2. Education
Topic 3 – Ethnic differences in achievement
Ethnicity
Lawson and Garrod (2000) Define ethnic groups as “people who share a common history, customs
and identity, as well as, in most cases, language and religion, and who
see themselves as a distinct unit”
Evidence of ethnic
differences in achievement
National Pupil Database Whites and Asians on average do better than black students
(2013) However, there are significant variations among Asians
Eg. Indians do better than Pakistanis and Bangladeshis
DfES (2010) Only 23% of white boys on FSM achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE
This shows other factors such as class and gender intersect
Hastings (2006) White pupils make less progress between 11-16 than black or Asian
pupils, it is soon possible that they will be the poorest performing
ethnic group in the country
External factors and ethnic
differences in achievement
External factors These include cultural deprivation, material deprivation, class and
racism
Cultural deprivation
Explanation There are 3 main aspects to this theory
Eg. Intellectual and linguistic skills, attitudes and values, family
structure and parental support
Intellectual and linguistic
skills
Black families Cultural deprivation theorists argue that black families lack intellectual
stimulation and enriching experiences
This leaves them poorly equipped for school as they have not
developed reasoning and problem-solving skills
Bereiter and Engelmann Consider language spoken by low-income black American families as
inadequate for educational success
Argue that is it ungrammatical, disjointed and incapable of expressing
abstract ideas
, Official statistics (2010) These show that children who no not speak English as their home
language are not majorly restricted in educational success
Pupils with English as their 1st language were only 3.2 points ahead of
those without when it came to gaining 5 A*-C GCSE grades
Gillborn and Mirza (2010) Indian pupils do very well despite not having English as their home
language
Attitudes and values
Black families Cultural deprivation theories see a major cause of failure for black
children is a lack of motivation
They argue that they are socialised into a fatalistic subculture that does
not value education and leaves them unequipped for success
Family structure and
parental support
Moynihan (1965) Argues that because many black families are headed by a lone mother,
their children are deprived of adequate care because she has to
struggle financially in the absence of a male breadwinner
Male influence The absent father figure also means that young black boys lack an
adequate male role model of achievement
Black families Cultural deprivation theorists argue that it is a cycle whereby children
are socialised into unstable families and go on to fail at school and
become inadequate parents themselves
Murray (1984) As a new right sociologist, argues that a high rate of lone parenthood,
particularly where the father is absent, leads to underachievement in
minorities
Scruton (1986) Another new right sociologist, sees the low achievement of some
ethnic minorities as resulting from a failure to embrace mainstream
British culture
Pryce (1979) Claims that Asians are higher achievers because their culture is more
resistant to racism which gives them a greater sense of self-worth
By contrast, black Caribbean culture is less cohesive and less resistant
to racism thereby resulting in low self-esteem and underachievement
Explains the difference as an impact of colonialism on the 2 groups –
slavery for black people meant almost complete erasure of their
culture
Asian families suffered a lesser effect of colonial rule so their culture
and family structure remained intact
Topic 3 – Ethnic differences in achievement
Ethnicity
Lawson and Garrod (2000) Define ethnic groups as “people who share a common history, customs
and identity, as well as, in most cases, language and religion, and who
see themselves as a distinct unit”
Evidence of ethnic
differences in achievement
National Pupil Database Whites and Asians on average do better than black students
(2013) However, there are significant variations among Asians
Eg. Indians do better than Pakistanis and Bangladeshis
DfES (2010) Only 23% of white boys on FSM achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE
This shows other factors such as class and gender intersect
Hastings (2006) White pupils make less progress between 11-16 than black or Asian
pupils, it is soon possible that they will be the poorest performing
ethnic group in the country
External factors and ethnic
differences in achievement
External factors These include cultural deprivation, material deprivation, class and
racism
Cultural deprivation
Explanation There are 3 main aspects to this theory
Eg. Intellectual and linguistic skills, attitudes and values, family
structure and parental support
Intellectual and linguistic
skills
Black families Cultural deprivation theorists argue that black families lack intellectual
stimulation and enriching experiences
This leaves them poorly equipped for school as they have not
developed reasoning and problem-solving skills
Bereiter and Engelmann Consider language spoken by low-income black American families as
inadequate for educational success
Argue that is it ungrammatical, disjointed and incapable of expressing
abstract ideas
, Official statistics (2010) These show that children who no not speak English as their home
language are not majorly restricted in educational success
Pupils with English as their 1st language were only 3.2 points ahead of
those without when it came to gaining 5 A*-C GCSE grades
Gillborn and Mirza (2010) Indian pupils do very well despite not having English as their home
language
Attitudes and values
Black families Cultural deprivation theories see a major cause of failure for black
children is a lack of motivation
They argue that they are socialised into a fatalistic subculture that does
not value education and leaves them unequipped for success
Family structure and
parental support
Moynihan (1965) Argues that because many black families are headed by a lone mother,
their children are deprived of adequate care because she has to
struggle financially in the absence of a male breadwinner
Male influence The absent father figure also means that young black boys lack an
adequate male role model of achievement
Black families Cultural deprivation theorists argue that it is a cycle whereby children
are socialised into unstable families and go on to fail at school and
become inadequate parents themselves
Murray (1984) As a new right sociologist, argues that a high rate of lone parenthood,
particularly where the father is absent, leads to underachievement in
minorities
Scruton (1986) Another new right sociologist, sees the low achievement of some
ethnic minorities as resulting from a failure to embrace mainstream
British culture
Pryce (1979) Claims that Asians are higher achievers because their culture is more
resistant to racism which gives them a greater sense of self-worth
By contrast, black Caribbean culture is less cohesive and less resistant
to racism thereby resulting in low self-esteem and underachievement
Explains the difference as an impact of colonialism on the 2 groups –
slavery for black people meant almost complete erasure of their
culture
Asian families suffered a lesser effect of colonial rule so their culture
and family structure remained intact
