Ethnicity and Educational Achievement in British Schools

209 Pages·1986·26.062 MB·English

by  Gajendra K. Verma, Brandon Ashworth (auth.)

ETHNICITY AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN
BRITISH SCHOOLS
Also by Gajendra K. Verma
RACE AND EDUCATION ACROSS CULTURES
(edited with C. Bagley)
RACE, EDUCATION AND IDENTITY
(edited with C. Bagley)
PERSONALITY, SELF-ESTEEM AND PREJUDICE
(with C. Bagley, K. Mallick and L. Young)
RACIAL PREJUDICE, THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY
(with C. Bagley)
ILLUSION AND REALITY IN INDIAN SECONDARY
EDUCATION
(with C. Bagley and K. Mallick)
WHAT IS EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH?
(with R. Beard)
THE IMPACT OF INNOVATION
SELF-CONCEPT. ACHIEVEMENT AND
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
(edited with C. Bagley)
TEACHING ABOUT RACE RELATIONS
(with L. Stenhouse, R. Wild and J. Nixon)
MULTICULTURAL CHILDHOOD
(edited with C. Bagley)
RACE RELATIONS AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
(edited with C. Bagley)
PERSONALITY, COGNITION AND VALUES
(edited with C. Bagley)
MULTICULTURAL EDUCAnON
(with S. Modgil, K. Mallick and C. Modgil)
CROSS-CULTURAL STUDIES OF PERSONALITY,
ATTITUDES AND COGNITION
(with C. Bagley)
ETHNICITY AND
EDUCATIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT IN
BRITISH SCHOOLS
Gajendra K. Verma
with
Brandon Ashworth
assisted by
Chris Bagley, Kanka Mallick, Tony Neasham
Foreword by Lord Swann, FRS, FRSE
* ©GajendraK.Vermawith BrandonAshworth 1986
Foreword© lordSwann 1986
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Contents
Foreword by LordSwann, FRS, FRSE VI
Preface viii
Acknowledgements x
1 Introduction
2 Race, Culture and Ethnicity 12
3 Educational Achievement and Ethnicity 23
4 The Study:Background, Locality and the Schools 43
5 Context of the Research and Early Findings 65
6 Research Objectives, Analytical Framework and
OperationalTechniques 73
7 Educational Achievement: Patterns and Trends 95
8 Educational Achievement: Perceptions and Attitudes 112
9 Reflections and Implications 138
Appendices 150
References 186
A~m~~ 1~
SubjectIndex 195
v
Foreword
I first met GajendraVermain 1981,when I became Chairman of the
Committee of Inquiry into the Education of Children from Ethnic
Minority Groups. I soon realised the value of having, as one of our
members, an academic whose own area of research fell four-square
within the Committee's concerns,and aman,moreover, who himself
comes from an Ethnic Minority. The Committee as a whole, and I
personally, owe much to him, and itiswithgreat pleasurethat I write
this briefForeword to hislatest book.
I joined the Committee as an almost complete newcomer to the
problems with which we were to wrestle for some four years. But I
soon discovered that many peoplewho gaveevidence to us, and even
some members of the Committee, clung tenaciously to simple
generalisations,and were determined tofind,ifthey possiblycould, a
single cause for educational under-achievement - usually blaming it
solely on 'racism in schools', or more particularly on teacher
stereotypes.
It seemed to me, from the word go, that things could hardly be so
simple. As ascientist, Iamperhapsattunedto the idea that nothingis
simple, even in the world of the physical sciences. And as someone
who has spent much of hislaterlife inthe world ofaffairs, I am quite
certainthatthe socialsciencesare alot more complicatedand difficult
than the natural sciences. Quite soon, therefore, I started looking at
the whole range of factors that were likely to be involved in human
situationswherechildrenfrom widelydifferingcultureswere mixedup
together, in a society that had previously been substantially
homogeneous.
Needless to say, there are a great many relevant factors. Socio
economicstatushas long been known to relate closelyto educational
achievement, though the interplayofcause and effect isbyno means
whollyclear.Andithasbecomeveryobvious inrecentyearsthatracial
prejudice and discrimination do much to lower socio-economicstatus
in many minority groups. Children's immediate environment, in the
classroom,withtheirpeers,withtheirfamily,andintheircommunity,
vi
Foreword Vll
must be important. So must the individual child's own psychological
make-up.And running through thismultiplicityoffactors,mustbethe
widely differing cultural backgrounds of Britain's many minority
groups, and theirdiversereactions totheprejudiceanddiscrimination
to whichso manyofthem are subjected.To imagine that onlyone of
these many factors leads to poor achievement strains credulity to the
limit. It is, ofcourse, far more likelythat allofthem are involved, in
various ways, and invaryingdegrees.
The Committee's Final Report by no means succeeded in
disentangling this complex web of factors, though I believe it went
some way to doing so. In its chapter on Achievement and
Underachievement and elsewhere, mention is to be found of all the
points Ihave listed above,though alltoo often onlybrief mention. In
partthis isdue to lackofhard evidence, but inpart, it hasto besaid,
andnowthatthe Reportispublisheditcanbesaid,itisduetoageneral
reluctance to examine the more politicallysensitive areas.
Dr Verma's book,itshould be said, does not shyoffsuch matters,
and itincorporatessome valuable research that hecarriedout for the
Committee,atrathershort notice, followingwidespread resistance,in
somecircles,toaverymajorresearch projectthatthe Committeehad
commissioned. This, we had hoped, would examine the factors - in
school,athomeandinthecommunity- thatledtosuccess(and lackof
success) amongst white children, West Indian children, and Asian
children. Dr Verma's work for the Committee goes some way to
making good this loss.
Hisbookhasanumberofstrikingfeatures.Itiselegantlyandclearly
written - somethingthatisrefreshing,and unexpectedinthe research
literature of educational psychology. He handles sensitive matters
withasympathy thatisbroadandclear.He makes nobones about the
inadequacies of the relevant research, including hisown. But above
all, the book issuffused with a realisation of the complexities of the
mattersinquestion, and adetermination not to beledanywhere near
to the 'fallacy of the singlecause'. .
Inconsequencethisisabook toberead, and read withcare; forthe
general perspective thatitprovides, for the conclusions thatit draws,
and above allfor the avenues it explores.
LORD SWANN, FRS, FRSE
Preface
The research reported in this book was conducted in three phases
during the period October 1977to July 1983, and was based at the
University of Bradford. The first phase wasdesigned to explore the
possible determinants of the vocational aspirations, choices and
achievements of ethnic minority adolescents in the Leeds/Bradford
area of West Yorkshire, England. The second phase examined the
occupationalexperienceofacohortofadolescents,alargeproportion
ofwhomcamefromthevariousethnic minoritygroups;itattemptedto
set this experience in the context of achievement aspirations,
educational achievement and expectations of working life.The final
phase was concerned with the educational achievement of ethnic
minority adolescents.Itwashoped toestablish profilesofhighand low
achieversamong adolescents within different ethnic groups.
The primary intention, derived from three linked research
programmes,wastogaininsightinto educational,social, cultural and
psychological processes whichcontributeto educational achievement
forvariousethnic groups inBritishschools.These processes represent
complex interactionsofmanyfactors and itwasnecessary thereforeto
develop a model to clarify how each factor might operate within the
whole process. The model allowed for three levelsof analysis:
(a) the broad socio-economic or macro considerations, and in
particularethnicity;
(b) the 'immediate environment', which concerns the school, peer
group and familyexperiences of the individual;
(c) the individual himself/herself and the psychological concepts
through whichcertain achievement levelsmay be mediated.
Before examination of the model employed in the study a brief
description of what has been presumed to be 'ethnicity' and
'educational achievement' is offered. These terms do not have the
same meaning for all those concerned with the educational process,
particularlyinaculturally pluralistsociety.Theresearchhasadopteda
viii
Preface ix
multidisciplinary approach. No claim ismadefor comprehensiveness
sincethe literatureofthe areaisextensive. However,itwaspossible to
deriveanewinsight from reviewsand discussionsofvariousviewsand
research findings into differential achievementof pupils belongingto
different ethnic groups.
Thefinal text waswritten byGajendra K. Verma.Itembodiesthe
prejudices, biases and obsessions of the senior author, and he must
assume primaryresponsibilityforthe waythe bookisreceivedand for
its merits and defects.
GajendraK.Vermawasresponsiblefordirectingthe threeresearch
projects; Peter Sanderson was research assistant on the first project
and Brandon Ashworth and Teresa Brown worked as research
assistantson the secondand third projects- BrandonAshworth being
responsible for the analysis ofpsychometricdata. Chris Bagley was a
consultant on all phases of the work.
Itishopedthatthe findingspresentedinthisbook willbeaccessible
toteachers, teachertrainers,educationaldecision-makers, parentsand
others interested in and responsible for the education of all pupils,
especially those from ethnic minority groups.
Finally, we believe that an impetus for changes in the structure of
education must come through the contributionofresearchersseeking
insightsintothe forces atwork inequalityofeducationalachievement
and equality of outcome.
University ofManchester GAJENDRAK. VERMA