Educational achievement

1

Educational Experiences And Achievements In Regards To Inequarity

A Case Study Of Caribbean Ethnic Minority Students.

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Course

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Professor

Date

UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION INEQUALITY IN ETHNIC GROUPS 2

ContentsABSTRACT.............................................................3

Introduction.........................................................41. O: BACKGROUND INFORMATION.........................................5

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT...............................................7BROAD OBJECTIVES.....................................................7

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES..................................................8RESEARCH QUESTIONS...................................................8

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY............................................8SCOPE OF THE STUDY................................................8

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW................................................92.1 Class and educational inequality...............................10

2.2 How gender manifest itself in educational inequality...........122.2.1 Discrimination Against women in Literacy and Education:-. 13

2.2.2 Intersectionality and resilience...........................143.0 Methodology.....................................................16

3.1 INTRODUCTION..................................................163.2 PROCEDURE......................................................17

3.5.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY.................................174.0 Result findings.................................................17

4.1 Differences in experience of education and achievement by Ethnicity..........................................................17

4.2 The way Ethnicity interacts with Gender and class in shaping Education of an individual.........................................23


4.3 Contemporary views that explain the differences in experience of education and achievement by ethnicity.............................254.3.1 IQ Theory....................................................25

4.3.2 Language.....................................................264.3.3 Family life..................................................27

5. CONCLUSION.......................................................28Reference List......................................................31

ABSTRACTRacial difference can be said to be the biological

difference which is found between people who differ in hair texture, skin color, the shape of the nose and eyes among others.These differences have been seen to be correlated with cultural and intellectual differences. This suggests the superiority in culture and intellectual among the people from the white race. Genetics have shown that the difference between the biological races is very much reduced. It is therefore possible to have a black person having the same genetic similarities with a white person. Sociologists therefore aim at investigating whether the


biological differences have any impact on the education achievement.

Even if the relationship found between the education achievement and ethnicity vary with respect to age of the groups being compared, there is evidence that the Caribbean boys, Bangladeshi and Pakistani students studying in UK are not very successful as compared to the white students. The issue for instance on the low attainment of the black people in school is odd when put together with post compulsory experience in school. In this view, it is evident that black students who have GCSE results below or within the median have high likely hood of attending the higher education as compared to white students withthe same results. Material factors are very much significant as compared to cultural factors when it comes to the education failure in the working class.

Student from the minority communities face a lot of culturalchallenges which tend to undermine the prospects of education. One of them could be the fact that in the Asian community, English isn’t their language. Also the Caribbean people use the Patois and Creole in speaking and also writing which is not Standard English. The frequent use of these languages may make them not able to understand the formal language. This may make the students from these communities fail to understand questions as well as answer the questions in a manner that the examiner will understand.


IntroductionInequality in education is the lack of equal opportunities

which is as a result of disparities in quality of education or

other factors. It is evident that not all people have equal

opportunities of getting better education by being able to afford

private tuition and private schools hence outlining the fact that

inequality in education still exist within our educational

framework today.

The dissertation aims to explore the readily accepted ideals

of inequality that are used in explanation of the differences in

experience of education and achievement by ethnicity and whether

these accepted ideals need to give way to a more contemporary

outlook on the issues. The dissertation will use the secondary

research method where I will use the information obtained from

the library books, journals, magazines and government papers to


get the information about the education achievement and

experience. The research aims at identifying the differences in

experience of education and achievement by ethnicity, assess the

way ethnicity intersects and interacts with influences of gender

and class in shaping the outcome and experience of the education

of an individual and finally identify whether there are any

differing contemporary views which try to explain the differences

in experience of education and achievement by ethnicity. The

paper will then have a conclusion where I will summarize the

results and then give recommendations and the way forward.

1. O: BACKGROUND INFORMATIONEducational inequality refers to the to the lack of equal

opportunities that people have as a result of disparities in

quality of education or other factors. However, people have the

same opportunities from when we start school, hence its up to the

individual to decide what they want to do within the educational

framework and as a result they argue out that each individual has

the chance to do use education to their advantage , on the other

hand, it is important to note that not all people have equal


opportunities of getting better education by being able to afford

private tuition and private schools hence outlining the fact that

inequality in education still exist within our educational

framework today.

The major function of education is the transmission of

society’s norms and values. Society can survive only if there

exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity;

education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing

in the child from the beginning the essential similarities which

collective life demands (social trends, 1994). A vital task for

all societies is the welding of a mass of individuals into a

united whole, in other words the creation of social solidarity.

This involves a commitment to society, a sense of belonging and a

feeling that the social unit is more important than the

individual. Durkheim argued that education, and in particular the

teaching of history, provides this link between the individual

and society. If the history of their society is brought alive to

children, they will come to see that they are part of something


larger than themselves: they will develop a sense of commitment

to the social group.

Education is seen as a means of role allocation, but they

link the educational system more directly with the system of

social stratification. Social stratification is seen to be a

mechanism for ensuring that the most talented to those positions

which are functionally most important for society. High rewards

which act as incentives are attached to those positions; this

means that all will compete for them and the most talented will

win through. Education system is very necessary when it comes to

this process. In Davis’s words,

“it is the proving ground for ability and hence the

selective agency for placing people in different statuses

according to their capacities”

Thus the educational system shifts sorts and grades

individuals in terms of their talents and abilities. It provides

rewards to the very talented students who have high

qualifications, which later provide entry to the occupations that

are identified as the most important in the society.


According to symbolism interactions theorist explanations of

differential achievement that we have examined so far all suggest

that pupils’ progress in education is strongly influenced by

factors over which individuals have little control. Intelligence

as well as home background has been presented as the ones that

determine the pupils’ performance within the system of education.

Yet the very obvious place one can get the explanation of

achievement in the differential educational is only in the

educational system. None of the previous approaches is based upon

an examination of schooling, but it is widely assumed that

schools play an important part in determining educational success

and failure. Most of the parents spend quite a lot of money so

that their young children can attend schools. They do so in the

effort of ensuring that their children have better education.

Before the establishment of comprehensives many parents were

also anxious that their children gained a place at grammar

schools, assuming that this would prove advantageous for their

children. Supporters of the comprehensive system hoped that when

all children in state education attended the same type of school,


class inequalities in educational achievement would be greatly

reduced. This did not happen. Despite comprehensives, class

inequalities remain, and this has led to an emphasis on examining

the differences in treatment that pupils receive even when they

are attending the same school. Interactionists have illuminated

the processes within the education system that result in

different levels of achievement. It is interactionists, far more

than any other type of sociologist, who has researched into the

details of day-to-day life in schools.

Psychologists and sociologists have explained performance

in the education system in terms of intelligence, cultural and

material deprivation and social stratification. All these

approaches are, from the interactionist point of view,

deterministic; that is, they see human behavior as directed and

determined by forces beyond the control of the individual.

Individuals are held to react in a predictable way to external

stimuli such as the directives of subcultures or the pressures of

stratification systems.


1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENTEthnicity, class and gender have always been a source of

inequalities especially in education that past sociologist

base their theories on. These inequalities have continued to

manifest themselves today within our society in various

sectors like government structures within different countries

and lack of education resources. The educational resources

have always contributed to the marginalization of some ethnic

groups thereby contributing largely to educational inequality

within the society today.

BROAD OBJECTIVESWhether we can rely on the established notions to explain the

differences in education achievements and experience are

affected by ethnicity.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES1. To identify the differences in experience of education

and achievement by ethnicity


2. To find out the way ethnicity intersects and interacts

with influences of gender and class in shaping the

outcome and experience of the education of an individual.

3. To identify whether there are any differing contemporary

views which try to explain the differences in experience

of education and achievement by ethnicity

RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the differences in experience of education and

achievement by ethnicity?

Examine the way ethnicity intersects and interacts with

influences of gender and class in shaping the outcome and

experience of the education of an individual.

Are there any differing contemporary views which try to

explain the differences in experience of education and

achievement by ethnicity? If yes, what are they?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYThe study is aimed at providing a basis for making education

affordable and accessible to all within the society today

irrespective of gender, class or ethnicity.


SCOPE OF THE STUDY The information was collected from the secondary data a case

example of young students from London and Nottingham. (Wright,

2012). The researcher considered all subjects within that area

of study who were between the ages of 14 and 19 who had

experienced permanent school exclusion, they were draw from

both private and public schools within that given field of

study and Additional data are provided from over 60 interviews

with contacts nominated by the young people, including

community and social workers, mothers, fathers, grandparents,

siblings and friends.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEWThe enduring inequalities experienced by black students in

schools in England have been extensively documented (Wright et

al., 2000). The literature shows that black students attain

persistently lower outcomes at age 16 than their white peers.

Recent reviews of research indicate that black children commenced

their schooling with high ability and show themselves to be


capable students but, as they get older, their achievements

decline (Wright, 1987a; Rhamie, 2007). Although black students

persistently achieve lower outcomes at age 16, in 2007 their

outcomes were slightly higher than those of children of Pakistani

origin. The variation in educational achievement (particularly

for black male students) is also linked to high exclusion (or

suspension) rates (Wright et al., 2010). The explanations and

responses to the plight of black students within the British

education system is said to be;

“Within general educational discourse black children’s

schooling experiences and underperformance have been ascribed

to; inter alia, deficits, cultural differences and family

practices. Moreover, the discourse in Britain concerning black

children as a problem to be managed is also reflected

historically and contemporaneously through social policy. For

example, social policy initiatives employed to respond to black

children in British schools have taken the form of assimilation

to the current ‘colour blind’ approaches which have entailed

the erasure of ‘race’ from policy…” (Wright, 2010).


Further, Tomlinson (2008) has argued

“Although there have been some positive legislative and

policy developments, particularly the use of civil law and

human rights legislation to penalize racial discrimination, the

education system over the past 50 years has developed within a

socio- political context in which there has been a lack of

political will to ensure that all groups were fairly and

equitably treated”.

In relation to the evident continuing discrimination and

racial inequality prevalent in education, and more widely in

contemporary British society, attention is drawn to the

neoliberal and management directions of policy within the

education sphere (Ball, 2008; Tomlinson, 2008).

2.1 Class and educational inequalityRecognizing the multidimensional character of identity and

position increases the question: Are some dimensions more

fundamental than others? Is class more fundamental than gender or

ethnicity? If so, explanation would adopt a reductionist form in

which ethnic and gender and status differences would ultimately


dissolve into class differences. Feminists adopting a standpoint

perspective, however, hold that gender requires a distinct body

of theory and concepts qualitatively different from those of the

‘male’ theory of class, and that ‘feminist method’ is different

in kind from ‘male’ method .For them, theories and methods are

constitutively gendered and, hence, radically discontinuous and

incommensurable.

In defense of the priority of class, the difference that

sets class inequality apart from both gender and ethnic in-

equality. This is that, in the public sphere and in general

principle alike, the latter two operate in large measure through

the former. Inequalities between men and women, between

blacks/browns and whites–for that matter between Catholics and

Protestants in a Protestant dominated society–come to major

expression as inequalities of class; but not vice versa. As he

points out, ‘women experience their social subordination

especially though not only by way of poor placement in the

structure of class’ and similarly for blacks. To make this point

is not to return to class reductionism (class inequalities and


modes of discrimination do not exhaust those of gender and race),

but to note an important asymmetry in the relation between these

inequalities so as to view their relationships as interactive and

relational rather that as ‘conceptually parallel dimensions of

inequality’ associated with paradigmatic differences in theory

and method. Within the American context, there have been a

similar observation about the class and race relation, but makes

a different point in order to explain the persistence of racial

inequalities in education. He constructs a set of careful

distinctions to define the specificity of ‘racial stratification’

as separate from class. He argues that although social inequality

is universal, social stratification is not. Stratification occurs

when groups are defined by certain criteria (e.g. colour, sex),

then ranked relative to each other, and individuals are treated

according to group membership. He defines stratification in this

way: A stratified society is a society in which there is a

differential relationship between members of its constituent

groups and the society’s fundamental resources, so that some

people (e.g. white Americans), by virtue of their membership in


particular social groups, have almost unimpaired access to the

strategic resources, while some other people (e.g. black

Americans), by virtue of their own membership in other social

groups, have various impediments in their access to the same

strategic or fundamental resources. In addition, the different

social groups in the hierarchy are separated by cultural and

invidious distinctions that serve to maintain social distance

between them. In a stratified society there is usually an

overarching ideology, a folk or/and scientific ‘theory’ embodying

the dominant group’s rationalizations or explanations of the

hierarchical ordering of the groups.

Subordinated groups do not necessarily accept the

rationalization of the system; however, they are not entirely

free from its influence. Stratification can occur without class

(e.g. in pre-industrial societies), and class does not

necessarily entail stratification (as distinct from social in-

equality). Individuals can change class, but in a racially

stratified society cannot change their color and what that

entails. Strata membership is assigned on the basis of ascribed


(assumed intrinsic) characteristics, whereas class membership is

achieved and marked by external characteristics (such as socio-

economic status). Strata contain classes (e.g. middle-class black

Americans), but those of the inferior strata are not continuous

with the same class in the dominant group. A black American can

achieve a high class status, but still suffer the consequences of

racial stratification and be segregated from whites.

2.2 How gender manifest itself in educational inequalityIn India over the last half-century has seen the rise in

salience of hitherto ignored inequalities in traditional

formulations of the social sciences class and poverty cultural

handicaps and linguistic disadvantages had in addition to a much

less emphatically started rural urban differentiation. For long

it has been recognized as the cause as well as effect of

educational disadvantage women. Backward castes and untouchable

castes and Tribe should always been known to be educationally

disadvantaged, but were overlooked in academic discourse, given

the prevailing social ethos, the weak social and political

position of the groups concerned and possibly non unrelated the


state of the art in the social sciences themselves, for

comparable opposite reason now the terms of the question have

changed and a turn, almost unbalanced in its magnitude and

quality: has taken place in the direction of gender, caste and

ethnicity as the material and salient factors. In what follows,

an examination of the matter is attempted in the light of some

relevant facts of pre-and post Independence history

Despite all efforts in 1990 these were 948 million

illiterates in the world a figure which has not changed

substantially since 1985. If efforts to deal with the problem are

not intensified projections for the year 2000 indicate at best

only a very slight decrease. Due to rapid population growth,

poverty and politico-economic reasons, the number of illiterates

is increasing continuously in the world. Normally in developing

countries, the proportion of women literates is less that of

literate men. Girls receive less health case and food than boys.

A study in Bangladesh showed that 14% of girls as against 5% of

boys are malnourished. Women typically work more but they are


paid less compared to men they also mostly work in format sectors

where pay levels to be power.

2.2.1 Discrimination Against women in Literacy and Education:- Rapid population, Growth, poverty and certain political and

economic mechanisms in society all linked to incomplete

coverage of primary education for school age children, are at

the root of the constant increase in the absolute no. of

illiterates in the world. It is a fact that more women than

men are illiterate, and there are many reasons for this. In

most societies women have lower status than men. From

childhood on they have less access to education and sometimes

in food and health case as adults not only do they frequently

receive less education but worth longer hours have lower

incomes and little or no access to ownership of property. Even

when the motivation is these, formidable obstacles remain.

Foremost among them is probably Lack of time. The traditional

or new roles that women fill rarely have them enough free time

to devote to full-time or even part-time educational

activities, fatigue, frequent or early pregnancies. Caring for

child and families agricultural and cultural activities and


formal and informal employment are among the many reasons for

lack of time. This heavy work hood is reflected in the high

rate of absenteeism and drop-out of women from literacy

activities. The some reasons apply to girl’s schooling.

Organizational problem male instructions mixed gender

classes considerable distance between home and the education

centre lack of transport, evening courses and cultural clashes

between instructors and participants are also constraints to

women’s full participation in educational activities. Women’s

education plays an imp role in children especially in relation

to infant mortality levels. A study carried out by the

research Triangle Institute (1990) in 80 developing countries

indicated the an increase of 70 percent in girl’s enrolment

in primary school together with a comparable growth in

secondary education would after 20 years result in a decrees

in the infant mortality rate of 20 per 1,000 live births. Such

primary and secondary education for women would contribute to

continuation of this decrease over and above other relevant


development inputs such as increased per capital income level

of urbanization.

2.2.2 Intersectionality and resilienceIntersectionality aims at opposing the feminist work of

homogenizing the situations of women. (Yuval-Davis, 2011). It

involves integrating the analysis of systems involved in

oppression and the intersection of race, gender, and social

class in the black women lives. The approach looks at the way

gender, class, race and others intersect so as to affect the

lives of people and their social behavior. Crenshaw, (1989)

talked of the term intersectionality while discussing the

employment of black women. There was frequent use of this

concept especially in the feminist work in the ay women are

placed to be women and as a class of black women among others.

The attempt aimed at avoiding reduction of women to a single

category every time. This led to treating the so called social

positions just like relational. One should note that

intersecting the various dimensions of class, gender and race

may lead to penalties or even privileges. This depends much on

the positioning. Race is said to be gendered while gender is


said to be racialised. What is supposed to be white male

working class is far much different as compared to the black

male working class. The minority groups and the blacks have

come across the discrimination patterns without considering

gender or social class.

Intersectionality is seen to be a proxy of the

stratification theory. Social stratification connects to

separate hierarchical locations in groups or even in

individuals on the grid of power in the society. Yuval-Davis

(2011) outlines essence of the stratification theory when it

comes to intersectionality. The debate on the relationship

between education and power structure continues. The approach

of intersectional stratification may be in a position of

coming out with the understanding of this kind of problem. A

theoretical framework that deals with the interaction between

“habitus” and capital or resource forms is used. The capital

notion to the education concept highlights the way

inequalities in social class is produced in the after

compulsory education and in schooling. For instance, money as


well as the capital economic forms are important in

reproduction of inequalities of education. This is because

they can be used in purchasing certain forms of mobility and

advantage. They could also be deployed in protecting costs,

fixity as well as risks (Archer et al, 2007) The social

capital shows the forms of the connection and social

participation like the groups, facilities, communities and

networks. Culture capital on the other hand is the increase in

culture knowledge. Ability and skills that an individual

possess or are inherited by a group of people who are

privileged, the credentials that the elite groups and employer

uses as a method of arbitrarily and unfairly screening out

people and subordinate groups from certain social groups and

privileged jobs. While using the analysis attention of

Bourdieu, it has been brought to show the way middle class

defend and generate the so called privileged positions. This

is as a result of their deployment of symbolically

legitimated, social and cultural economic forms. These are

used to negotiate successfully with the educational markets.


Capital in education is formulated in regard to the white

communities. Therefore one is required to be very keen while

extending the notion to these back communities.

The issue for instance on the low attainment of the black

people in school is odd when put together with post compulsory

experience in school. In this view, it is evident that black

students who have GCSE results below or within the median have

high likely hood of attending the higher education as compared

to white students with the same results. Material factors are

very much significant as compared to cultural factors when it

comes to the education failure in the working class. Even if

the factor has some truth for the black families, the quest

they have of a good life which is to be achieved through

acquiring good education is paramount without looking at the

class. When discussing the experience of the established

Caribbean community living in Britain one needs to note that

the debate takes place with the regard of the way black

community tries to respond and engage the race inequalities

especially to education (Goulbourne, 2002).


3.0 Methodology

3.1 INTRODUCTION1. This chapter highlights the way the secondary research

was done. The research mainly involved use of library

books, journals government publications, magazines and

articles which have information about ethic inequality

and education systems. The results were then analyzed

and written as the result findings. An example of the

research was one that was done by Wright, (2010). The

research was done to young Caribbean students were

obtained from London and Nottingham. The research aims at

identifying the differences in experience of education

and achievement by ethnicity, assess the way ethnicity

intersects and interacts with influences of gender and

class in shaping the outcome and experience of the

education of an individual and finally identify whether

there are any differing contemporary views which try to


achievement by ethnicity.


3.2 PROCEDUREThe research will make use of secondary data. I intend to

use the books, articles and journals, government publications and

magazines which are available and have the information concerning

the education inequality and achievements as a result of gender

inequality, ethnicity and class.

3.5.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDYThe recommendations from this study will be used as a basis

for implementation and change in structure of the educational

framework today so as to curb out educational inequality

within the society today.

4.0 Result findings.The research has looked at the differences in experience of

education as well as achievement by ethnicity, assess the manner

in which ethnicity intersects and interacts with influences of

gender and class in shaping the outcome and experience of the

education of an individual and has also looked into the differing

contemporary views which try to explain the differences in

experience of education and achievement by ethnicity.


4.1 Differences in experience of education and achievement by Ethnicity

The information given below is obtained from a study of

Youth Cohort for students aged 16 years. It shows the education

achievement trend at the GCSE level. This was done between the

years 1989 to 2004. This was according to students’ ethnicity

that was estimated according to sample basis that ranged from

24922 to 13,698. (earlham sociology papers, 2013).

Year 1989 1990 1991 199219931994 19951996 1997 1998199920002001200220032004

Weighted

sample

1411

6

1451

1

2492

2

1802

0

1589

9

1462

2

1369

8

1670

7

1400

3

Percentage

of the

group

defined at

each row

White 30 35 37 43 45 47 50 52 55

Black 18 19 23 21 23 29 29 36 34

Asian 29 26 33 36 38 45 48 52 55


Indian n/a n/a 38 45 48 54 60 60 72

Pakist

anin/a n/a 26 24 23 29 29 40 37

Bangla

deshin/a n/a 14 20 25 33 29 41 45

Other

Asiann/a n/a 46 50 61 61 72 64 65

This data show that attainment of the ethnic groups shown

have gradually improved though the ethnic inequalities in the

achievement of education have remained. One thing that is evident

about the ethnic minority communities is that they are very well

represented in the UK. This is as compared with the general

population. In the year 2007 and 2008, sixteen percent of the

students studying degree from UK came from Asian and black

community minority backgrounds. This was an improvement as

compared to the 14.2 % students of the age bracket of between 18

to 24 years. The reason as to why the minority students


underachieve when it comes to education is because of the

educational disadvantage, which is very much related to the

ethnicity. Even if the ethnic minorities are from Afro Caribbean,

Bangladeshi and Pakistan, the students are very much to be seen

in the low parts of working class. This means they will also

experience poverty. The social theorists define poverty as a

situation where people have an income that is below 60% of UK

median income. Now that most of the ethnic minority people are

likely to be in the poverty line, they experience the class

disadvantage because they tend to be located in the low working

class sections (earlhamsociology papers, 2013).

According to research done by Wright (2012) on the community

solidarity, the findings showed that the youths have involved

themselves with organizations that are community based that offer

work ethos. Black identity and self worth. One individual

commented that:

“ISSP have been of great help to me as they do not want me

in the streets. They make me think of better things to do.”


The encounter with black professionals still rings on their

minds. This was meant to challenge the negative picture of the

masculinity in blacks by bringing up the positive identity

towards self. The boys were encouraged to move out of the

negative stereotypes by offering education and emotional support

to them. One of them commented that;

“..It made me think a lot about myself and move away from

arrogance. I had to make a decision on the way forward. I was

given advice and support.”

The research done by FSR (2013) shows that the percentage of

the students obtaining 5 and more GCSE in grade A* or equivalent

together with mathematics and english IGCSE or GCSE have

continued to differ in the various ethnic groups. For example,

the Chinese students are the highest with 17.6 % points which is

above the average of the national. As this percentage of the

Chinese increase in the year 2007 to 2008 and also 2010 to 2011.

It reduced by a percentage of 2.2 in the year 2011 to 2012. This

led to a narrowing of 4.1 % gap between the Chinese students

obtaining 5 and more GCSE in grade A* or equivalent together with


mathematics and english IGCSE or GCSE as well as the national

average of the year 2007 to 2008 and 2011 to 2012.

Another example is the students from the black community.

They have remained to be the lowest performers. The percentage of

students obtaining 5 and more GCSE in grade A* or equivalent

together with mathematics and English IGCSE or GCSE is about 4.2%

points which is lower than national average. The margin has

widened with a 0.4% points from 2010 to 2011. It has however

narrowed with a 3.3 % points from 2007 to 2008. The students from

Asia on the other hand have performed better as compared to the

national average students of the Asian background. They have the

students from the Asian background have improved by 3.9% points

and those from mixed background have 1.0% points. With every wide

ethnic group, the actual ethnic group has shown more variability.

The Chinese students have remained the best achieving ethnic

group

According to the research, it is evident that lone

parenthood is very much seen in the Black Caribbean and also in

White families as compared to the Chinese and Asian families.


Students who have English as the first language have high chances

of succeeding in school as compared to the others. Also teenage

rebellion is very high in Caribbean boys as compared to Chinese

and Asian boys. This is an implication that the sub cultural

factors really influence the underachievement of education

(earlhamsociology papers, 2013).

The organizations that are community based have highlighted

the community, capital, social and cultural impacts on the black

people aims of achieving progress. The evidence shows the way

organizations that are community based in the black community

offer social capital in form of the connections especially to the

organizations dealing with the young people. It was noted that

the work of the organization with the youths include strategies

in the social progress, providing a pro active approach in

evaluating the opportunities in education, having activities that

are aimed in developing a cultural identity, constructive racial

and also focus on obtaining success through transformation of

individuals (Wright et al, 2010).


The graph below shows the GCSE results of five and above A*

to C grades (School portal, 2013).

National Equality Panel noted that people from the ethnic

groups having GCSE results are very likely to proceed to higher

education as compared to white British students possessing same

results. According to Mirza (2006), University students already


working want to occupy positions that are more improved as

compared to the ones their parents hold. She continues to explain

that to the black community, the education urgency can be said to

be a racialised process. While looking at the working class

Caribbean women, she identified that when they were on the

ground, they had the desire to climb onto the career ladder. They

tirelessly worked for academic success and obtained the

qualifications. Their motivation not only came from the desire of

the credentials in education, but also the educational urgency.

This was a desire to be able to succeed even with all odds in

place. The education in this kind of sense became “transformative

mantel.”

4.2 The way Ethnicity interacts with Gender and class in shaping Education of an individual

According to the research done by SFR (2013), girls have

been able to perform better as compared to the boys. The

percentage margin between the boys and girls obtaining 5 and

above in GCSE in the A* to C grade and its equivalent is 6.5%

points. 83.6% of the girls achieve the indicator while the boys

who achieve the indicator are 79.8 %. This gap has continued to


reduce for the last few years from the range of 8.8% points

during the year 2007 and 2008.

The percentage margin between the boys and girls who obtain

5 or even more GCSE in the A* and C grade together with

mathematics and English IGCSEs and GCSE is 9.5 % points. 63.6 %

of girls achieve the indicator while the boys who achieve the

indicator are 54.2%. This gap has continued to become bigger by

1.4% from the year 2007 to 2008. When this issue is looked into

details on the trends in every year, the gap has continued to

become narrow and has became slightly stable just before it later

widened in the period between year 2010 t0 2011 and 2011 to 2012

by 2.2% points. This was as a result of a 1.8% points increase by

the girls and 0.4% points decrease by the boys.

The margin between the boys and girls percentage in

obtaining the so called English Baccalaureate is about 5.8% point

where 19.1% girls achieve the Baccalaureate in English while 13.3

% boys achieve the same (SFR, 2013). This is in line with the

attainment gap in 2010 to 2011 which was 5.5% points. In the

period between 2011 and 2012, an average of 25.6% girls became


admitted for all subject areas in English Baccalaureate, while

the boys were 20.7%.

The margin in the percentage of boys and girls producing the

progress expected in English was 13.0% points. This margin became

bigger with a percentage point of about 2.5 in the period 2010

and 2011. The percentage margin between the boys and girls making

the progress that was expected in mathematics became narrow with

a 4.4% points. However, this margin has become bigger by 0.7%

points in the period 2010 and 2011.

The following graph shows the comparison of the Exam success and

race. (Baker, 2002)


According to the research, it has been seen that students

who come from areas where there is a lot of poverty tend to

underperform as compared to those from other areas. For example

students from Bangladeshi are the lowest in the exam success.

Other issues that may affect the results could be discipline and

also motivation from the people surrounding them.The issue of

discipline affects mostly the boys who tend to engage themselves

in drugs and other activities. Bangladeshi and Pakistani have


shown a lot of improvement as they have risen with more than 5%.

India has also improved by showing 5 passes (Baker, 2002).

Research also indicates that when the students from ethnic minority underachieve when it comes to education, could be explained as the disadvantage of social class and also the education disadvantage which is related to ethnicity. Even if theethnic minority members are found all over the UK structure, the Caribbean. Bangladeshi and Pakistani students are very much likely to be on the lower working class sections hence experiencepoverty.

These students who come from the ethnic minority groups willtend to have problems like poor diet which comes with inadequate energy, sickness that leads to difficulties in concentration and also not attending school. The children are forced to miss classes so as to take care of the sick young ones because their parents are not able to leave work to stay with them. The students also lack books, a study room that is comfortable and things like computers and private tuition that their colleagues from well up families enjoy. The poor students live in areas thatare deprived. They also attend schools that are relatively ineffective and therefore get poor results in their examinations.They cannot be in a position to move to better areas where there are effective schools in the states or even private schools whichare expensive. On the other hand, the possible sacrifices in finance that are associated with high education are of great concern. This prevents students with poor family backgrounds fromthe ethnic minority who have talents from being able to join higher education(earlhamsociology papers, 2013).


4.3 Contemporary views that explain the differences in experience of education and achievement by ethnicity.

4.3.1 IQ TheoryPeople argue that poor performance of some of the students from

ethnic minority groups can be explained by the low intelligence that is genetically inherited from their parents. However, sociologists arecritical when it comes to this view. They argue that it is not easy todefine intelligence because the IQ tests which are given to students could be sometimes culturally biased (earlhamsociology papers, 2013). The results of these IQ tests depend on whether the student was nervous while doing the test and also the way students take the tests i.e whether seriously or not. This means that even if intelligence could be inherited to some extents thisidea could not be able to proof that. For instance, an ethnic group of Asians inherited a lot of intelligence as compared to the Whites also as ethnic group that scores on the IQ test dependon cultural environmental and economic factors and also that withthe knowledge state currently; it is difficult to access the needfor heredity as well as environmental factors which influence intelligence.

The scores on IQ test for the Blacks have also increased in the USA after the reforms on Civil Rights were made. The East Asians in America also outscore the Black Americans and White Americans.

4.3.2 LanguageStudent from the minority communities face a lot of cultural

challenges which tend to undermine the prospects of education.

One of them could be the fact that in the Asian community,

English isn’t their language. Also the Caribbean people use the


Patois and Creole in speaking and also writing. These are not

Standard English. The frequent use of these languages may make

them not able to understand the formal language. This may make

the students from these communities fail to understand questions

as well as answer the questions in a manner that the examiner

will understand (earlham sociology papers, 2013).

When we compare the achievement of the students whose

language is English, an average of 59.2 percent were able to

perform better as compared to those who have a different first

language. This is because those who performed better with their

first language not being English were about 56.2 percent. This is

correct for the average percentage achieving of the 5 and above

GCSE in the A* and C grade or equivalent. This is the opposite of

what happened in the year 2010 and 2011 when those students who

performed better were the ones who had a different language other

then English.

The gaps in first language attainment in the year 2007 to

2012 where English is first language and also where English is

not the first language is shown below (SFR, 2013).


2007-

2008

2008-

2009

2009-

2010

2010-

2011

2011-

2012

5 and above GCSE at A* to

C and its equivalent

2.0 1.2 0.2 -0.4 0.5

5 and above GCSE at A* to

C grade and its equivalent

Together with mathematics

and English IGCSEs and

GCSE.

3.4 3.4 3.1 2.7 3.0

The students percentage in every group that achieved

English Baccalaureate is widely the same where 16.2% of the

students who had English as their first language obtaining the

indicator as compared to the 16.0 % of the students who had their

first language being different from English. The gap attainment

is now at 0.2 % points having reduced from the previous one of

1.2 in the year 2010 and 2011. The students who had their first

language being different from English made a progress which was

expected in English as compared to the ones who had English as

their first language.


4.3.3 Family lifeAccording to research in the article earlham sociology

papers ( 2013), the parental interest of the ethnic minority

groups to the education of their children shows that an average

of 1500 parents who were likely as compared to a sample of the UK

population to have the feeling of being involved in the

education of their children. 82% of the parents were very much

willing to attend the parents’ evenings whenever an opportunity

came their way. 40% of he parents commented that they were very

much confident in assisting their children do homework . However,

the figures were a bit low in some areas like for example 36% in

Pakistan, 34% in Bangladeshi and of course 34% in the areas where

English was not their very first language.

The families are very important in providing resources for

the identity formation. In Britain for example, black family has

been stereotyped because it lacks values that are likely to bring

in success in education. However, parents in the middle class in

the Caribbean heritage were found to be very much involved in the

education of their children outside the school. Together with

professionals in the middle class, they draw onto social networks


so as to give their children a positive representation. They also

want to offer advice and assistance to their children. These

parents involve their children in extra curricular events and

touring. Some of the activities the children participate ion are

sports, music, black mentoring, youth organizations and drama.

The activities are said to be interventions which have

demonstrable impact when it comes to attitudes, behavior and

aspirations of these children. This relates to the participation

and attainment of academic excellence (Cummings et al, 2012).

These result findings are in line with the ones of the study

done by Rollock et al (2011). Young blacks unanimously agreed on

one thing. They were supported by their parents as they were

advised on the ways of succeeding in achieving education and

tackling racism. They believed that the strategies had served

like a driving force in participation and education aspirations.

They also felt like they were one team. Most of the youths said

that the negative experiences in education together with the

family support and the urge to be successful made them improve a


lot in the familiar relationships. Their parents believed in them

and were an inspiration to them

5. CONCLUSION

Black children are being viewed as an ‘educational problem’

and a threat to the educational standards of the white

community. Hence, we are witnessing increasing educational

segregation.

It is evident therefore that students who have their first

language as English have high chances of succeeding as

compared to those who have other different languages and not

English. We have also been able to see that teenage rebellion

is high in Caribbean and in the whites as compared to the case

of Chinese boys and those of Asia. This is an implication that

sub cultural factors do influence the education patterns of

education underachievement. On the other hand, evidence has


shown it clearly that most of the parents as well as children

have a lot of value with the achievement of education. The

cultures of ethnic minority should therefore not be regarded

as deprived. Most of these parents from the ethnic minority

groups do not have cultural capital which may be invested in

the system of education. They therefore could face more

problems due to poverty.

The present trends in the UK education system will pose

serious challenges for the black community in its attempts to

counter this inequality. Although the British state has

legislated against racial discrimination the state has done

little in recent years to develop fairness and equity for

black and minority ethnic students in education. The education

system has not actively sought to provide a fair and equal

education for all. Indeed, population segregation by area

results in segregated education. This is allied to growing

media and political hostility to ‘multiculturalism.’ Further,

black males are predominately demonized as the main elements

in gun and drug culture and crime (Wright 2010). The attempts


by teachers and LEAs to develop a more equitable system have

been replaced by competition between schools.

The black students attend the university in large numbers.

However, these students from the small communities tend to use

of their own languages from their communities. These languages

may make them not able to understand the formal language. This

may make the students from these communities fail to

understand questions as well as answer the questions in a

manner that the examiner will understand .The results findings

have been discuss the education desire and identity formation.

While looking at the working class Caribbean women, it is

evident that when the youth and women were on the ground, they

had the desire to climb onto the career ladder. They

tirelessly worked for academic success and obtained the

qualifications. Their motivation did not just come from the

desire of the credentials in education, but also the

educational urgency. I have also talked about the parenting

and family role in success, where we have identified that

parents in the middle class in the Caribbean heritage were


very much involved in the education of their children outside

the school.

It is argued that the underachievement of the ethnic

minority could be as a result of the financial disadvantage, the

response (negative) that they get from others as a result of

poverty. The problems and challenges that their parents also

experience could translate the ambitions they have to their

children have meaning to their children. will use the information

obtained from the library books, journals, magazines and

government papers to get the information about the education

achievement and experience. The research aims at identifying the

differences in experience of education and achievement by

ethnicity, assess the way ethnicity intersects and interacts with

influences of gender and class in shaping the outcome and

experience of the education of an individual and finally identify

whether there are any differing contemporary views which try to


achievement by ethnicity.


I therefore recommend that the school practitioners be

provided with training on the various multicultural backgrounds.

The training should intend to acknowledge the risks that are

associated with being a member of the ethnic minority in the US.

It should also consider the way ethnic identities of youths could

be used to serve like cultural assets especially in connection to

the achievement of the youths and the way the information could

create classroom context to be used by all the students.

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