join anti-school subcultures and placed in lower sets to take the foundation paper.

Question 17

What is Wright’s study and what ethnic group did he use?

Answer 17

Asian pupils, especially girls were excluded and recieved less attention from teachers.
They were labelled to have poor language skills and isolated when teachers expressed disapproval of their culture.
Teachers saw them as not a threat but as a problem that they could ignore.

Question 18

How did Wright’s study have an impact on their experience and achievement?

Answer 18

They may not be getting the support that they need.
May be low in confidence and isolated, feeling marginalised.
Teachrs made stereotypical comments which made other students treat Asian girls with hostility.

Question 19

What did Fuller argue for pupil responses?

Answer 19

Instead of accepting their labels, they chanelled their anger into educational success.
They didn’t seek approval from teachers instead they were friends with other Black girls and were able to maintain a positive self-image by relying on their own efforts rather than their teacher’s stereotypes.
This shows that negative labelling doesn’t always lead to failute, they were pro-education but anti-school.

Question 20

What did Mirza argue for pupil responses?

Answer 20

She found that racist teachers discouraged black pupils from being ambitious through they advice they gave them.
The colour-blind: The teachers who believe all teachers who believe all pupils are equal but in practice they allow racism to go unchallenged.
The liberal chauvinists: teachers who believe blakc pupils are culturally deprived and have low expectations of them.
The overt racists: Teachers who believe blacks are inferior and actively discriminate.

Question 21

What did Sewel argue for pupil responses?

Answer 21

He notes that racist stereotyping can affect their achievement.
There are four different responses which are: the rebels, the conformists, the retreatists and the innovators.
Teachers see all black boys in this way which contributes to the underachievement of many boys in shcool.

Question 22

What pupil identities did Archer introduce? (3)

Answer 22

Ideal: a white, m/d, masculine identity with a normal sexuality, seeing as achievening the ‘right way’ through natural ability.
Pathologise: An Asian, ‘deserving’, poor, feminised identity, either asexual or with oppressed sexuality. Seen as conformist and ‘over-achiever’- succeeds through hard work rather than natural ability.
Demonised: A white or black w/c, hyper-sexualised identity. Seen as unintelligent and under-achieving.

Question 23

What did Troyna and Williams argue?

Answer 23

The achievement pf different ethnic groups is influenced by insitutional racism - discrimination that is built into the way institutions such as schools and colleges operate.

Question 24

What are the three forms of institutional racism?

Answer 24

Marketisation policies.
Access to opportunities
Ethnocentrism

Question 25

Who argues about marketisation policies and what do they have to say about it?

Answer 25

Gillborn argued that policies may discriminate against certaim groups.
They found that there were racism in school admission procedures such as:
Lack of information and application forms in minority languages.
EM parents are often unaware of how waiting lists work and the importance to adhering to deadlines.

Question 26

How might marketisation policies have an impact on achievement? (3)

Answer 26

There may be in-builty language barriers which are a disadvantage.
They may favour the culture of one group
Parents lack cultural capital.

Question 27

Who argues about access to opportunities and what do they have to say about it?

Answer 27

Gillborn argued that methods used to assess student’s ability can be institutionally racist.
There is the ‘new IQism’ in which teachers make false assumptions about pupils’ ability results in Black African or Caribbean backgrounds being less likely to be given access to equal opportunities such as higher sets or the Gifted and Talented Programme.

Question 28

How can access to opportunities impact achievement? (3)

Answer 28

Lower sets/streams
Whites are more likely to be labelled as gifted and talented.
Low tier GCSE exams

Question 29

What is ethnocentrism and what forms of it is there in schools? (4)

Answer 29

Ethnocentrism is an attitude or policy that gives priority to the culture of one particular ethnic group.
The forms are:
Ethnocentric curriculum - RE and History is taught from a White, British, Christian perspective.
Dress requirements: may conflict with cultural ones.
Dietary requirements: not providing halal or kosher foods.
Academic calendar is based around Christian festivals.

Question 30

How can ethnocentrism have an impact on achievement? (3)

Answer 30

Lack of confidence and motivation
Symbolic violence and cultural clash
Undermines self-esteem.

Question 31

What is the evaluation of institutional racism? (3)

Answer 31

If our education system is institutionally racist, why are mode minorities the best achievers?
Marxists would argue that it performs an ideological function. Gillborn argues that meritocracy is a way to keep us in false class consciousness and ignores that racism and harassment still exists.
Class is a factor of underachievement that we have. We now have an elitist curriculum.