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Essay on Ethnic Differences
Different culture and ethnic backgrounds affects the learning and teaching. There are many aspects of culture, which combined together, to make the learning style and attitude of the students. Between the decades of 70s and 80s the gap between the blacks and the whites was cut in half, similarly the gap separating Latinos and whites cut to one third. In the year 1988 that progress has come to a halt and start declining since then.
The United States has a long history of racism and racial discrimination. It is the region with a vast variety of cultures and races. It has been often noticed that the students of minority groups like African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and Asians have lower grades as compared to the students of European Americans on standardized tests of academic achievement. These lower scores are linked with the poor socioeconomic conditions and poverty of the minority groups. The school administration often tries their best to provide fairness and equal opportunities, and racial harmony to prevent the segregation. Ethnic-related differences in achievement have generated much attention and debate since the 1960s, and from the 1970s on, a modest but steady stream of reports have been published.
Discussion
Identifying differences in levels of achievement can, if not handled appropriately, lead to stereotyping. Group averages can’t be used to define or predict the capacity or future progress of any individual child, though they might suggest where problems may occur. Group averages may also be downright misleading. One 1980’s study of eighteen multi-ethnic comprehensives found that overall, black pupils did not achieve as highly as their white and Asian peers. They were, however, the single most successful group in English language examinations (John, 2000).
Achievement and progress are not the same: it is possible for one group to make relatively greater progress than another, yet emerge with lesser qualifications, if they started with lower previous attainments.....
