Educational Achievement and Ethnic differences PDF

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Reasons for ethnic differences in educational achievement. ...

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Item A There are marked differences in educational achievement. Some minority ethnic groups do much better than others. For example, Indian pupils on average achieve more highly than Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. These differences may be due to factors outside the school. For example, some sociologists suggest that cultural differences have an important influence on achievement. Others claim that it is more to do with the material circumstances of different ethnic groups

Applying material from item A, analyse two reasons for ethnic differences in educational achievement (10 marks) One reason for ethnic differences in educational achievement is cultural deprivation, where the underachievement of some ethnic groups is the result of inadequate socialisation in the home. This depends on factors such as intellectual and linguistic skills, attitudes and values and family structure and parental support. Lack of intellectual and linguistic skills is seen as a major cause of underachievement more many minority children. For example, they argue that many children from low income black families lack intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences, leaving them poorly equipped for school due to not having the ability to develop reasoning and problem solving skills. Bereiter and Engelmann consider language spoken by low-income black families as inadequate for educational success. Cultural deprivation theorists also argue that the failure to socialise children adequately is a result of a dysfunctional family structure. For example, Moynihan argues that many black families are headed by a lone mother, so children are deprived of adequate care, as the mother has to financially struggle in order to provide for her family, in the absence of a male breadwinner. Lack of a breadwinner also means that boys haven’t got a role model. This shows that cultural deprivation is a cycle where inadequately socialised children from unstable ethnic background families go on to fail in school and become inadequate parents themselves....