Ethnicity & Education
Sociology: AQA GCSE, topic 3.3.5
Ethnicity and Internal Factors
The influence of internal factors on ethnicity and educational achievement.
Institutional racism
- Institutional racism refers to the racism that takes places in institutions like schools, police, hospitals etc.
- Examples in schools:
- Labelling ethnic minority pupils as failures.
- Putting them into a lower set.
- Not hiring ethnic minority staff in senior management positions.
Ethnocentric curriculum
- An ethnocentric curriculum assumes that everyone in that environment adopts the same manners and customs and can identify with the traditions of Britain.
- History taught in English schools mainly focus on English and European history even though most schools have pupils from different backgrounds.
Hidden curriculum
- The hidden curriculum mainly transmits norms and values which are applicable to British society.
Teacher/pupil interactions
- There are many times that teachers negatively label pupils who come from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Subcultures
- There is a tendency for boys of the same ethnic group to form their own social groups.
- These groups might be labelled, which could lead to self-fulfilling prophecies.
Language barrier
- Some students may come from households where English is not the most commonly spoken language.
- This may mean that their exposure to English is lower than some of their fellow students.
Test yourself on Ethnicity & Education
How do you describe a school curriculum which assumes that everyone should adopt the same manners and customs as those in Britain?