ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with educational, social, cultural and psychological processes, which bear on educational performance for various ethnic groups in Britain. Many researchers have shown that self-esteem is associated with academic performance. Self-esteem was included in the main study both as a hypothetical precursor to examination success and occupation entry, and as one of the measures of educational achievement. The aim of the study, derived from three linked projects, was to gain an insight into educational, social, cultural and psychological processes which contribute to educational achievement for various ethnic groups in Britain. South Asian youngsters derived most of their self-esteem from family and school sources, although girls tended to have lower self-esteem than boys. The impact of cultural and immediate family background on the ethnic minority child's values and attitudes to education and school, in particular, were more marked than those of the white child.
