Flashcards on Ethnic Differences in Achievement (2.3)

How do Tony Lawson and Joan Garrod define ethnic groups?

What is one significant difficulty in studying ethnicity and education?

There are inequalities in educational achievements of different ethnic groups. Which ethnicities tend to do better in education, according to statistics gathered by the National Pupil Database?

White pupils' achievements are very close to the national average. This is unsurprising as Whites are by far the largest group - 80% of students are White. However, when we look more closely, what can be identified?

Which sociologist found that White pupils make less progress between the ages of 11 and 16 than Black or Asian pupils and speculated that Whites may soon become the worst performing ethnic group in the country?

Many sociologists argue that ethnic differences in achievement can be best explained by examining external factors. What are the three main explanations provided by such sociologists?

The cultural deprivation theory sees the underachievement of certain ethnic groups as the result of inadequate socialisation at home. This explanation has three branches. What are they?

Which sociologists argue that many children from ethnic minority families lack intellectual and linguistic skills, resulting in underachievement?

What did Bereiter and Engelmann say about the language spoken by low-income Black American families?

There has been concern expressed about children who do not speak English at home as this may hold them back at school. How do David Gillborn and Heidi Safia Mirza respond to this claim?

Cultural deprivation theorists also believe that attitudes and values are a major cause of failure for many Black children. Why?

Finally, it is argued that family structure and parental support can 'make or break' a child's academic performance. What does Daniel Moynihan note about the structure of many Black families?

What does Moynihan describe cultural deprivation as?

Which New Right sociologist agreed with Moynihan that a high rate of lone parenthood and a lack of positive male role models leads to the underachievement of some minority students?

Ken Pryce also sees family structure as contributing to the underachievement of Black Caribbean pupils in Britain. After comparing Black and Asian pupils, what does he claim?

According to Pryce, why do Blacks and Asians respond differently to racism?

Tony Sewell disagrees that the absence of fathers as role models results in Black boys underachieving. He believes that the lack of fatherly nurturing or 'tough love' is the real cause of their underachievement. What impact does this have, according to Sewell?

In the absence of the restraining influence of a nurturing father, what can offer Black boys 'perverse loyalty and love'?

Many Black boys are thus subjected to powerful anti-educational peer group pressure. According to Sewell, Black boys' greatest barrier to educational success is what?

Sewell argues that Black students do worse than Asian students because of the difference in the way they are socialised. What is Sewell's solution?

While many Black families have absent fathers, what does Sewell say Indian and Chinese pupils benefit from?

Which sociologist stated that the adult authority in Asian families is similar to the model that operates in schools? How does this benefit Asian children?

Most research focuses on Black family structures as causes for underachievement but White working-class pupils often underachieve and have lower aspirations too. What did Andrew McCulloch find?

According to Lupton, what may this low level of aspiration by the result of?

What is the main policy that has been adopted to tackle cultural deprivation?

Give examples of compensatory education:

Geoffrey Driver criticises cultural deprivation theory for ignoring the positive effects ethnicity has on achievement. How does he describe Black families?

Which sociologist challenges Pryce's view that Black pupils fail because their culture is weak and they lack self esteem?

According to Lawrence, Black children do not underachieve, because they have low self esteem. Rather, what is the cause of their lack of academic success?

How does Nell Keddie describe the cultural deprivation theory?

Keddie argues that rather than being culturally deprived, what are ethnic minority children?

According to Keddie, why do ethnic minorities often underachieve at school?

Why do critics of the cultural deprivation theory oppose compensatory education?

Sociologists opposed to compensatory education suggest two alternatives. What are they?

What does the term 'material deprivation' refer to?

Material deprivation explanations see educational failure as the result of what?

About 25% of White children live in low-income households. How many ethnic minority children live in low-income households?

There are many reasons why ethnic minorities are at greater risk of material deprivation. For example, how does the location of their home increase their chances of poverty?

There are also cultural factors that may lead to material deprivation for ethnic minorities. Give an example:

What measure is often used to identify which children are experiencing material deprivation?

Which ethnicity group is most likely to be entitled to free school meals?

Which ethnicity group is least likely to be entitled to free school meals?

Some sociologists argue that poverty is a product of racism. John Rex notes that racial discrimination leads to social exclusion, which worsens the poverty that ethnic minorities are already facing. What does he state about racism in relation to housing?

There is also evidence of direct and deliberate discrimination in employment. Which sociologist found this?

What are the internal factors that may be impacting the academic achievement of ethnic minority students?

Which type of sociologists are particularly keen to study face-to-face interactions in which labelling occurs?

When looking at ethnic differences in achievement, interactionists focus on the different labels teachers give to children from different ethnic backgrounds. What do their studies show?

How might these negative labels impact ethnic minority students?

David Gillborn and Deborah Youdell found that teachers were quicker to discipline Black students than others for the same behaviour. Why is this, according to Gillborn and Youdell?

How do Black pupils respond to teachers' 'radicalised expectations'?

What do Gillborn and Youdell conclude?

Jenny Bourne found that there is a higher level of exclusion from school among Black boys than any other ethnicity. Exclusions affect achievement. How many excluded pupils achieve five A*-C GCSEs?

Cecile Wright's study of a multiethnic primary school shows that Asian students are also victims of teachers' labelling. Despite the school's apparent commitment to equality, how can teachers' views be described?

How can teachers' labelling negatively impact Asian students?

While Asian students are not regarded as a threat, like Black students, how are they seen by teachers?

What is the result of Asian students being ignored?

Teachers often define pupils as having stereotypical ethnic identities. Louise Archer et al argues that teachers' dominant discourse defines minority pupils' identities as incompatible with the identity of the 'ideal' pupil. What are the three identities constructed by teachers' dominant discourse?

Archer et al argue that ethnic minority students are more likely to be categorised as having what types of identity?

How do teachers stereotype Asian girls, according to Archer et al?

Which sociologist found that when Asian girls challenge their stereotype, they are dealt with more severely than other pupils?

Archer et al argues that even minority pupils who perform successfully can be pathologised. For example, Chinese students, who are often academically successful, are also seen as what?

Although Chinese students are successful, how are they discredited?

How do Archer et al describe teachers' view of Chinese students?

Teachers see South Asian girls' passivity as indicative of what?

Archer et al concludes that, due to the identities assigned to ethnic minority students, their academic success will be seen as what?

Which study gives an example of pupils responding to teachers' stereotypes by rejecting the labels they receive?

Which study had similar findings to Fuller's?

Mac an Ghaill found that students who believed they'd been negatively labelled did not necessarily accept the label - their acceptance or rejection depended on what factors?

Heidi Safia Mirza identifies three main types of teacher racism. What are they?

As well as citing the absence of fathers and the influence of peer groups as a major reason for Black boys' underachievement, Tony Sewell also notes that their responses to schooling can affect their achievement. What are the four responses he identifies?

How does Sewell describe the response of rebellion?

How does Sewell describe the response of conformism?

How does Sewell describe the response of retreatism?

How does Sewell describe the response of innovation?

Sewell shows that only a small minority fit the stereotype of the 'Black macho lad'. However, how did teachers tend to see Black boys?

Sewell argues the teachers' racist stereotyping of Black boys puts them at a disadvantage and can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, what does he note about external factors?

The labelling theory shows that teachers' stereotypes can be a cause of failure. However, there is a risk that these stereotypes can be seen as the product of individual teachers' prejudices - what may they in fact be the product of?

What is the distinction between individual racism and institutional racism, according to Barry Troyna and Jenny Williams?

How does critical race theory describe the relationship between racism and society?

How do Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton, founders of the Black Panther party in the USA, describe institutional racism?

How does Daria Roithmayr describe institutional racism?

David Gillborn applies the concept of locked-in inequality to education. How does he see ethnic inequality?

What do selection procedures lead to, according to Donald Moore and Susan Davenport?

What does the term 'ethnocentric' describe?

Sociologists see the ethnocentric curriculum as a prime example of institutional racism because it builds racial bias into the everyday functions of schools. What are examples of the ethnocentric curriculum?

How does Miriam David describe the national curriculum?

Stephen Ball criticises the national curriculum for ignoring ethnic diversity. What does it promote, according to Ball?

Bernard Coard explains how the ethnocentric curriculum may produce underachievement. What example does he give?

However, this theory has been criticised with the use of official statistics. Why?

David Gillborn argues that 'the assessment game' is rigged so as to validate the dominant culture's superiority. If Black children succeed as a group. what happens?

Give an example of the assessment game in action:

What impact did the introduction of the FSP have?

David Gillborn argues that this change in Black achievement levels was the result of which two institutional factors?

The Talented and Gifted programme was created to meet the needs of 'more able' pupils. However, what did Gillborn find through the use of official statistics?

Which sociologist found that Blacks are more likely than Whites to be entered for lower tier GCSE exams because they are often in lower sets? How does this impact their educational achievement?

What other factors influence what set a teacher places a student in, other than their perceived ability and prior attainment?

How does set placement based on presumed disciplinary problems negatively impact Black pupils?

David Gillborn uses the term 'new IQism'. What does he mean by this?

How can new IQism impact student's entire educational careers?

Critical race theorists argue that institutional racism and other internal factors are resulting in the failure of large numbers of minority pupils, especially Black boys. How does Tony Sewell respond to this?

How do critics use the academic success of Chinese and Indian pupils to criticise Gillborn?

How does Gillborn respond to the claim that Chinese and Indian pupils are hardworking 'model minorities'?

What ideological function does this 'illusion' perform?

What must we look at to fully understand the relationship between ethnicity and achievement, according to Gillian Evans?

Whose study examples how ethnicity intersects with gender to affect achievement?

Connolly states that class and gender interacts differently with ethnicity depending on which ethnic group is being studied. How does he refer to this?