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external factors in explaining ethnicity and achievement - Coggle Diagram
external factors in explaining ethnicity and achievement
Cultural deprivation
Language
a lack of linguistic skills as a major cause of under achievement for some EMG, leaving them poorly equipped for school
Bereiter and Engelmann (1996)
claimed that language spoken by low-income Black African families is inadequate for educational success, arguing that it is ungrammatical and disjointed
Labov (2013)
found that Black American speech was perfectly logical
April Baker-Bell (2020)
sees views such as Bereiter's and Engelmann's as an example of anti-Black linguistic racism' which labels black speech codes and inferior and White speech code an inferior.
'White mainstream English' dominates in the education system and wider society. She describes this as linguistic violence
Attitudes and values
Most children are socialised into the mainstream culture which instils aspiration, competitiveness and willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve long-term goals.
some minority ethnic groups children are socialised into a subculture that instils a fatalistic attitude that does not value education.
Lucinda Platt and Samantha Parsons (2018)
found that amongst 7-14 year olds, EMG had high career aspirations that their white counterparts and were more likely to aspire to high paying jobs.
Family structure and parental support
Daniel Moynihan (1965)
argues that because black families are headed by a lone mother, their children are deprived of adequate care because she had to struggle financially in the absence of the a male breadwinner.
The fathers absence also means that boys lack an adequate role model.
Geoffrey Driver (1977)
criticised cultural deprivation theorists for ignoring the positive effects of Black family structures on achievement. he shows the Black Caribbean family far from being dysfunctional, provides girls with a positive role model of strong independent women.
Criticisms
Nell Keddie (1973)
sees cultural deprivation as a victim-blaming explanation. Minority ethnic groups are culturally different not culturally deprived. They underachieve not because they lack language skills, parental support, or aspirations, but because schools are ethnocentric: and biased in favor of the dominant white
Labelling theorists
argue that the cause lies not in the supposed low aspirations of MEG but in teachers racist stereotypes and low expectations of them. This negative labelling can result in a self-fulfilled prophecy of underachievement
Critical race theorists
argue that the education system as a whole is institutionally racist: racism is built into the way schools operate to produce underachievement
A Political distraction: Raz (2013)
accuses cultural deprivation theorists of being politically useful by deflecting attention from the real causes of underachievement, such as poverty and racism. By blaming the victims instead it allows governments to avoid taking responsibility for tackling to causes, which would carry substantial financial and political costs
Material deprivation
Guy Palmer (2012)
Almost half of all children from MEG live in low-income households as against a quarter of white children
Members of NEG are almost twice as likely to be unemployed as White people
MEG households are around three times more likely to be homeless
Almost half of Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earned under £7 an hours compared with only a quarter of White British Workers
Swann Report
social class accounts for 50% of differences in achievement between ethnic groups. Lowest achieving minority ethnic groups are those with lowest social class position. Bangladesh and Pakistani pupils are more likely to be working class and also more likely to do worse compared with Indian and whites.
Many live in economically depressed areas with high unemployment and low wage rates
Cultural factors such as the tradition of purdah in some Muslim households, which prevents women from working outside the home
A lack of language skills and foreign qualifications not being recognised by UK employers. These are more likely to affect recently arrived groups many of whom are refugees. Most members of established Minority groups are fluent in English
Racism in wider society
David Mason (2000)
'discrimination is a continuing and persistent feature of the experience of Britain citizens of minority ethnic origin'
John Rex (1986)
shows how racial discrimination leads to social exclusion and how this worsens the poverty faced by minority ethnic groups.
Wood et al (2010)
sent off 3 closely matched job applications to almost 1,000 applicants using names that would appear to come from a white person and two from members for minority groups. Found that only one in 16 'minority' applicants were offered an interview against one in nine 'White people'