Mirza’s study [1992], ‘Young Female and Black’, places emphasis on the variety of ways on which ethnic minorities respond to racism in the education system. Mirza studied 198 young men and women including 62 black women aged 15-10 in two comprehensive schools in South London. Mirza observed the students, used questionnaires and conducted informal interviews to better understand the students, and carried out detailed case studies on 3 black women. She argued that there is a myth of underachievement for black women; she also believes that in general the educational achievements of black women are underestimated. The girls in her sample were found to do better in exams than black boys and white pupils. The girls were resentful of the attitudes put forward by some teachers, however there was little evidence that this physiologically undermined them. Mirza found that the black girls in her study had positive self-esteem, were concerned with academic success and prepared to work hard. Aside some open racism, most of the teachers were genuinely trying to meet the girls needs, most were however failing to do so which made it difficult for the girls to fulfil their potential. Mirza does not believe that it was the effects of labelling that held the girls back or their culture. Instead they were held back by the well meaning and misguided behaviour of most of the teachers, and the power they held over them. However much they rejected the beliefs of their teachers, the girls ‘were in position in the power hiarchy’ to challenge any negative outcomes that came from the way the teachers interpreted the girls’ behaviour. This shows that an explanation of under achievement from ethnic groups is due to in school factors such as staffing. This shows that a factor contributing to under achievement in education for ethnic minorities is the attitudes of the staff within the school.
Gillborn [1990] also found that teachers negatively label black students. Afro Caribbean students were seem as a challenge to the school authority. Gillborn calls this the ‘myth of the black challenge’, which could result in a self fulfilling prophecy of failure. Mac an Ghaill [1992] also studied ethnic minority groups and found that all of the students have experienced problems in education due to racism, but they had generally succeeded in dealing with these by using different survival strategies such as avoiding teachers who had a reputation for being racist, whilst making an effort to build positive relationships with others. This supports Mirza’s theory that an explanation for under achievement from ethnic minorities is due to difficulties within school.
Wright found that primary teachers were ethnocentric, and disregarded Asian customs and assumed Asian children had language problems. Meanwhile, they previewed Afro Caribbean children as disruptive and a potential threat. Evidence of discrimination is given in the Commission for Racial Equality’s study of Jayleigh Comprehensive. This research found that Asian pupils were put in lower sets because of assumptions made about their abilities. Similarly, Paul Connolly (1998) also carried out a study of primary school and found that black and white boys saw Asian boys as effeminate, by bulling and exclusion from boy games. Teachers shared views and saw them as needing protection. These findings show that again, supporting previous arguments, it is the staffing and attitudes which have a strong influence in the success of ethnic minorities.
The national curriculum is also a key factor in educational achievement among different ethnic groups. Troyna and Williams (1986) argue that the national curriculum is ethnocentric which gives higher value to British culture and history, English and European language and undermines ethnic minority cultures, language, history. Bernard Coard (1971) also agrees as he says that Black culture is seen as inferior. This undermines black children’s self-esteem leading to underachievement.
An explanation for under-achievement in Pakistani and Bangladeshi children, is the material deprivation theory. This refers to how the culture of Pakistani and Bangladeshi children can have an affect on their education, leading to deprivation of some sort. In addition to this it is believed that women’s traditional roles, still largely exist in their culture, and so they are held back from education. Also related to culture is language, which is not primarily English in most Bangladeshi and Pakistani families. This results in the children being disadvantaged from a young age when they start school, with a poor grasp of English. Driver and Ballard [1981] found that Asian children whose first language was not English were as good at English as their fellow students by the age of 16. However, labelling theorists would say that language may not be a barrier, but dialects may influence teacher expectations and lead to negative labelling. This explanation has been criticised as it is a very stereotypical view of Bangladeshi and Pakistani families and does not take into consideration that Asian culture does value education highly.
The material deprivation theory is also offered as an explanation for the low success rate of Afro-Caribbean’s. They believe that at a young age, Afro-Caribbean children are deprived of toys, and lack communication, which later leads on to disruptive behaviour at an older age and lack of motivation at school. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Afro-Caribbean parents lack care and understanding for their children at a young age, so this explanation cannot account on its own for the low achievement of Afro-Caribbean’s.
Linked to the material deprivation theory, is the affect of backgrounds, which is to some extent determined by culture. For example, many Afro-Caribbean children are brought up in single-parent families with working mothers. Sociologists believe that lack of an authoritative male role model, leads to disruptive behaviour in Afro-Caribbean boys at school. They also believe that this is why females do better than boys, as females are motivated by the strong female role model of their mothers, and can identify with this role. It is also suggested that these children are deprived of the values needed for educational success. However it is believed that Afro-Caribbean parents are more likely to send their children to supplementary schooling during holidays and weekends. Also this explanation generalises, and does not take into account the two-parent Afro-Caribbean families. It also assumes that mothers are not an authoritative role in the family, but also does not take into account the female-headed families of children who do achieve.
However, background and culture can also have a positive affect. For example, the Swann Report claimed that Asian families are linked with successful educational performance. This is maintained by large close-knit families, which are closely linked to the community. This results in shared resources, and an emphasis on the importance of education. This can lead to educational success. However, the term Asian refers to a number of other different ethnic groups such as Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi, all of which perform very differently. So, this explanation cannot be generalised to the category “Asian” as not all Asian ethnic groups perform well.
Social class also has an impact on educational achievement of children, and this too is linked to ethnicity. A point that reflects this is that Afro-Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils are mostly made up of working class families, which are much more economically deprived than White and Indian families. This can lead to deprivation of school resources and also limits the type of school that children can attend. This again shows that material factors can heavily influence students, however, class is not always directly related to ethnicity.
Although there is no clear and direct link of ethnicity to educational achievement, there are many factors which when grouped together can have an affect on educational success. It is clear that assumptions from teachers can have a heavy influence on students of different ethnic groups, and it is whether they are able to resist these or not as to how successful they are. However, students may also be held back materially, and factors from their background and class may also affect their success in the education system. Evidence does however seem to suggest that the major factor for underachievement of ethnic minorities comes from in school factors such as labelling and racism. Other factors may also need to be considered such as gender and class. Evidence of this is Afro-Caribbean girls perform well in comparison to Afro-Caribbean boys, indicating that gender also has an influence on educational achievement.
