Ethnicity and educational achievement
In the same way that there are differences in educational achievement along social class lines, there are also differences in the educational achievement of different ethnic groups. Like social class this is a complex topic in terms of the concept of ethnicity – for more detail have a look at the section on ethnicity in Individual and Society.
We can look at ethnicity and educational achievement using the same out-of-school, in-school factors model that we used to look at social class and achievement.
The Facts
Students from some minority ethnic groups (particularly African-Caribbean, Pakistani & Bangladeshi students) :
- Often have below average reading ability
- Are less likely to achieve high GCSE grades
- African-Caribbean males are more likely to be labelled as special needs – learning difficulties, EBD (Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties)
- Are over-represented in lower streams & sets
- Are more likely to leave school without qualifications
- Are less likely to stay in education post-16
- Are more likely to study vocational than academic courses
- Are less likely to gain A-levels and go to university
There are differences between minority ethnic groups – children from Indian & Chinese ethnic groups tend to achieve more highly than average.
Because children from White British ethnic groups are in the majority their achievement tends to be seen as the benchmark against which to measure achievement – this has its own problems.
Factors affecting educational achievement
In the same way as social class, there are different explanations for the differing achievement of ethnic groups. Again, these can be divided into out-of-school and in-school factors.
For a look at the out-of-school factors affecting educational achievement click here.
Racism and racist attitudes within the education system are often seen as leading to underachievement among some ethnic groups, other sociologists view the education system itself as problematic, examining the ways in which it is ethnocentric (based around one ethnic group). For some detail on in-school factors click here.
4 Responses to 'Ethnicity and educational achievement'
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on November 24th, 2006 at 7:06 am
Perhaps nutrition is a factor in some ethnic groups ability to perform
academically. At the elementary level, It has been my experience as a teacher to come to a few conclusions regarding
theAfrican American student..1. Inability to grasp concepts
2. Short attention span
3. Little parental guidance
4 .Low self esteem
5. Very physical play
I am fair and treat all students equally.
Many of my colleagues do as I do.
on November 24th, 2006 at 9:25 pm
I’m sure you do treat all students equally - I know I try to.
I can’t speak for the US, but certainly in the UK nutrition has been found to have an effect on achievement, however this is more closely associated with socio-economic factors which overall have a far greater impact on school performance than ethnicity. Unfortunately some ethnic minority groups are over-represented among students from lower socio-economic groups - in the UK this is often the case for African-Caribbean students.
Hope that helps
Ruth
on April 21st, 2008 at 10:15 am
Is there any scope for looking at the fact that some ethnic minorities have a history of oppression \ exploitation by the white host nation and as a result they are disjointed by, or alienated from the essentially white education system? The McPherson report concluded that the police were institutionally racist. Is this the case in Education too?
on April 23rd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Institutional racism and the alienation of minority ethnic students from the education system has been identified as a serious issue - if you follow the link to in-school factors above there are some details.
The curriculum in British schools has traditionally been very Ethnocentric - ie centred around the culture of the white British majority - this can be seen in RE, History, English, Music, Art and other subjects. Although there has been some reduction in ethnocentrism in recent years it is still an issue. Learning history when I was a child in Australia we were taught about the Battle of Gallipoli in the First World War as an Australian battle, fought by Australian soldiers; the material taught in History at the last school I taught at portrayed it as a battle fought by British soldiers. There is truth in both accounts but each has it’s own cultural bias and when that cultural bias excludes groups of students it can have the effect of alienating them.