The Influence of Race and Ethnicity on a Person's Educational Level

Contemporary education reforms study on the continuous black-white achievement gap in the public schools, in America. In the book, “Multiplication is meant for White People”: Raising Expectations for Other people’s Children, Lisa Delpit focuses on these reforms and informs educators that education gap does not exist at birth.. Through her experience in the field and as a mother, she gives strategies for raising the expectations of minority or underperforming children especially the blacks. The book has many references of elementary to university success stories of mentioned practitioners.

Howard (2010) quickly changes gears in Chapter two, Changing Demographics, to look at the differences in language, ethnicity, race issues, culture and classism when regarded and compared to those who achieve on level and those who fall in the achievement gap. Howard examines the quickly changing face of America with the increase in Latino populations across the nation. Positing that teachers must adapt to understand and connect to students of diverse populations or there will be a great disconnect and divide that could be disastrous for the growing number of students that are part of the achievement gap, as well as the negative ramifications that could come from not evaluating the needs of those in the achievement gap. Howard (2010) also speculates the long term negative aspects that could come to the United States, especially in global market, if we as a country do

Structural functionalism is a macro analysis view defined as “The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole.” In education, it focuses on how it serves the needs of society. Functionalists view education as a way to pass on knowledge and skills. While functionalists believe that schools sort students based upon their academic knowledge, Conflict theorists believe that students are sorted based on their social/financial class. Conflict theory is “The way inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetual differences in power.” Conflict theorists believe that students of lower status won’t have the same opportunities in school as students of a higher class. A student of a family with a

This essay will compare and contrast and contrast two leading sociological theories: Marxism and Functionalism. Marxists predominantly believe that within society inequality and prejudice are rife, whereas Functionalists live under the impression that society operates in a state of social equilibrium wherein class and social status are necessities which we allow to transpire. This essay will explore the different viewpoints each theories take on subjects such as religion, community, family and education.

How should society handle the perceived differences between races when it comes to education? The goal of both researchers is to narrow the academic gap between white and black students. Both authors attribute the gap between the academic scores of black and white students from opposite sides of racial identity. As Dr. Beverly Daniels Tatum, President of Spelman College and clinical psychologist has written an article entitled “Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” Her approach is from the perspective of the student and how they perceive their role and upper limits while maintaining their place in their peer group's expectations of their race. Dr. Diane Ravitch, a research professor of education at New York University, has written an article entitled "The Facts about the Achievement Gap.” Her approach is from the perspective of how schools and society implicitly or explicitly cast students into achievement tracks based on their race. Both approach the same idea about racial identity, but they have different solutions, such as peer groups, the school board, and who is right about the solution.

Racial disparities exist in every aspect of our society. It exists in religion, socioeconomic status, life-chances, media, etc. It affects everyone even if they realize or not. Education is one of the things that are also affected by the racial stratification occurring in the United States. In this paper I will look in to whether Tennessee is better or worse for educational advancement by comparing four races and their high school graduation rates on the national and state levels. The four races used will be; Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latino, and White. I will then tie specific theories to why these disparities may exist. This will hopefully give insight in to this touchy topic and provide a starting point for correcting the gap.

     Why do some groups not succeed in academic settings? One theory brought up in “Understanding inequality” suggests that the gap in the socioeconomic status drives the inequalities in the school system. The low and working class have less time and income to intervene with schooling. This means they have less time to meet with teachers, hire tutors, and provide continuous transportation. Therefore the lower class can’t possibly compete with the middle and upper classes. Angela Valenzuela gives the accounts of some Hispanic students’ experiences in school. These students feel that it is the inferior nature of the schools in the US that contribute to the low success

“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” Those words were the famous phrase spoke by Johnnie Cochran, one of the defense attorneys, in the case of “People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson.” This eminent motto marked a key turning point in what is known as the most publicized criminal trial in American history. This case brought about many social issues in the country and the American Criminal Justice system. Of the many social topics raised by the case, a few that are most imperative are social class, education, and race.

The education system has faults and many inequalities throughout it. The inequalities can be seen in many different areas including, meritocracy, different social classes, gender and ethnic inequalities, racism, cultural capital, and repressive state apparatuses etc. Various sociologists have different views about the education system and what the inequalities consist of.

The problem of educational disparities among various ethno-racial groups that make up the United States has been a long studied topic. Theories have ranged widely in what they consider as the primary factors for these disparities. Biological and individualist perspectives have cited inherent genetic inferiorities as the cause of these disparities. Others have taken into account social forces but have maintained that the cause is due to the creation of a culture of subordination and poverty that does not allow social advancement. Still others have tended to focus on systemic inequalities and on the roles of prejudice and discrimination (Sidanius et al, 1998).

This group’s initial idea about an inequality problem for this project is that high schools with a predominant ethnic background could make students that are minorities in those communities, feel unequal. The problem with this stems from the issue of racial inequality which is becoming a big factor in high schools. Celi’s personal story about racial inequality ties into this issue. Celi went to a predominantly white high school called Northwood, and she felt left out as if she did not have the same opportunities others did because she was not white. Part of being in Northwood high school was because Celi’s parents wanted her to have a better education. The other high schools that were black or Hispanic-dominated did not have as many resources or quality education that they provided at Northwood. Celi felt that she was different from everyone and that affected her social and educational life.

Race plays in a role in almost everything I do in life, when it comes to my education both of my mentors showed me a unique way to handle and understand the problem, being a first generation student didn’t make everything easy but it gave me some understanding in where I stand when it comes to my role, I learned a lot from my mother though not being college educated herself she taught me a lot and introduced me to one of my mentors I have now, now this mentor taught and explained to me how gender and education will play a role in everything I chose not because it simple but because it sparks my mind and no for my enjoyment but to show my peers and others that I can flourish as an individual that doesn’t have privilege. My mentor Jaime, explained

The “haves” often use coercive power and manipulation to hold society together to their benefits, but this theory recognizes that change is inevitable and sometimes rapid, as the conflicts of interest lead to the overthrow of existing power structures. Functionalist theorist take each part of the educational system and count it as a whole. These parts consist of religion, family, sports and politics.

Exploring the Reasons for Differences in Educational Achievement Between Different Ethnic Groups I believe that this is an important issue to consider as research has shown that whilst Afro-Caribbean males are at the very bottom in terms of achievement, West Indian females tend to do even better than white females at GCSE. Sociologists such as Cecil Wright link educational achievement with teacher racism and labelling whilst other sociologists such as Charlotte Brookes link it with cultural deprivation: issues concerned with ethnicity. Ethnic groups contain people who share a common history, custom, identity and in most cases language and religion. The issue of ‘differences in educational

it. Conflict theorists believe that the level of education one achieves can be used to