How Important is Ethnicity to a Student's Success?

Sorry to harp on about The Sydney Morning Herald, but they do have some excellent and thought-provoking articles which have relevance or application to education.

One entitled "Chinese students top the tests out of habit, not ethnicity, study shows" (SMH, 29/12/10, p. 3), seems to uncover reasons behind what many teachers and parents have often wondered about - why Asian children tend to perform better at school than those of other ethnic backgrounds. Why, for example, can an Asian student who has only been in an English-speaking country for less than 5 years, outperform native English speakers who have been through that school system, maybe even to the point of being crowned dux in year 12?

People who grew up in Asian families will probably chuckle wryly and say that it was because they were "forced" from a young age to work hard at studies - school, music, Chinese, etc. This article, however, seems to suggest that it is more to do with habits formed early on.

The article details the findings of Megan Watkins from the University of Western Sydney, who studied children from Chinese, Pacific Islander and Anglo-Australian backgrounds to determine the importance of study habits on success later in educational life. Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention how many children she surveyed, though it does say that she consulted and observed "pupils, parents and staff from primary schools across Sydney".

Some of Watkins findings will no doubt bring smiles to the faces of the many teachers who are currently enjoying a well-deserved summer holiday! Other findings are Quite Interesting and could potentially be of value to teachers, parents and students alike:

• the importance of where you study in your home: "children of Anglo-Australian backgrounds were more likely to do their homework at a kitchen bench or in the loungeroom. Children with a Chinese background tended to sit at a desk in their bedroom. Just under half the children of Pacific Islander backgrounds tended to do their homework in their bedroom, but while sitting on a bed or in a communal setting" 

• the importance of how long you study for: "The children of Chinese background spent about an hour every night of the week, compared with children of Pacific Islander background - 10 minutes for two to three nights a week - and Anglo Australian children - about 20 minutes on only some nights during the week"

• the importance of when you begin to form study good study habits: "many Anglo-Australian parents in the study seemed to place little emphasis on homework before high school. Children of Chinese backgrounds had formed homework habits in primary school."

• And a telling quote from Watkins which will have secondary teachers nodding emphatically: ''If they hit high school and haven't developed a habit of learning it is not automatically going to happen. These are habits acquired over time.''

Nature or nurture? You decide.