“Examine the reasons for differences in educational achievement between different ethnic groups”

There are clearly many factors that contribute to the claim that there is a difference in educational achievement between different ethnic groups in the UK. National statistics claim that: ‘In 2004 Chinese pupils were the most likely to achieve five or more GCSE Grades A*- C in England, with 79% of Chinese girls and 70% of Chinese boys respectively. In comparison with Black Caribbean pupils, With Boys who only achieved 27% and girls achieved 44% achieved five or more A*-C Grade GCSEs.

The first outside school factor that contributes to the claim that there is a difference in educational achievement between different ethnic groups is Material deprivation. Material deprivation as single factor can alone affect educational achievement, but when combined with ethnicity the effects are worse. Sociologists claim that ‘if we compared pupils of different ethnic groups who were the same social class background, we would find that inequalities would still exist despite their social class. Statistics from 2006 show that 20% of white households were low-income households compared with 41% of African- Caribbean households and 62% of Pakistani or Bangladeshi households.
Statistics say that African-Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi people are three times more likely to be unemployed as white people. Reasons for this could be that they may lack qualifications or knowledge of the educational system. This suggests that deprived that certain ethnic groups are more likely to suffer from material deprivation. Therefore they cannot afford essential educational materials such as books, educational toys and computers e.c.t.
In comparison to that statistic; Indian and African-Asian children are more likely to come from middle class family backgrounds, therefore not suffering from