While Payne argues that there is a culture of poverty, Gorski states that, rather than a culture of poverty being existent, classism is that which permeates the classrooms and schools. Payne believes that impoverished students live by different rules and values than students of the middle and upper classes, such as how they see money, clothing, family structure, etc. Likewise, Gorski believes that impoverished students do have different values and goals than those of middle and upper clases, and he says that the rules found in schools do not often benefit those living in poverty, but benefit those living in middle and upper class. With regards to impoverished students’ values and goals, both tend to point to the idea that faculty in schools should help to reshape the values and goals of impoverished students. Payne stated that students should learn the “hidden rules” of the middle class from their educators so that they have another set of rules to use if they choose to do so.
Assess the view that processes in school themselves are mainly responsible for ethnic differences in attainment? Several sociologists have a contrast of theories on if the education is mainly responsible for the ethnic differences in attainment. Some recognise that the education is mainly the reason as they continuously place negative labels on ethnic minorities and give them unfair sanctions. However, other sociologist theorise that the cause to this problem are external factors like material deprivation; their families attitude towards education, and several others. Although statistics show that the highest ethnicity whom over achieves in education are Chinese people, it is still very debatable for other ethnicity’s whether the schools process affects their attainment.
Howard (2001) noted that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins, and minerals. Poor nutrition will affect health, children’s energy levels will be low, resulting in poor concentration in class, they will also have a weaker immune system meaning more days off of school. Wilkinson (1996) ‘the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety, and conduct disorders’ which obviously have a negative impact on education. There is also the
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.
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.
Many sociologists have linked labelling in school, especially by teachers, with the difference in achievements in terms of ethnicity. Negative stereotypes and labels may cause teacher to treat students from an ethnic minority differently, which could in turn, disadvantage them and ultimately, result in them underachieving. Studies from different sociologists back up and support this. Gillborn and Youdell (2000) found in their studies that teachers were more likely to discipline black students quicker than they would with their white counterparts, due to the fact that teachers held “racialised expectations”. They argued that they stereotyped and expected black students to present behaviour such as threatening and challenging authority, which leaves the student feeling underestimated and picked on.
For example, Troyna and Williams suggest that the British curriculum is ethnocentric because it prioritises white culture and therefore is a prime example of institutional racism. Stephen Ball goes further by criticising the national curriculum as he suggests that it ignores cultural/ethnic diversity as it promotes ‘little Englandism.’ This according to Bernard Coard creates an inferior image of black people and leads to low self esteem and failure. Although this could explain reasons for ethnic differences in achievement outside of the home background, it isn’t clear how much of an impact it has. This is because, even though it may ignore cultures like Chinese, their achievement levels are higher than the national average and therefore the curriculum cannot be that significant. Also, even with post modern society placing more emphasis on multi culturalism, the differences in achievement still remain.
This lack of knowledge is even more important than most people realize. A content-rich core curriculum is the only viable remedy. I, too, believe there is a degree of irony within Hirsch’s claims. He believes the progressive movement is responsible for movement away from academics. In turn, it has caused a lowering of standards, which has had its greatest impact on minority students.
African Americans were stated, as “one fifth of a white person” segregation was a huge part of African Americans lifestyle they were openly seen as less important then white people. Blacks and whites were separated either is school or neighborhood which made the matter worst then it already was. Education was one of the weaknesses in African American schools as they received poor education. For Black people to actually get somewhere and make a difference to how they were treated they needed education mainly as a lot of things relied on that. Booker T Washington believed education was the key.
(3) In this case a child’s early development such as their education can help avoid the strain of economic inequality. It is stated, “black children are less likely to learn as much as white children from two to four years of age.” This lack of early childhood education can produce negative social and economic outcomes. If a child’s parent has a high level learning such as college a degree children are more likely to succeed in school. What about children in lower income homes? These children are usually victims of low quality education and obstruct the income equality gap, as they grow older.