Is the Underachievement of Ethnic Minority Children due to a Racist School System?
Is the Underachievement of Ethnic Minority Children due to a Racist School System? By Abigail Page Rational Every child goes through the same education system, every child works through the same 'curriculum 2000' set by New Labour and every child sits the same exams up to the age of 16. So why are there marked differences in educational attainment for ethnic minority students? My main aim is to find out if racism is the main cause of the gap between different ethnic groups in education, which can lead to some ethnic minority groups being over represented in low-status, low paid jobs. My investigation will look at the different explanations that sociologists have used over the years to explain why African-Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students are less likely to achieve 5 A*-C than white and Indian students. To do this I will use secondary evidence, statistics and studies to show the traditional and more modern explanations for the ever-widening dissonance between ethnic groups. My primary research will be done by using informal interviews with members of the Norfolk and Norwich national equality council. This will help me find out what the situation is like in Norfolk, and if people believe that the underachievement of some ethnic groups is due to reasons such as cultural deprivation or institutional racism. Also I would like to see if the situation has
THE MIDDLE CLASS AS A FIELD OF ETHNOLOGICAL STUDY
THE MIDDLE CLASS AS A FIELD OF ETHNOLOGICAL STUDY Joel S. Kahn* Joel S. Kahn is Professor of Anthropology at the School of Sociology and Anthropology, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, Australia. He has authored several books, including Constituting the Minangkabau: Peasants, Culture and Modernity in Colonial Indonesia, Minangkabau Social Formations: Indonesian Peasants in the World Economy, and edited, with Francis Loh Kok Wah, Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia For some time we have lagged behind Indonesian stratificatory realities under the impression, once quite true, that the middle classes (or whatever we choose for the moment to call them) were too minute to make a difference. Now, suddenly, when they appear to be making some difference, or anyway are substantial enough to compel notice, we are at a loss to figure out who exactly they are, why they are important, and what difference they actually make. (Lev,1990:25) Daniel Lev's remarks about Indonesia are doubly true in the Malay-sian context, for in spite of the well-documented growth of, if anything, a relatively larger middle class, as yet there has been remarkably little interest among social scientists in the phenomenon. With a handful of exceptions, very few Malaysianists in Malaysia or overseas - have done more than mention the middle class in passing; and there
- APPROACHES IN PSYCHOLOGY
APPROACHES IN PSYCHOLOGY ASSUMPTIONS 04 STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES 05 THERAPY - SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION 06 THERAPY - AVERSION THERAPY 07 THEORY - SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY OF AGGRESSION 08 THE BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH ASSUMPTIONS An examination essential Outline the main assumptions of the behaviourist approach. The behaviourist approach assumes that all behaviour, both normal and abnormal, is learned through the processes of classical and operant conditioning. In other words, we learn by interacting with the world around us, especially by the ways our environment operates on us. Classical conditioning is 'learning through association'. It was first proposed by Ivan Pavlov who observed that his laboratory dogs had learned to salivate to the sound of the footsteps of the man who fed them. They had learned to associate the footsteps with food. Later, Pavlov conditioned the dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell that he rang before he gave them their food. The individual learns to associate a neutral stimulus with an automatic reflex response such as fear or pleasure. For example, Watson & Raynor (1920) conditioned Little Albert to associate the sight of a white rat, or anything similar, with a fear response. In other words, Albert had been conditioned to be frightened of something he had previously found non-threatening, and even attractive. In
Race or religion? The impact of religion on the employment and earnings of Britain's ethnic communities.
Race or religion? The impact of religion on the employment and earnings of Britain's ethnic communities. Abstract Religious affiliation is hypothesised to be an important determinant of earnings and employment. The aim of this paper is to establish whether religious divisions have a greater impact on employment and earnings than being a member of a particular ethnic group. Using conventional ethnic group classifications fails to identify differences within nationalities. Notable differences exist between Indian Sikhs and Hindus, as well as between Muslims and the other religious groups. However, after controlling for religion, substantial ethnic labour market disadvantage is still apparent. Over and above religious differences, there is a significant employment penalty to British- and foreign-born, non-white males and an earnings penalty to foreign-born non-white males. This provides some evidence for the assimilation of non-white male earnings towards those for whites, but indicates no such assimilation in ethnic unemployment rates. For females, there is no employment penalty to non-whites, but a significant earnings penalty to those not fluent in English, once religious affiliation has been accounted for. Finally, this study finds evidence of a substantial disadvantage to Muslims, relative to all other non-whites. Approximately half of this can be explained by
An investigation into people(TM)s belief about Hell
An investigation into people's belief about Hell Rachel Vivian (7465) Word Count: 6747 Sandown High School 59043 Table of Contents Rationale 3 Context 5 Methodology 8 Results 11 Fig 1.1 12 Fig 1.2 13 Fig 1.3 14 Fig 1.4 16 Fig 1.5 17 Fig 1.6 18 Fig 1.7 20 Evaluation 22 Appendices 25 Rationale Rationale With a sharp decrease in the number of people believing in hell1, whether inside or outside the church, there is growing concern among sociologists that this, along with the general secularisation of the country2, is leading to a less integrated society and one which is no longer conforming to rules. Religion used to be society's source of moral guidelines, norms and values, with the belief in Hell instilling in people fear of eternal damnation for their wrongdoings. However, people today no longer have this sense of fear that once used to cause them to follow moral guidelines, according to people such as new right sociologist John Redwood and functionalist Talcott Parsons, this is directly linked to a reduction in social integration and thus the increase in juvenile delinquency observed today. The study will use a questionnaire and will include questions on peoples' general beliefs, their beliefs in hell and their views how this belief affects their life. This will allow the collection of quantitative data on the number of people who are religious, who
Sociological theories and Healthcare.
Sociology Course Work Unit 7 Task 1 (P1) Functionalist The functionalist theory is known as the structurlist theory however the functionalist believe that the structure of society is crucial to the smooth running of the society, they also believe that the main social institution within the society is to play a very important role ensuring that the society runs well and anarchy doesn't break down, therefore the functionalist are more concerned with the society itself then with the individual who make up society and functionalist theory is also known as a structurlist theory this includes * Family * Religion * Education * Crime and deviance * Mass media * Social class The main way they believe institutions is by as long as members of the society with a value agreement however this is where the member of society normally agrees to what the behaviour and are ok and what are abnormal therefore this our norms and values. Functionalists believe we are socialized by the social organization - especially within the family so that they can act within an acceptable way for example the people who are walking on the streets may be eating a packet of crisps and after they finish in stead of dumping the packet on the floor they throw the packet of crisp in the dustbin this person has acted in a reasonable manner therefore this is what creates a social order and agreement
Demography topic revision notes. The study of populations and their characteristics is called demography.
Demography The study of populations and their characteristics is called demography. These characteristics include: * Size: is the population large or small, growing or declining? * Age structure: is the average age of the population rising or falling? The factors that most directly affect the size of a country's population are: * Births: how many babies are born. * Deaths: how many people die. * Immigration: how many people enter the country from elsewhere. * Emigration: how many people leave the country to live elsewhere. Britain in 1801 had a population of 10.5 million. By 1901, this stood at 37 million. By 2007, the population of the UK had reached nearly 61 million and one projection is that it will rise to 71 million by 2031. Until the 1980s, UK population growth was largely the product of natural change - that is, the result of there being more births than deaths. However, since the 1980s, most of the growth has come from net migration - that is, more immigration than emigration. Births The number of births obviously affects population size. Sociologists use the concept of birth rate to measure births. The birth rate is defined as the number of live births per 1000 of the population per year. There has been a long-term decline in the number of births since 1900. In that year, England and Wales had a birth rate of 28.7, but by 2007 it had fallen to an
I have decided to base my topic upon police and stereo typing, and whether they treat ethnic minorities differently to white people.
RATIONALE I have decided to base my topic upon police and stereo typing, and whether they treat ethnic minorities differently to white people. The police force's relationship with ethnic minorities are said to be very shaky, and at times reach boiling point. The metropolitan police force has had accusations of institutionalised racism, especially with cases such as Stephen Lawrence. I, however, live in a southern city were such accusations are not as widespread, this could partly be due to rumours that the media covers them up. My aim is to investigate whether specific groups of ethnic minorities feel as if they are being treated differently by the police than white people, and if so to what degree. I will be talking to 16 - 26 year olds as my target audience. I intend to use questionnaires to conduct my research. I am hoping that patterns will emerge so that results can be compared and distinguished. My goal will have been met once I have discovered if different ethnic groups perceive that the police treat them differently. CONTEXT There is a lot of work and evidence, both written and oral, linked to my topic of ethnic groups and their perception of police behaviour. For many critics this is linked to the concept of institutional racism. Carmichael and Hamilton in 1968 described institutional racism as covert, Robert Blauner agreed and saw it as dwelling in 'the
Black Male perception, of Secondary School Attainment and Opportunities. "Explore reasons for the academic underachievement of black males. To what extent is this due to ethnic differences?"
Black Male perception, of Secondary School Attainment and Opportunities. "Explore reasons for the academic underachievement of black males. To what extent is this due to ethnic differences?" During this essay the ethnic group referred to as African/Caribbean are those who have a Black African or Caribbean ancestry only. This is referred to as an ethnic group and not a race. The term racism in this essay refers to systematic discrimination both within the structures of the institution of schooling and interaction between individuals based on negative perception of assumed racial characteristics The aim of my project is to investigate the reasons and experiences faced by black males that determine their success and failure in school. I will be assessing Black males in English state secondary schools. The word “ethnic” is my focus word in this essay. There are vivid distinctions between those of different ethnicities who in which as classified as the same race. For instance Afro Caribbean’s perform considerably poorer than black Africans. Since the 1960s Afro-Caribbean children have been labelled and identified as underachievers (see Taylor; 1981, Tomlinson; 1983)[1]. I am concerned primarily with Black males as they have been identified as the social group with having negative experiences within mainstream secondary educational institutions (Sewell). Recently, efforts
The issue of two interwoven entities - personal identity and ethnicity
Word count: 3,994 INTRODUCTION This essay is devoted to the specific problem presently current in the multicultural societies - the issue of two interwoven entities - personal identity and ethnicity. In the following essay, I am going to locate the focal point of this problem in the one particular community - Highland Park High School. Highland Park is a small town in New Jersey, Middlesex County, where many emigrants from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America are there. At the Highland Park High School, although not apparently seen, the question of identity and ethnic belonging is still a problem among the American youths. While staying a year at Highland Park, I have been thinking a lot about the problems characteristic for the multicultural societies. All the questions I have asked myself may be boiled down to one single question - namely, whether ethnicity and identity should be treated as interdependent variables, or rather one of them is more fundamental? ON 'IDENTITY' - ITS MALLEABILITY AND FIXITY To begin with some conceptual clarification, what is needed is to disclose possible ramifications of the problem of identity, and its transformation under contemporary conditions. Hence, I am going to devote this section on discussing the descriptive and explanatory power of 'identity' concept. Needless to say, the "identity" concept is embroiled in many controversies
