Ethnicithy: page 37 to 48

External factors and ethnic differences in achievement

Sociologists argues that ethnic differences in achievement can best be explained at
looking at factors outside of school like home, family and culture that impacts wider
society. The main explainations of this kind are cultural deprivation, material
deprivation and class and racism in wider society.
Cultural deprivation
With the explainartion of class differences in achievement, cultural deprivation theory
sees the underachievement of some ethnic groups as the result of inadequate
socialisation in the home. The explanation has three main aspects:
•intellectual and linguistic skills
•attitudes and values
•family structure and parental support.

Intellectual and linguistic skills

Cultural deprivation theorists see the lack of intellectual and linguistic skills as a
major cause of underachievement for many minority children. Overall they argue that
children from low income black families lack intellectual stimulation and enriching
experiences. This leaves them poorly epquipped for school because they have not
been able to develop reasoning and problem solving skills.
It’s similar in ways that Berle
Tier and engelmann consider the language spliken by low income black American
families as inadequate for educational success, they see it as ungrammatical,
disjointed and incapable of expressing abstract ideas.
There is concern that children aren’t able to speak English at home and may be held
back in education, however official statics shows that its not a major factor to
consider.
Gillborn and mirza both similarity have noted that Indian pupils do very well despite
often not having English at their home language.
Attitude and values
Cultural deprivation theorist see that the lack of motivation as cause major failure for
many black children. Most children are socialised into the mainstream culture that
instils ambition, competitiveness and willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to
achieve long term goals. This equips them for success in education.cultural
deprivation theroirist argues that some black children are socialised into a subculture
that instils a fatalistic, live for today and attitude that doens’t value education and
leaves them unequipped for success.
Family stricture and parental support
Culutral deprivation theorists argues that failure to socialise children adequately is the
result of a dysfunctional family structure. Moynihan argues that because many black
families are heated by a lone mother, their children are deprived of adequate care
because she has to struggle financially in the absence of a male breadwinner, the
father’s absence means that the bot lacks an adequate as a cycle where
inadequately socialised children from unstable families go on to fail at school and
become inadequate parents themselves.