On the one hand it could be said that it is down to discrimination in schools that there is evidence of ethnic differences in educational achievement. One example of discrimination in schools is labelling and teacher racism. Interactionists focus on the different labels teachers give to children from different ethnic backgrounds. Their studies show that teachers often see black and Asian pupils as being far from the ‘ideal pupil’. For example black pupils are often seen as disruptive.
To label someone is to attach a meaning or a definition to them. This is studied by Interactionists. When looking at ethnic differences in achievement, studies show that teacher often see black and Asian pupils as being far from the ‘ideal’ pupil. These negative labels leads to ethnic minority pupils being treated differently, resulting in their low educational performance. Gillborn and Youdell (2000) found that teachers expected black pupils to present more discipline problems and misinterpreted their behaviour as threatening or as a challenge to authority.
Sociology AS for AQA One for you to try Education p 243 Item B There is considerable evidence to show that pupils from some ethnic-minority backgrounds fall behind in school, particularly during the secondary phase. These include Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils. By contrast, Indian and Chinese pupils do better than average. There are also class and gender differences in achievement within all these groups, just as there among White pupils. One explanation for these patterns of achievement lies in the school itself and the processes at work there.
On the other hand, Gilbon recognises the processes committed in school which create the ethnic differences in attainment, he found that Afro-Caribbean boys were often labelled “unruly” “disrespectful”, they were also more likely to be given detentions than other pupils. This was because teachers misinterpreted their dress and manner of speech as a challenge to their authority. These actions lead these boys to have a self fulfilling prophecy which results in them
This cultural deprivation which Murray controversially links to lower IQ levels, is seen as creating a group of pupils who are fundamentally alienated from the education system. Cultural deprivation has been widely criticised as an explanation of class differences in
Assess sociological explanations for ethnic differences in achievement. (20 Marks) There are many reasons for ethnic differences in achievement, it’s been found that Indian and Asian pupils achieve higher than White, African-Caribbean, and Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils. One possible cause of ethnic differences in education is labeling, sociologist Gillborn found that teachers would label and therefore discipline black pupils quicker than other pupils which would do the same things and this would create a self fulfilling prophecy of the teachers thinking that black pupils would misbehave and do poorly and the pupils would accept that and with the extra lack of teacher help and increased discipline would therefore fail. Gillborn and Youdell think that this is because teachers label black pupils as being more likely to cause problems and rebel, with the teachers labeling the black pupils like this it makes them feel picked on and that the teachers underestimated them. Another result of the negative labeling of black pupils is the higher exclusion rate and the higher chances of black pupils to be put in sets below their actual abilities, which can only lead those black pupils to underachieve.
Summary In the article Profoundly Multicultural Questions by Sonia M. Nieto she addresses the issue of students of multi-cultural backgrounds and the problems which they are facing in the school system. Nieto highlight the difference in the amount of money and technology available for children of different socioeconomic backgrounds, the marginalization of minority students and the struggles they face from educators and the school system. Abstract In his book Youth and Identity Erickson (1968) relates ego identity and self-esteem to racial identity. He further states that ambiguous messages about one’s race may place at person at risk for developing what he referred to as a “negative identity” (oka 199 pg.3) Minority children faces those issues everyday of their lives and then they are placed in class rooms where teachers don’t understand and appreciate their diversity. A teacher’s appreciation and acceptance for diversity will help them enable children to child gain a positive self-concept.
For example, Wright (1992) found that teachers perceived and treated minority ethnic pupils differently from white pupils. Afro-Caribbean boys were often expected to behave badly and they received a disproportionate amount of negative teacher attention. Other sociologists claim that non-school factors such as family structure and home background have a greater impact on the educational achievement of different ethnic groups. Assess the claim that ‘ethnic differences in educational achievement are primarily the result of school factors’ (20 marks) Patterns of ethnic achievement are complex, cross-cut by gender and social class. For example Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students do worst compared to Indians and Chinese who do best.
Assess the claim that ethnic differences in educational achievement are primarily the result of school factors (20 marks) Sociological research has challenged the view that ethnic differences in achievement reflect innate differences of intelligence and ability; this has become a view that very few sociologists now put forward. Ethnicity refers to the shared cultural traditions and history, which are distinct from other groups in society. The level of achievement of different ethnic groups varies greatly in Great Britain. This may be due to factors such as home background, class, language and in-school factors. Recent studies highlight the effects of racism.
Inappropriate practices in both general and special education programs have resulted in overrepresentation, misclassification, and hardship for minority students. The assumption of overrepresentation among all minority groups is that, when represented accurately, the proportion of different ethnic groups in any category or program should be equal to the proportion of the same group in the general school population. When an ethnic group has two disproportionate groups in the school population, overrepresentation occurs. In order to understand today’s overrepresentation we must understand what has happened in our country in the past. In the past our country justified racial segregation.