Ethnicity and Differential Achievement Summary www.educationforum.co.uk

Ethnic minority “categories” are problematic Reid suggests that “Asian” and “Afro Caribbean” are too broad to be useful Many minorities are not even included in existing research Much evidence in this area relies on small scale studies leaving questions as to how representative such research is

The evidence seems contradictory Black children suffer disadvantage in and out of school Afro Caribbean boys appear often in the lowest sets, on SEN registers, and in suspension and exclusion statistics Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups also experience clear disadvantage

However Asian children (especially Indian) achieve more than their white peers Afro Caribbean girls are becoming particularly successful in schools as they resist negative labels and work hard (Fuller 1980)

Explanatory Theories Material and cultural deprivation and labelling theories have been forwarded to explain these trends. In school factors have been studied at length as has the role of religion However it is dangerous to assume that all members of an ethnic group have similar attitudes, values and experiences www.educationforum.co.uk