@hamnettSocialBackgroundEthnicity2007

(2007) - Chris Hamnett, Mark Ramsden, Tim Butler

Journal: Urban Studies
Link:: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/00420980701302395
DOI:: 10.1080/00420980701302395
Links::
Tags:: #paper #Attainment #SocialClass #Ethnicity #SchoolType #Education
Cite Key:: [@hamnettSocialBackgroundEthnicity2007]

Abstract

This paper discusses the effect of social background and ethnicity on educational performance in an area with traditionally poor levels of attainment. It begins by examining the variation in school performance for London and specifically east London. It shows how the disadvantaged nature of the area, as measured by such variables as Mosaic group and ethnic heritage, helps to explain the poor results at GCSE. The paper then changes the focus to schools within a seven-borough area of east London. Using the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) linked to the geodemographic Mosaic codes based on pupils’ home postcode, the authors demonstrate that, although ethnicity accounts for some of the variation in performance, this is considerably less than that accounted for by pupil social background. In addition, they show that it is not simply the social background of the individual pupil that affects school performance at GCSE. The proportion of pupils from a given social background plays some role in boosting or diminishing the overall school performance and will influence the performance of individual pupils whatever their background. It is argued that these social background effects together with the school composition effects have a considerable impact on school performance.

Notes

“It shows how the disadvantaged nature of the area, as measured by such variables as Mosaic group and ethnic heritage, helps to explain the poor results at GCSE” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1255)

“show that it is not simply the social background of the individual pupil that affects school performance at GCSE.” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1255)

“It is argued that these social background effects together with the school composition effects have a considerable impact on school performance” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1255)

“The first is that while the ethnic origin of pupils is clearly important in influencing school attainment it is rather less important than social background, which in this paper we have imputed from the Mosaic classifications of the home neighbourhood” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1277)

“We find that there are effects that go above and beyond the EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN EAST LONDON 127” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1277)

“composition of a school in terms of the social and ethnic backgrounds of the individual pupils.” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1278)

“Attending a school with a large proportion of pupils from an advantaged background increases the GCSE attainment of a pupil above and beyond that predicted by the pupil’s home social and ethnic heritage.” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1278)

“Overall, these results show, in the context of east London, that both ethnicity and the social characteristics of the home area are important in influencing attainment” (Hamnett et al., 2007, p. 1278)