How cultural deprivation affects the educational attainment of students Essay Example

that there will be a number of different reasons why some ethnic groups are underachieving.ContextGovernment figures from 2002 exam results show that Indian pupils had high achievement levels with 66% of Indian students achieving 5 or more A*-C GCSE grades. The lowest levels of GCSE attainment were among Black Caribbean pupils.

Only 23 per cent of Black Caribbean students achieved five or more A*-C grade GCSEs. Pupils from the Other Black, Black African and Pakistani groups had similar low levels of attainment. These statistics are relevant to my study as they show evidence that there is a gap of the educational attainment from different ethnic groups. This is relevant to my hypothesis as cultural deprivation could be part of the reason for some ethnic minorities are performing poorly.Another concept linked to my study is the home background of the ethnic group.

African-Caribbean's, like Asian families, tend to reflect the societies from which they migrated. A large proportion of Afro-Caribbean households in Britain are single parent families, but perhaps the key point is that Afro-Caribbean families tend to be mother-centered. Geoffrey Driver (1982) found that a large proportion of African Caribbean families were matrifocal or the male was playing a small role within the family. This could be a disadvantage for some ethnic groups.

High numbers of lone parent families in Afro-Caribbean communities could be a reason for the low educational attainment of West Indians. This is likely to lead to less parental support as lone parents may feel it is more important to put "food on the table" and play an "instrumental" role rather than providing family support. This is linked to my hypothesis as

some ethnic minorities maybe disadvantaged by having a family structure that does not suit the education system.Speech codes used at school may also affect educational achievement for some ethic minorities. Language barriers may prevent ethnic minority students to understand or to be understood.

Bernstein gave ideas of how there are two distinct speech codes that are used. Ethnic minorities are confined to using the "restricted code" which would be a disadvantage as teachers are most likely to use the "elaborated code". White students may be fluent in both the restricted and elaborated code. This is linked to my hypothesis as it gives ideas of how ethnic minorities maybe at a disadvantage and how the education system benefits white students.Parental interest is also an important factor.

Douglas found that parental interest is the most important factor that will affect educational progress. Parental interest may also be a deciding factor when encouraging their children to carry on into further education. Douglas measured parental interest by the number of visits parents made to their children's school. Ethnic minority parents were found to be the least likely to visit. This maybe because of language barriers that may have limited communication.

Douglas found that some ethnic minorities were more likely to make school visits than others. Indian and Chinese parents were among the most likely to take interest in their children's education. Bangladeshi and African Caribbean parents were found to take the least interest in their children's education.Some Ethnic minorities are also likely to be deprived of values, attitudes and skills that are required for educational success. This is then likely to lead to a lack of ambition and value

for education.

Some ethnic minority students may accept that education is not the key to success and will not take it seriously. While a large proportion of ethnic students will reject education and accept failure, others will work hard for success. This is particularly the case with Indian and Chinese students. Even if families are from a working class background, children are encouraged to work hard and are told the importance of education. This would support Douglas's conclusion that parental encouragement is the most important factor for a child's educational progress.Sullivan (2001) suggested that there are at least 3 aspects that will give students an advantage with their educational progress.

The first is that families will reproduce advantages over and over again in the form of capital, culture and social aspects. Secondly, family structure and family process will shape the students capabilities and opportunities. This was also suggested by (Schoon et al 2003). Thirdly, the students role and educational attainment will then shape present and future pathways.

African-Caribbean students may be disadvantages and continue to be for many generations. Once the family is structured in such a form, it may prove to be difficult for members to "break away". For Indian students, it will be an advantage. Year after year, high educational attainment will be maintained.

This theory suggests that the educational attainment of Indian and African Caribbean students will differ for generations to come.Francis (2000) said that the changing structure of education is a factor that will need to be considered. The shift to more coursework-based education may be a reason for underachievement of some ethnic groups. However, Francis found that the shift affected

gender more than ethnic groups.

The coursework-based education may benefit the more "dutiful" female students rather than the anti-learning stance that maybe taken up by males. Females are found to have more dedication over their education while males are likely to "cram" in the short term for exams.This is a disadvantage to males as there are now fewer exams and more assignments in many areas of education. This theory is supported by statistics showing how male African-Caribbean students are outperformed by female African-Caribbean students.

44% of female African-Caribbean students in 2004 were able to obtain 5+ GCSE A*-C grades where as only 36% of males where able to do the same. This theory suggests how the changing structure of education affects the educational attainment of different genders and ethnic groups. Though Francis states that the structure will affect gender more than ethnic groups, the study is linked to my hypothesis as it shows there are many factors that will contribute to the educational attainment of ethnic minorities other than cultural deprivation.Statistics show how there is a clear achievement gap between Indian and African-Caribbean students.

Even with both ethnic groups improving in terms of achievement, African-Caribbean students are the worst performers out of all ethnic minorities in the UK. Studies also indicate that it is unlikely for this to change. The variations in characteristics of Indian and Africa-Caribbean students maybe reasons for such a large gap in education attainment. Cultural deprivation would be only one of the many reasons for the under achievement of African Caribbean students.MethodologyThe method I will use to obtain data for my study is by collecting primary data with a questionnaire.A questionnaire

will allow me to easily analyse the data and to generalise information.

The questionnaire will have closed questions for more accurate analysis. The questions used will be specifically designed to obtain certain data. I will first of all need to find out from what ethnic group the student is and if they are underachieving. I will then find out about the students background information e.g.

parental support, leisure time etc.My sample will be of 20 students who are currently studying for their GCSE examinations. I will ask only Indian and African Caribbean students to take part in the study. I will then be able to make comparisons between the two ethnic groups and find characteristics of each ethnic group.

This will enable me to make a link between the level of education attainment and cultural deprivation. The students to be sampled will be currently studying for GCSE examinations. The reason for this is that this is the final years of compulsory education. Students studying after this year may be affected less by cultural deprivation and will have more choice then others.

Students will be able to give their views and will be confident in doing so.I feel that a questionnaire is the best suited method to my study. Students from different ethnic groups will have the same questions given to them and I will be able to establish a link between educational attainment and different factors. The questionnaire will be very efficient and less time consuming for the respondent.

It will also be a fairer way to collect data and bias will be at a minimal amount.Before I am able to carry out my research,

I will need to identify which students are suitable for me to gather data from. I will visit form tutors of year 11 students who will be able to provide me with a form list of suitable respondents. I will then randomly select students who will complete the questionnaire. This will be done by visiting form rooms during registration and taking students to a quiet area where they can complete the questionnaire without interruption. Students will be read out a short statement informing them of the study and how their information will be kept confidential at all times.

The questionnaire itself will only contain quantitative questions. This will allow me to analyse data efficiently. Respondents will also be able to complete the questionnaire quickly as possible. These steps should ensure validity of my research.

A problem with using questionnaires is that detail is limited. This is because the questionnaire will have closed questions. The data will therefore be quantitative. Information such as opinions and perspectives will not be included. This is because it would be harder to analyse and is time consuming.

Closed questions are more suited to my study than open questions. This is because the data will be measurable and a wider range of topics can be covered in the questionnaire.Another problem that may trouble me is that some people that I survey may not give honest answers. Some people may feel embarrassed by giving an honest answer and may instead give the answer that they feel should be given. The questionnaire also will need to be interesting for the user as they may loose interest and give inaccurate answers.

I will also need to minimise

the amount of false and inaccurate data given to me by students. One way I will try to solve this problem is by giving the questionnaire to one student at a time so that there may be less pressure on them to give the "right" answer. Respondents will be reassured that all data is kept confidential.The questionnaire itself will have to be written in a certain way. No sociological terms should be used as students may not understand their meaning.

Instead common English and "user friendly" language should be used. This will ensure that respondents are comfortable in filling out the questionnaire and so that they understand questions.The method that I will use will give me enough information to establish a link between ethnic groups, cultural deprivation and educational attainment.My research method will raise many ethical issues.

The topic that I am researching is sensitive and will require personal information from students. Students may not feel comfortable in taking part in the survey. They will therefore be given the option to take part. If they are forced into participating, the data may become unreliable. Students will be reassured of the confidentiality towards their data and given the chance to opt out.

If this decision is taken up, another student will be picked at random. It is also important for students not to see each others information. This could lead to many problems with the validity of data and confidentiality of data.