outline two cultural factors that may affect ethnic differences in educational achievement

ethnic differences within the education system, can cause differences in educational achievement due to various cultural factors. One cultural factor affecting educational achievement is the lack of adequate linguistic skills. Cultural deprivation theorists such as Engelmann, argue that many children from low-income black families lack the intellectual stimulation required to develop the language skills needed to achieve highly at school. However due to official statistics it can be proven that language skills is not a major affecting ethnic differences in educational achievement as in 2010, pupils with English as their first language were only 3.2 points ahead of those without English as their first language.
The second cultural factor affecting ethnic differences in educational achievement is family structure. Cultural deprivation theorists such as Moniyhan (1965), argues that black families are more likely to be headed by the lone mother, this would lead to inadequate socialisation due to the absence of a father/male role model. This loss of a father figure would also lead to financial instability as the male breadwinner is not present therefore educational material such as textbooks and tutors cannot be purchased to benefit the child within their education. Therefore this creates ethnic differences in educational achievement as black students are less likely to afford educational materials and may also lack the proper socialisation undertaken by fathers.