Assess sociological explanations of ethnic differences in educational achievement Some sociologists argue that some ethnic groups maybe underachieving in the education system whereas some say that these ethnic groups differ in the education system. Material factors may affect ethnic groups in the education system, material deprivation explanations see educational failure as results from factors such as substandard housing and low income. Ethnic minorities are more likely to face these problems according to Flaherty as unemployment is three times higher for African and Bangladeshi/Pakistani people than for whites, Pakistanis are nearly twice as likely to be in unskilled or semi-skilled jobs compared to whites. Ethnic minorities are more likely to be engaged in shift work. These inequalities parallel those in educational achievement e.g.
Latinos and Black works tend to have to work more than one job to make ends meet. When you have both parents working, possibly more than one job the support for their children’s education will also suffer. The opportunity for minorities to graduate from high school is less than a white student. The ability for minorities to go to college following high school is less than for white students. It is shown that the higher level of education the higher level of income.
According to Trends in College Spending, a study done by the delta cost project, "Enrollment in U.S. postsecondary institutions totaled almost 18.6 million students in the 2008 academic year, a nearly 26 percent increase over the ten-year period beginning in 1998." The increase in demand for a college education has directly influenced college costs. It's simple economics, when demand goes up the price of the product being demanded will increase. The power lies on the side of the universities to determine whether their prices will rise or fall. Schools know that the quickest way to an elightened future is through their doors.
Intro to Research Writing, 12:00 22 February 2013 Single Source Essay In his essay The College Dropout Boom, Dave Leonhardt describes “one of the largest and fastest-growing groups of young adults in America” (266); college dropouts. His implied thesis for this essay is that even though student body populations are becoming more diverse in terms of both ethnic background and social class, there is a large difference in the number of college graduates from higher-income families (upper middle-class and above) and lower-income families. Leonhardt believes that today more than ever before in our nation, high school graduates from lower-income families have the opportunity to attend college, but these students for various reasons are not seeing college through to graduation. He believes that this is a major issue for modern society, and it is being overlooked. Although it seems that we are making great strides in education with increased admissions for college students in diverse social, income and ethnic groups, that because these students are not getting degrees the gap between rich and poor continues to increase, and these achievements in education are not as valid as they seem.
By one estimate, the cost of four-year public college tuition has tripled since the 1980s, outpacing both inflation and family income. (NY Times) This alone makes it impossible for the average student to attend a 4 year institution to attain a degree to better their life. Think of the number of families that are living at or below the poverty level, now sending their child to college becomes an additional burden that they cannot bear. The increase in the tuition burden is largely caused by declining state support for higher education in the past three decades. In both good times and bad, state governments have pushed more of the costs onto students, forcing many to take out big loans or be priced out of once affordable public colleges at a time when a college education is critical in the new economy.
The Effects of Socioeconomic Status Socio-economic status is or SES is a classification of an individual’s social and individual status. To determine someone socio-economic status we would need to look into facts such has someone’s income, education and job. Every socio-economic status is different, the higher an individual’s education is the higher their income would be because they have a better opportunity of obtaining a higher paying job; now if a person earns less income then most likely their education level is lower. There are some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to SES. The disadvantage lies more with someone who has a lower income level, some of the disadvantages that I come across are personal health issues, obtaining adequate health care and academic achievement currently and on future generations, Race/Ethnicity and Gender.
Just four years ago, family savings and income accounted for thirty-six percent of college costs. Unfortunately, because home equity loans are harder to get, many families have to turn to education loans with higher interest rates. While median family income is markedly down, tuition and fees have spiked over the past few years. In fact, public institutions of higher learning have become twice as expensive to attend over the past decade. Meanwhile, to make matters worse, State funding is down twenty-two percent over the same time period.
Intervening Variable An intervening variable is one which interferes with the apparent association between two (or more) other variables. More generally this called a 'spurious' variable. Suppose you want to study the relationship between class size and how well students learn. You compare two classes, one small and one large.At the end of the term it is discovered that the students in the smaller class had better grades than those in the larger class. Your conclusion is that small class size indeed causes better grades.
‘How do we account for low educational attainment among some ethnic minorities?’ Intro Functionalists believe the institution of education is harmonious, and aids a well-functioning society (Haralambos, et al., 2013, p. 665); but can this really be the case, when there is such a prominent gap in achievement children of ethnic minorities? Low educational attainment amongst some ethnic minorities is a fact; statistically Gypsy/Roma children are most likely to leave education with less than five GCSE’s, with Black Caribbean/African students also consistently performing more poorly than their white counterparts (Haralambos, et al., 2013, p. 714). The reason as to why this is the case is less clear. Many sociologists have offered explanations; culture capital, cultural deprivation, labelling of pupils, institutionalized racism and a curriculum which ignores their ethnicity. Or is it the pupils themselves who hold the answer?
Do Asian Students Face Unique Challenges In American College Applications? In the decade, more and more international students are enrolled in American colleges, and many come from Asian countries. As the New York Times reporter Karin Fischer said in her report, the U.S receives a huge number of college applications from South Korea each year. People from there usually want their children to get higher educations from US institutions, even though that means they have to afford the heavy pressure of expensive tuition and difficult tests. However, in the past two years, the application rate of Asian students began falling.