Race And Education Four Species Of Capital Economic Human Social Cultural Performance Differences Potential Explanations For Differences Genetics? Ethnic Culture? Structure?

Species Of Capital Transferred From Generation To Generation Able To Be Exchanged For Other Resources Economic Capital: Economic Capital: Control of f Control of financial resources (e.g., cash, assets) Human Capital: Human Capital: Accumulated knowledge, skills, and physical capabilities gained through education Social Capital: Social Capital: The collective value of all social networks (who you know) and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other. Cultural Capital: Cultural Capital: Linguistic and cultural competencies (primarily tastes, and dispositions) valued but not taught in schools. You learn them at home. George Becker Pierre Bourdieu ABCD

Performance Differences Fact: A 17yo Black senior has the average reading proficiency of a 13yo White 8 th grader

SCORE THE SAME ON READING/MATH TESTS Performance Differences FACT: Black and White Kindergarteners.... with the same ages and birth weight,.... whose moms have the same test scores, education, occupation, income, and wealth,.... whose moms were the same age when they had their first child, and.... with the same number of children’s book, movies, etc. in their homes Source: Fryer and Levitt 2004; Yeung and Conley 2006; Yeung and Pfeiffer 2006 By The Third Grade The Achievement Gap For These Kids Reappears What’s Going On Here?

Performance Differences Internet Access At Home White – 80% Black – 61% Hispanic – 67% Visited Library Recently White – 45% Black – 44% Hispanic – 32% In Kindergarten Can Count To 20 White – 65% Black – 69% Hispanic – 42% In Kindergarten Read To Last Week White – 92% Black – 78% Hispanic – 72% In Kindergarten Recognizes All Letters White – 29% Black – 24% Hispanic – 16% HS Dropouts White – 11% Black – 13% Hispanic – 27% SAT Scores (Q&V Only) White – 1061 Black – 862 Hispanic – 925 College Grad Or More White – 27% Black – 19% Hispanic – 13% ACT Composite Scores White – 22 Black – 17 Hispanic – 19

Is It Genetics? Facts: Biracial kids with White mothers and Black fathers have higher IQs than Biracial kids with Black mothers and White fathers Black kids adopted by White families have higher IQs than Black kids adopted by Black families Moore 1986 Nisbett 1998

Is It Ethnic Culture? Facts: Black kids value education as much (if not more) than their White peers. We find (general) oppositional culture in all races and it is (intraracial) class-linked more than (racialized) race-linked Ainsworth-Darnell & Downey 1998 Tyson et al 2005 Blau 2003 Arguments: Lower-class/minority culture has distinct values and forms of social organization that do not value education as highly as middle-class and White families (Lareau). Black kids believe doing well in school is “Acting White” and this creates a culture that is opposed to education (Ogbu).

Is It Differences In Opportunity? Facts: Minority Kids Are More Likely... to be in single-race schools... to attend schools where teachers don’t live nearby... to attend public schools... to attend large urban schools... to attend highly tracked schools... to attend bureaucratic schools... to attend poorly-resourced schools... to be taught by uncertified teachers And To Face Micro-Expectations In These Environments