Cambridge International AS & A Level Sociology (9699): Paper 3 Education 6.3-6.4 – Ethnicity, gender and educational attainment – Revision Notes

These notes condense the Ethnicity, gender and educational attainment study guide. Read that first if a study or term below is new to you.

They cover sections 6.3 (Ethnicity and educational attainment) and 6.4 (Gender and educational attainment) of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Sociology (9699) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Both sections are assessed in Paper 3 – Education, an A Level paper. Check where they fit on the Cambridge A Level Sociology hub and tick them off on the Cambridge A Level Sociology checklist. Then test yourself with the practice questions for this unit.

Paper 3 in one box

• Written paper: 1 hour 15 minutes, 50 marks, 21% of the A Level.
• Four compulsory questions, rising in marks.
• Q1 short answer (AO1). Q2 two explanations (AO1, AO2). Q3 two arguments against a quotation (AO2, AO3). Q4 essay, 26 marks (AO1, AO2, AO3).
• Paper 3 AO weightings: AO1 36%, AO2 28%, AO3 36%.
• Marks for Q1–Q3 are not printed separately in the syllabus; your teacher will confirm them.

Content points (from the syllabus)

6.3 Racism in schools; cultural explanations for patterns in ethnicity and attainment; ethnicity and subcultures; the relationship between ethnicity, social class and gender.

6.4 Gender socialisation and attainment; wider social changes, including changing female expectations and the crisis of masculinity; gender and subcultures; teacher expectations and gendered behaviour in the classroom.

No studies are named in the syllabus for these sections. The studies below are well-established examples.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Institutional racism	Discrimination built into an organisation’s routines, not just individual prejudice (Macpherson Report, 1999)
Educational triage	Sorting pupils by how likely they are to pass, then focusing effort on borderline pupils
A-to-C economy	A school culture driven by the need to raise the share of pupils gaining good grades
Critical race theory (CRT)	The view that racism is built into everyday policy and practice, not an occasional fault
Cultural deprivation	The claim that some groups lack values or skills that help success at school
Ideal pupil	Teachers’ image of the “good student”, often White, male and middle class (Archer)
Pupil subculture	A peer group with its own norms, which may be pro- or anti-school
Intersectionality	Class, ethnicity and gender combining, so their effects cannot be separated
Gender socialisation	Learning the expectations linked to being male or female
Crisis of masculinity	Uncertainty in male identity as manual jobs and the breadwinner role decline
Laddish culture	A peer culture where effort is “uncool” and status comes from defiance and humour
Hegemonic masculinity	The dominant, most valued form of masculinity in a setting (Connell)
Moral panic	An exaggerated public reaction to a group seen as a problem

Theories and studies at a glance

Who	What	Finding	One evaluation point
Coard (1971)	Booklet on West Indian children in British schools	Schools treated white children as the norm; West Indian children wrongly labelled “educationally subnormal”	A campaigning booklet rather than a systematic study
Gillborn (1990)	Ethnography of City Road, a multi-ethnic school	White teachers’ expectations of discipline, ability and attitude shaped African-Caribbean and Asian pupils’ experiences	One school; hard to generalise
Gillborn and Youdell (2000)	Two secondary schools	A-to-C economy; triage, sets and tiers rationed opportunity and reproduced inequality	Shows process clearly; small sample
Gillborn (2008)	CRT analysis of policy in England	Black/White gap hidden by focus on free school meal pupils	Hill argued class and Indian success were neglected
Francis and Archer (2005)	British-Chinese pupils and parents	Extremely high value placed on education, whatever class or gender	Teachers still stereotyped these pupils (passive girls)
Archer (2008)	Teachers, parents and pupils, four studies	“Ideal pupil” excludes minority ethnic pupils from authentic success	Interview data; relies on accounts
Moynihan Report (1965)	US report on Black poverty	Linked poverty to lone-mother families and culture	Criticised as blaming the victim
Sewell (1997)	African-Caribbean boys in an urban school	Conformists, innovators, retreators (often written “retreatists”), rebels; disproportionate punishment; street culture	Shows varied responses, not one “Black boy” response
Mirza (1992)	62 African-Caribbean young women, south London	Did well at school but faced a race- and gender-segregated job market	Structure, not low aspiration, limited outcomes
Gillborn and Mirza (2000)	National data review	Class and gender cannot account for persistent ethnic inequalities	Uses broad categories that hide variation
Vincent, Rollock, Ball and Gillborn (2012–2013)	Black Caribbean-heritage middle-class parents	Race changes how class works; subtle racism persists	Supports intersectional analysis
Connolly (2006)	5–6-year-old boys, multi-ethnic primary	Masculinities built on physicality, violence and racism, shaped by local context	Very young sample
Oakley (1972)	Sex, Gender and Society	Sex is fairly constant; gender varies between cultures	Foundation for socialisation accounts
Francis (2002)	Career aims of 14–16-year-olds	Girls far more ambitious; choices still gender-divided	Small sample
Epstein et al. (1998)	Failing Boys?	Debate on boys simplistic; asks “which boys?”	Highlights class and ethnicity within gender
Willis (1977)	12 working-class “lads”	Counter-school culture led into working-class jobs	Small, all-male, all-white sample
Mac an Ghaill (1994)	The Making of Men	Schools produce a range of masculinities	Qualitative, one setting
Jackson (2002, 2006)	Laddishness; ladettes	Laddishness protects self-worth; some girls act “laddishly”	Shows subcultures are not only male
French (1984)	One primary lesson transcribed	Boys got more teacher attention, partly by seeking it	One lesson only
Spender (1978)	Classroom talk	Stereotypes kept many girls quiet in mixed classes	Older evidence; classrooms have changed

Must-know distinctions

• Individual vs institutional racism: a prejudiced teacher vs a setting or exclusion system that disadvantages a group without anyone intending it.
• Cultural vs structural explanations: values in the family and community vs schools, policy and the job market.
• Labelling vs subcultural response: what teachers do to pupils vs how pupils react (Sewell’s four responses).
• Gender gap vs differences within each sex: a boys-versus-girls comparison can hide class and ethnic differences among boys and among girls (Epstein et al. ask “which boys?”; Gillborn and Mirza link class and gender to attainment). Your teacher will confirm the figures for your own country.
• Changing female expectations vs crisis of masculinity: girls gaining new goals vs boys losing old routes into work.

Mini essay plan

Question type: “Evaluate the view that teacher racism is the main reason for differences in attainment between ethnic groups.”

1. Introduction: define attainment and institutional racism; note that patterns differ between groups.
2. For: Coard, Gillborn (1990), Gillborn and Youdell’s triage, Gillborn’s CRT argument; Sewell on disproportionate punishment.
3. Analysis: link labelling to setting, tiers and exclusion, so racism has measurable effects.
4. Against 1 (culture): Francis and Archer on British-Chinese values; Moynihan-style cultural deprivation and its critics.
5. Against 2 (class and gender): Gillborn and Mirza; Vincent et al.; Mirza’s girls did well despite racism.
6. Against 3 (pupil agency): Sewell’s conformists and innovators show varied responses.
7. Conclusion: weigh the evidence; racism is one factor that interacts with class, gender and culture. Reach a judgement based on the evidence you have used.

Quick self-test

1. What does “educational triage” mean?
2. Which study described an “A-to-C economy”?
3. Name Sewell’s four responses.
4. What did Mirza find about the young women she studied?
5. What did Francis and Archer find about British-Chinese families?
6. Give one criticism of cultural deprivation explanations.
7. What is meant by “intersectionality”?
8. What did Oakley distinguish?
9. How does Jackson explain laddishness?
10. What did French (1984) find?
11. Give one cause of the crisis of masculinity.

Answers

1. Sorting pupils by their chance of passing and focusing effort on the borderline group.
2. Gillborn and Youdell, Rationing Education.
3. Conformists, innovators, retreators (often written “retreatists”) and rebels.
4. They did well at school but a race- and gender-segregated labour market limited their jobs.
5. Pupils and parents valued education extremely highly, whatever their class or gender.
6. It can blame the victim and treat a whole group as having one culture.
7. Class, ethnicity and gender combine, so their effects cannot be studied one at a time.
8. Biological sex, which is fairly constant, and gender, which varies between cultures.
9. As self-worth protection: not trying means failure cannot be blamed on low ability.
10. Boys received more teacher attention, partly through attention-seeking strategies.
11. The decline of manual jobs that once needed few qualifications.

Where marks are usually lost

• Writing “ethnic minorities underachieve” when some groups achieve above average.
• Describing racism with no link to a school process such as setting, tiers or exclusion.
• Giving two explanations in Q2-style answers that are really the same point.
• In Q3-style answers, arguing for the quotation instead of giving arguments against it.
• Treating Sewell’s study as proof that teachers are not racist; he gives a mixed picture.
• Using “girls are naturally better” instead of socialisation and social change.
• Treating the crisis of masculinity as fact rather than a debated idea.
• Forgetting class when evaluating gender or ethnicity.
• Ending an essay with a summary rather than a judgement.

Next steps

• Background on gender identity: Socialisation and methods revision notes.
• Gender roles at home: Family revision notes.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Sociology (9699) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026. This unit covers Paper 3 – Education, sections 6.3 and 6.4.