Internal Factors (2) Institutional Racism

Question 1

Troyna and Williams (1986)

Answer 1

They argue that to explain ethnic differences in achievement, we need to go behind simply examining individual teacher racism. We must also look at how schools and colleges routinely and even unconsciously discriminate against ethnic minorities. They therefore make a distinction between:
- individual racism - that results from the prejudiced views of individual teachers and others
- institutional racism - discrimination that is built into the way institutions such as schools and colleges operate.

Question 2

What’s the critical race theory?

Answer 2

Critical race theory sees racism as an ingrained feature of society. This means that it involves not just the intentional actions of individuals but, more importantly, institutional racism. According to two of the founders of the black panther party in the USA Carmichael and Hamilton, institutional racism is:
‘Less overt, more subtle, less identifiable.’

Question 3

What is institutional racism?

Answer 3

When discrimination is written into the rules and routines practises of an institution, often unknowing

Question 4

What’s locked in inequality

Answer 4

For critical race theorists such as roithmayr, institutional racism is a ‘locked in inequality’: the scale of historical discrimination is so large that there is no longer needs to be any conscious intent to discriminate- the inequality Becomes self perpetuating: it feeds on itself.

Question 5

Locked in inequality - Gilborn (2008)

Answer 5

Applies the concept of locked in inequality to education. He sees ethnic inequality as “so deep rooted and so large that it is a practically inevitable feature of the education system”.

Question 6

Marketisation and segregation

Answer 6

Gilborn (1997) argues that because marketisation gives schools more scope to select pupils, it allows negative stereotypes to influence decisions about school admissions

Question 7

Marketisation and segregation - Moore and davenports American research

Answer 7

They show how selection procedures lead to ethnic segregation, with minority pupils failing to get into better secondary schools due to discrimination. For example, they found that primary school reports were used to screen out pupils with language difficulties, while application process was difficult for non English speaking parents to understand.
These procedures favoured white pupils and disadvantaged those from ethnic minority backgrounds. Moore and davenport conclude that selection leads to an ethnically stratified education system.

Question 8

The commission for race equality (1993)

Answer 8

Identified similar biases in Britain. It noted that racism in school admissions procedures means that ethnic minority children are more likely to end up in unpopular schools. The report identifies the following reasons:
- reports from primary schools that stereotype minority pupils
- racist bias in interviews for school places
- lack of information and application forms in minority languages
- ethnic minority parents are often unaware of how the waiting list system works and the importance of deadlines

Question 9

The ethnocentric curriculum

Answer 9

The term ‘ethnocentric’ describes an attitude or policy that gives priority to the culture and viewpoint of one particular ethnic group, while disregarding others. - this involves the priority given to white British culture.
Many sociologists see the ethnocentric curriculum as a prime example of institutional racism because it builds a racial bias into the everyday workings of schools and colleges.

Question 10

What does the ethnocentric curriculum include?

Answer 10

Languages, literature and music, Troyna and Williams note the meagre provision for teaching Asian languages as compared with Asian languages. Miriam David (1993) describes the national curriculum as a ‘specifically British’ curriculum that largely ignores non European languages, literature and music.
History - ball (1994) criticises the national curriculum for ignoring ethnic diversity and for promoting an attitude of ‘little Englandism’. For example, the history curriculum tries to recreate a ‘mythical age of empire and past glories’, while ignoring the history of black and Asian people.

Question 11

The ethnocentric curriculum- Bernard coard

Answer 11

• explains how the ethnocentric curriculum may produce underachievement. For example history the British may be presented as brining civilisation to the ‘primitive’. He argues that this image of black people as inferior undermines black children’s self esteem and leads to their failure.

Question 12

The impact of the ethnocentric curriculum

Answer 12

It is not clear what impact the ethnocentric curriculum has. E.g, while it may ignore Asian culture, Indian and Chinese pupils achievement is above national average. Similarly, Maureen stone (1981) argues that black children do not in fact suffer from low self esteem.

Question 13

Assessment

Answer 13

Gilborn (2008) argues that ‘the assessment game’ is rigged so as to validate the dominate cultures superiority, if black children succeed as a group, ‘the rule will be changed to re engineer failure’ for example, in the past, primary schools used ‘baseline assessments’ which tested pupils when they started compulsory schooling. However, these were replaced in 2003 by a new way of measuring pupils abilities, the foundation stage profile.

Question 14

What was the result of assessment

Answer 14

The result of change was that, overnight, black poke now appeared to be doing worse than white pupils. E.g, in one local authority, where black children in 2000 had been the highest achievers on entry to school. By 2003 the new FSP had black children ranked lower than white across all six developmental areas that it measures.

Question 15

Access to opportunities- the ‘gifted and talented’ programme

Answer 15

Was created with the aim of meeting the needs of more able pupils in inner city schools. While this might seem to benefit bright pupils from minority groups, Gilborn (2008) points out that official statistics show whites are over twice as likely as black Caribbean’s to be identified as gifted and talented, and five times more likely than black Africans.

Question 16

Access to opportunities - exam tiers

Answer 16

Tikly et al (2006) found that in 30 schools in the ‘aiming high’ initiative to raise black Caribbean pupils achievement, blacks were nevertheless more likely than whites to be entered for lower tier GCSE exams. This was often because black pupils had been placed in lower sets. The effect is that they can only gain a grade C at best.

Question 17

Access to opportunities- Steve strands

Answer 17

Analysis of large scale data from the longitudinal study of young petiole in England shows a white black achievement gap in matts and science tests at age 14. He found this to be the result of black pupils being systematically under represented in entry to higher tier tests. Strands suggests that ethnic differences in entry to test tiers reflect teachers expectations, leading to a self fulfilling prophecy

Question 18

The ‘new IQism’

Answer 18

Access to opportunities such as higher sets of the gifted and talented programme depended heavily on teachers assessments of pupils ability. This works against black pupils. Furthermore, teachers place students in sets not only on the basis of prior attainment, but also on disciplinary concerns and perceptions of their ‘attitudes’.
I’m what Gilborn calls the new IQism, he argues that teachers and policy makers make false assumptions about discipline problems.

Question 19

Criticisms of Gilborn

Answer 19

Criticisms of Gilborn view that ethnic differences in achievement are the result of institutional racism focus on two issues:
- the underachievement of some minority groups such as black boys
- the ‘overachievement’ of Indian and Chinese pupils.

Question 20

Blacks boys underachievement

Answer 20

As critical race theorists such as Gilborn argue that institutional racism is the main cause of under achievement. They argue that internal factors within the education system, such as assessment and setting, systematically produce the failure of large numbers of ethnic minority pupils, especially black boys.
By contrast, sociologists such as Sewell reject this view. Although he does not believes that racism has disappeared from schools, he argues that it is not poweful enough to prevent individuals from succeeding. Rather, in swells view, we need to focus on external factors such as boys anti school attitudes, the peer group and the nurturing role of their father

Question 21

Indian and Chinese achievement

Answer 21

Critics of the idea that the education system is institutionally racist point to the fact that, as well as underachievement of groups such as black boys, there is also ‘overachievement’ by other, ‘model minorities’. E.g, Indian and Chinese students perform better than the white majority.

Question 22

Ethnicity, class and gender

Answer 22

Gillian evans (2006) argues that, to fully understand the relationship between ethnicity and achievement, we need to look at how ethnicity interacts with gender and class. For example, she claims that in examining black children’s achievement, sociologists tend to look at their culture and ethnicity, but rarely at classes