What are ethnic differences in educational achievement?

Differential educational achievement by ethnicity refers to the fact that pupils from some ethnic backgrounds perform better in school than others.

Why are there ethnic differences in achievement?

A second reason for ethnic differences in achievement may be Institutional Racism which is where discrimination against minority groups is built into the organisation of the school – this can happen in various ways: through the ethnocentric curriculum, through banding and streaming and through the hiring of fewer …

What is the relationship between ethnicity and educational attainment?

Existing studies have pointed to the importance of parental, student and school factors in explaining why ethnic minority pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds have shown higher levels of educational attainment, and made greater progress, than their White working class counterparts.

How does cultural factors affect educational achievement?

Cultural Deprivation theory holds that some groups, such as the lower social classes, have inferior norms, values, skills and knowledge which prevent them from achieving in education.

How would you define ethnicity?

Ethnicity has been defined as: “the social group a person belongs to, and either identifies with or is identified with by others, as a result of a mix of cultural and other factors including language, diet, religion, ancestry and physical features traditionally associated with race”. ( 1)

Does class override ethnicity?

Support for this comes from the SWANN REPORT – social class accounts for 50% of the difference in achievement between ethnic groups. GILLBORN & MIRZA argue that social class factors do not override ethnicity because e.g. even middle class black pupils do comparatively poorly in their GCSEs.

What cultural factors affect achievement?

Cultural factors are things like values, attitudes, languages etc. If a child is in a social group deprived of these factors he could underachieve. Douglas said the most important factor affecting a childs attainment was parental interest in the child’s education.

How does ethnicity affect academic performance?

The results of numerous cross-cultural studies indicate that many ethnic minority students are not faring well in U.S. schools. Ethnic group differences are found in school grades, standardized achievement tests, course enrollment, grade retention rates, high school graduation, and level of educational attainment.

What are the positive aspects of ethnicity?

Ethnic diversity is beneficial , they argue, because it is associated with less racism and discrimination, more social cohesion, and stronger social support networks.

Why do some ethnic minorities underachieve?

Why do ethnic minorities underachieve in education? Ethnic backgrounds that are less successful in education – Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Blacks – have a higher percentage of pupils from working class backgrounds. So their ethnicity affects their class and their class affects their ability to achieve in education.

What are three characteristics of ethnicity?

Ethnicity

• physical characteristics such as skin colour or bloodline,
• linguistic characteristics such as language or dialect,
• behavioural or cultural characteristics such as religion or customs or.
• environmental characteristics such as living in the same area or sharing the same place of origin.

Is it worth focusing on children of different ethnic groups?

In terms of impact of research it’s probably worth focusing on Chinese, Indian and Black Caribbean children because there are many more of these than of the last two ethnic groups.

How ethnicity affects child education?

Family Life – Research has shown that some parents of ethnic minority, such as Chinese and Indian, take more interest in their child’s education, they also encourage their child more than other in other cultures. This obviously leads to higher achievement for the child

Where can I find statistics on educational achievement by ethnicity?

The Department for Education makes it very easy to access statistics on educational achievement. Below I summarise some of the recent trends in educational achievement in England and Wales by ethnicity and offer some commentary on what I think needs explaining, and some thoughts on the limitations of these statistics

How do teachers affect the attainments of students of minority groups?

This can lower the students attainments in many ways, one is that the teachers give the student lower grades. Another way is that the teacher negatively labels a student of ethnic minority which can lead to self-fulfilling prophecy.