lesson2_slides
APRENDIZES SCHOOL
“If the curriculum is a mirror, who doesn't see themselves in it?”
Ehnocentric curriculum
SOCIOLOGY 9699 — PAPER 3, EDUCATION, 5.3 — A LEVEL YEAR 2
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APRENDIZES SCHOOL
“If the curriculum is a mirror, who doesn't see themselves in it?”
Ehnocentric curriculum
SOCIOLOGY 9699 — PAPER 3, EDUCATION, 5.3 — A LEVEL YEAR 2
Students from minority backgrounds may find that their own history or literature is missing from the curriculum.
True
False
Let's recap!
Share one pattern you noticed in your coding table about the Cambridge History syllabus.
(e.g. a region, something repeated or missing):
Naming what you already found: 'ethnocentrism'
Much school curriculum is ethnocentric. This means it’s based on the belief that your own ethnic group or culture is superior to others. Ethnocentrism focuses on and prioritises a particular ethnic or cultural group to the exclusion of others.
Reid (1996)
Let's learn more about the term ETHNOCENTRIC CURRICULUM
The ethnocentric curriculum is usually based on the values that are dominant in a society, and these are likely to be those of the majority ethnic group. In a multicultural society, the content of the curriculum may be based on the cultural norms, values, beliefs and history of a single ethnic group to the exclusion of those of minority groups.
In a multicultural society, the curriculum is always based on the cultural norms of every ethnic group equally.
True
False
“Our invisibility in the curriculum”
Researchers did a study based on interviews with 84 African-Caribbean. They found that ‘A significant number of African-Caribbean pupils noted their invisibility in the curriculum and were exasperated by the White European focus’'.
Tikly et al. (2006)
Ethnocentrism only affects students' grades, not how relevant they find their lessons.
True
False
A “mythical age of empire”
The British National Curriculum promotes an attitude of "little Englandism" — that history teaching in particular tries to recreate a "mythical age of empire and past glories" while ignoring Black and Asian history. Ball (1993/94)
Ball’s critique is aimed directly at History teaching — the closest match to your own syllabus.
Imagine two situations: (1) one teacher makes a racist comment to a student, and (2) a school's curriculum has never included any Black or Asian history, in any subject, for years. Are these the same kind of problem, or different kinds? Explain your thinking.
Many sociologists would say these are different:
- situation 1 is individual prejudice
- situation 2 is institutional racism
Explanation: Situation 2 is racial bias built into the routine, everyday workings of schools, not the result of individual teachers' prejudice.
Táboas-Pais & Rey-Cao (2015)
Coding a textbook and its pictures,
the way you coded a syllabus
These authors examined 2,583 photographs from 36 Spanish PE textbooks — coded by ethnicity of the people shown.
Before you read the findings, what do you predict?
Which group do you think appeared most frequently in the physical education textbooks?
People of Latin American origin
Different ethnic groups together
White people
All groups appeared equally often
19–21 MIN — PREDICT & REVEAL
Who Was Represented in the pictures?
87.3%
White people
7.4%
Mixed groups
0.2%
Latin American
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Táboas-Pais & Rey-Cao (2015)
Táboas-Pais & Rey-Cao (2015)
How Were Different
Groups Represented?
Let's analyse the pictures and discuss.
Táboas-Pais & Rey-Cao (2015)
White people were shown participating in a wide variety of activities, including sports, fitness and artistic activities such as dance.
Black people were mainly shown in competitive, elite sports.
How Were Different
Groups Represented?
What do Taboas-Pais and Rey-Cao argue about the textbook images?
They show all ethnic groups participating equally in the same activities.
They reinforce racial stereotypes by showing ethnic groups in different types of physical activity.
They prove that students prefer competitive sports to fitness and dance.
They focus only on differences between male and female athletes.
The researchers also examined 87 school students’ perceptions of 15 images from the textbooks. They found that the images of minority groups generated more racial prejudice among the students than the images of the White, Western group.
What does this suggest?
Images in textbooks can influence students’ attitudes and may increase racial prejudice.
Students always prefer images of people from minority groups.
Textbook images have no effect on how students view ethnic groups.
Students became less prejudiced after seeing images of minority groups.
According to Táboas-Pais & Rey-Cao, the study found images of minority groups increased prejudice among students surveyed. Does this surprise you? Why, or why not?
Yes
No
Fill in the blanks
The school curriculum in Britain has been described as ethnocentric because White British culture and ethnicity are presented as superior and dominate the curriculum while minority ethnic cultures are largely excluded from subjects such as history, literature, art and music.
Tikly et al. argue that Black Caribbean students have a need for ‘curriculum inclusion’ so they do not feel marginalised and excluded. They suggest that this can be done by including Black Caribbean history, culture and experience across the curriculum.
Researchers Tikly et al. found at that when Black history was included, ‘many pupils reported their frustration with the tendency to focus on slavery’. Why would they be frustrated?
Match the researcher to their finding
Defines ethnocentrism as prioritising one culture’s knowledge
Curriculum recreates a ‘mythical age of the British Empire’
Black Caribbean students felt ‘invisible’ in the curriculum
Textbooks showed ethnocentrism through absence (e.g: Latin American people) and stereotyping (e.g: Black students shown with fewer roles than White people).
Tikly et al.
Ball
Taboas-Pais and Rey-Cao
Reid
Plenary
Q1: Explain two ways a curriculum can be ethnocentric using one of today’s four sources as evidence. Identify and describe.
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PAPER PRACTICE
DRIVING QUESTION
“If the curriculum is a mirror, who doesn't see themselves in it?”
