Abstract
Chapter 2 looks at the trends in changing intergenerational gender, ethnic and class differences in overall educational achievement. Schools have been significant in widening the expectations of appropriate careers for women and supporting women to obtain the qualifications necessary for a greater choice of occupational recruitment. I also consider why gender inequalities in career development persist in the workplace. I present the broad trends in educational achievement of British Pakistanis, considering whether this is translated into more professional jobs. Finally I look at the ways in which class can affect educational outcomes and employment prospects. People who come from more deprived communities have lower educational attainment levels. Pakistanis have lower GCSE attainment rates in comparison with most other ethnic minority groups, and a significant proportion of British Pakistanis leave school with no qualifications. Nevertheless increasing numbers now stay on to pursue further study, including to degree level.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Data shows that in 2017/18, 46.7% of girls and 40% of boys got a strong pass (Grade 5 or above) in GCSE English and Maths. Source Data: GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures statistics (education-skills-and training/11-to-16-year-old/a-to-c-in-english-and-maths-gcse-attainment-for-children-aged-14-to-16-key-stage-4).
- 2.
Source: ONS SFR 37/2004 National Statistics http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000528/sfr37-2004.pdf). I am using older data because it is closer to the cohort that my informants belong to.
- 3.
The data do not show whether they are unemployed and ‘seeking employment’ or just ‘not employed’.
References
Abbas, T. (2002). Teacher Perceptions of South Asians in Birmingham Schools and Colleges. Oxford Review of Education, 28(4), 447–471.
Anwar, M. (1979). Myth of Return: Pakistanis in Britain. Heinemann Educational Publishers.
Arnot, M. (1993). A Crisis in Patriarchy? British Feminist Educational Politics and State Regulation of Gender. In M. Arnot & K. Weiler (Eds.), Feminism and Social Justice in Education: International Perspectives. The Falmer Press.
Arnot, M., David, M., & Weiner, G. (1999). Closing the Gender Gap Postwar Education and Social Change. Polity.
Basit, T. (1997). Eastern Values, Western Milieu. Ashgate.
Broecke, S., & Nicholls, T. (2007). Ethnicity and Degree Attainment. Research Report RW92. Department for Education and Skills.
Brown, J. (2006). Global South Asians Introducing the Modern Diaspora. Cambridge University Press.
Dale, A., Shaheen, N., Kalra, V., & Fieldhouse, E. (2002). Routes into Education and Employment for Young Pakistani and Bangladeshi Women in the UK. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 25(6).
DFES. (2007). Gender and Education: The Evidence on Pupils in England. DfES Publications.
EOC. (2006). Moving on Up? Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Black Caribbean Women and Work. Equal Opportunities Commission.
Fisher, K., Egerton, M., Gershuny, J. I., & Robinson, A. (2007). Gender Convergence in the American Heritage Time Use Study (AHTUS). Social Indicators Research, 82(1), 1–33.
Garner, S., & Bhattacharyya, G. (2011). Poverty, Ethnicity and Place. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Gershuny, J. (2000). Changing Times: Work and Leisure in Post-Industrial Society. Oxford University Press.
Ghuman, P. (2002). South Asian Adolescents in British Schools: A Review. Educational Studies, 28(1), 47–59.
Gillborn, D., & Gipps, C. (1996). Recent Achievements of Ethnic Minority Pupils (HMSO, Ed.). London.
Heath, A., & Cheung, S. Y. (2006). Ethnic Penalties in the Labour Market: Employers and Discrimination. Department for Work and Pensions.
Heath, A., & McMahon, D. (1997). Education and Occupational Attainments: The Impact of Ethnic Origins. The Stationery Office.
Hussain, Y., & Bagguley, P. (2007). Moving on Up. South Asian Women and Higher Education. Trentham Books Limited.
Kalra, V. (2000). From Textile Mills to Taxi Ranks: Experiences of Migration, Labour and Social Change. Ashgate.
Kay, T. (2007). Daughters of Islam, Sisters in Sport. In C. Aitchison, P. Hopkins, & M. Kwan (Eds.), Geographies of Muslim Identities. Ashgate.
Khan, D., & Shaheen, F. (2017). Introduction: Analysing and Responding to Racial and Class Inequalities. In D. Khan & F. Shaheen (Eds.), Minority Report: Race and Class in Post-Brexit Britain. Runnymede.
Leese, M. (2010). Bridging the Gap: Supporting Student Transitions into Higher Education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 34(2), 239–251.
Lindley, J. K., Dale, A., & Dex, S. (2006). Ethnic Differences in Women’s Employment. Oxford Economic Papers, 58(2), 351–378.
Modood, T. (2005). The Educational Attainments of Ethnic Minorities in Britain. In G. Loury, T. Modood, & S. Teles (Eds.), Ethnicity, Social Mobility and Public Policy: Comparing the US and the UK. Cambridge University Press.
Modood, T., & Shiner, M. (1994). Ethnic Minorities and Higher Education – Why Are There Different Rates of Entry? PSI.
Oakley, A. (1974). Housewife. Penguin.
ODPM. (2006). The State of the English Cities Report. ODPM Publications.
Platt, L. (2011). Understanding Inequalities Stratification and Difference. Polity Press.
Purvis, J. (1989). Hard Lessons. The Lives and Education of Working-Class Women in Nineteenth-Century England. Polity Press.
Richardson, J. (2008). The Attainment of Ethnic Minority Students in UK Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education, 33(1), 33–48.
Robinson, J. (2010). Bluestockings the Remarkable Story of the First Women to Fight for an Education. Penguin.
Rupp, L. (2001). Feminist Movements. In N. Smelser & P. Baltes (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Vol. 8). Elsevier Science.
Shain, F. (2020). Navigating the Unequal Education Space in Post-9/11 England: British Muslim Girls Talk About Their Educational Aspirations and Future Expectations. Educational Philosophy and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1769604
The Change Institute. (2009). The Pakistani Muslim Community in England Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities. Queen’s Printer and Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Weiner, G., & Arnot, M. (1987). Gender Under Scrutiny: New Inquiries in Education. Hutchinson in association with The Open University.
Whittier, N. (2007). Social Movements and Gender. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology Volume IV F-HE. Blackwell Publishing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Saeed, A. (2022). Educational Inequalities in the UK: Gender, Ethnicity and Social Class. In: Education, Aspiration and Upward Social Mobility. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82261-3_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82261-3_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-82260-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-82261-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)