External Factors Flashcards
what are external factors linked to
Cultural Deprivation
cultural deprivation
Some sociologists argue that ethnic differences are the result of a lack of adequate socialisation in the home
factors under external factors
Cultural Deprivation
Material Deprivation
Racism in Wider Society
cultural deprivation factors
Intellectual and Linguistic Skills
Attitudes and Values
Family Structure and Parental Support
sociologist behind intellectual and linguistic skills
Bereiter and Engelmann
intellectual and linguistic skills
CD theorists see a lack of linguistic skills as a major cause of underachievement for some ethnic minority group children, leaving them poorly equipped for school. For example, a study conducted by Bereiter and Engelmann claimed that the language used by low-income black American families is inadequate for educational success, they argue that they make use of the restricted code which uses ungrammatical disjointed phrases
sociologist behind attitudes and values
Sugarmann
attitudes and values
CD theorists see the lack of aspiration as a major cause of underachievement. Sugarmann argued that features of WC subculture act as a barrier to educational success, since ethnic minorities are more likely to be WC they are also affected by the same values. He argued that ethnic minority children are socialised into a subculture that instils a fatalistic attitude that makes them believe that there is very little they can do to change their educational outcome, it makes them not value education and leaves them unequipped for success. Similarly, Evans argues that the street culture of white WC areas is brutal and schools become a place where they play out that culture, which makes it hard for them to succeed.
sociologist behind family structure and parental support
Moynihan - black lone parents’ families
Lupton - adult authority in Asian families
Pryce
Sewell - lack of fatherly figures
Mc-colloch - White working-class families
Family structure and parental support - lone parent black families
CD theorists argue that the failure to socialise children properly is the result of a dysfunctional family structure. Moynihan argues that because many black families are headed by a lone mother, their children struggle without a breadwinner. The father’s absence also means no role models for boys to look up to or to discipline them, these children get trapped in a cycle where they go on to fail at school and become inadequate parents and families
Asian families
Asian families have a much more pro-school attitude because Asian families are rarely lone-parent families they offer a bigger support network. Lupton argues that adult authority in Asian families is similar to the model that operates in schools. Asian students are socialised into a strong sense of respecting authority figures, which is required at school, their parents are very supportive of school behaviour policies and promote them at home which leads to conformity at school and a pro-school attitude. Pryce focused research on Asian students who tend to be high achievers, she argues that Asian culture in the UK is much more cohesive than Black Culture and as such they are more resistant to racism, which gives them a greater sense of self-worth which carries over in school and leads to educational success. This is the opposite of black Caribbean families who are less resistant to racism, creating lower self-esteem and educational failure. This is due to slavery which brings up issues with self worth meaning that much of Black culture has lost its culture
absence of fathers
Sewell argues that the lack of fatherly figures in black families is the cause of boys’ underachievement. The absence of a fatherly figure who can provide tough love and nurture to sons means they struggle with the difficulties of adolescence. This often means they turn to street gangs in search of a father figure, these gangs are often anti-school and promote rebellious behaviour.
white working-class families
White working-class pupils often underachieve and have lower aspirations. McCulloch’s survey of 16,000 pupils found that minority ethnic group pupils are more likely to aspire to go to university than white pupils. This low level of aspiration and achievement may be due to a lack of parental support. Lupton studied two predominantly white WC schools and she found that teachers reported lower levels of behaviour and discipline and they blamed it on lower levels of parental support and the negative attitude that white WC parents had towards education, while EM parents were likely to see education as a way up in society.
sociologist behind material deprivation
Flaherty
Material Deprivation - stats
Ethnic minorities are more likely to be working class and be affected by the problems this brings. Flaherty found that pupils of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage are over 3x more likely than white people to be in the poorest 3rd of the population. Unemployment is 3x higher for African and Bangladeshi and Pakistani people than for white people. 15% of ethnic minority households live in overcrowded conditions, compared with only 2% of white households.
