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A report for
the Mayor of London highlighted the fact that it has been clear
for some years that Britain’s education system is failing
to give black boys the start in life which they, and their parents,
are entitled to expect. Now a report from the DfES says that black
pupils are three times more likely to be excluded than white, and
five times less likely to be classed as gifted and talented. |
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 Black
and Minority Ethnic pupils are increasingly improving their educational
attainment, with some achieving higher examination results than
many of their White counterparts. However, it is clear that gaps
in attainment levels between certain BME pupils and others remain,
and a raft of government initiatives have been created to specifically
address this issue. At the same time, educational reform has over
the years increasingly promoted a choice model — which began
in 1988 with the system of open enrolment emerging out of the Education
Reform Act, and has culminated with the current focus on increasing
access to good schools for all parents. Choice policies tend to
support the aspirations of middle-class parents and families, enhancing
their access to high-achieving schools — a benefit for them
which may, in contrast, do little to raise the achievement levels
of pupils from certain BME groups. Also, contrary to popular belief,
parents from a range of socio-economic and BME backgrounds currently
exercise their capacity to choose ‘good’ schools by
moving away from areas perceived to be undesirable. As a result,
many BME children are being educated in ethnically segregated schools
where they either form a clear pupil majority, or a distinct minority.
Such a counter-intuitive outcome suggests that race and diversity
continue to have little genuine impact on educational policy development,
and that an increase in parental choice may do little to benefit
entire sections of society, prominent among whom will be BME citizens.
—
The
Runnymede Trust |
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African Caribbean
boys, in particular, start their schooling at broadly the same level
as other pupils, but in the course of their education they fall
further and further behind so that in 2003, for example, roughly
70% of African Caribbean pupils left school with less than five
higher grade GCSEs or their equivalents. This represents the lowest
level of achievement for any ethnic group of school children. In
national examinations African-Caribbean boys have been the lowest
achieving group at practically every key stage for the last four
years. Unsurprisingly, the 2001 Census indicated that African-Caribbean
men were the least likely of all men to have a degree or equivalent
qualification. Whilst African pupils are generally achieving more
highly than African-Caribbean pupils, this is often only marginal.
The relative performance of black Caribbean pupils begins high,
starts to decline in Key Stage 2, tails off badly in Key Stage 3
and is below that of most other ethnic groups at Key Stage 4. |
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There
are only two possible explanations for the fact that black boys
are three times more likely than other pupils to be excluded from
school. One is that their family background or street culture makes
them badly behaved. The other is that schools treat them differently.
Clearly, there may be some truth in both explanations. The key question
is the balance between the two. The authors of the report Getting
It, Getting It Right conclude that in-school factors are more
important than out-of-school influences. What really matters, they
say, is largely unwitting but systematic racial discrimination in
the application of disciplinary and exclusions policies.
—
Independent on Sunday |
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| Black Caribbean
pupils, both girls and boys, also appear to be in trouble in school
more often than their peers. The rate at which black Caribbean pupils
are excluded from school has declined over the past few years, but,
as the latest figures for exclusions from maintained secondary schools
demonstrate, they are three times more likely to be excluded from
school than all pupils nationally. With only 15 per cent of permanently
excluded young people reintegrated into mainstream school, successful
transition into adulthood, employment and independence for most
of these young people is unlikely. Given the importance of education
in achieving successful transitions and social inclusion, the research
set out to examine the strategies developed by African-Caribbean
young people excluded from school who achieve successful transitions
and to discover how support from family, community and other agencies
can lead to successful transitions for excluded young people.The
Social Exclusion Unit has identified several social factors that
are more common among prisoners than the rest of the population.
These include being excluded from school, poor mental health, homelessness
and unemployment. Some black and minority ethnic groups are more
likely to have experienced these factors than white people. Excluded
young people appear more likely to experience crime in the local
area where they live and are more likely to carry weapons. 46% of
excluded young people had admitted having carried a weapon compared
to just 16% of those in school. |
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All
the minority ethnic groups within the black category and pupils
of Mixed White and black Caribbean heritage are consistently below
the national average across all Key Stages, at GCSE and equivalent
and Post-16. For example, at GCSE and equivalent, 41.7 per cent
of black Caribbean pupils, 44.1 per cent of pupils of Mixed White
and black Caribbean heritage, 48.3 per cent of black African pupils
and 41.7 per cent of other black pupils achieved 5+A*-C compared
to 54.9 per cent nationally. Girls consistently outperform boys
in all of the minority ethnic groups, as they do nationally. For
example, 33.3 per cent of black Caribbean boys achieve 5 or more
grades A*-C at GCSE and equivalent compared to 49.4 per cent of
girls — a difference of 16.1 percentage points, compared to
a difference nationally of 10.1.percentage points.
 DfES,
2006 |
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Statistics
show that boys from African Caribbean heritage start school at average
academic levels but begin to fall behind from Year 2. The gap widens
through secondary school with only 30 per cent of black boys achieving
five good GCSEs compared to a national average of 54 per cent. Black
Boys is a film that takes a look at three schools in London that
are confronting this problem head on, with each school addressing
the issues in their own individual way. Colvestone Primary in Hackney
gets to grips with disaffection early, teaching basic but crucial
behavioural skills to help their black boys stay focused. Caribbean
achievement consultant Mike Vance outlines some of the issues within
the black community that prevent black boys from realising their
full potential. Copland Secondary in Wembley tackles the problem
of under achievement by employing a large number of black teachers
and thereby providing effective role models for their students.
In addition, the school has implemented a number of strategies to
encourage parental involvement. Finally, the film visits Forest
Hill Secondary where all black boys benefit from segregated group
time in which they can develop their learning, thinking and communication
skills.
Teachers'
TV |
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What
needs to happen to change the experience of black boys in schools? |
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I
come from a school where there are pacific Island and Maori students.
Many of us are low achievers and our teachers have tried to raise
our achievement by making an effort to recognise our culture in
the literature they give us to read and they way they decorate our
classrooms. Every where we go in our school our culture is recognised
and valued. We are greeted every morning in English and in Pacifica
and Maori. Maybe what you should try to do is to recognise the culture
of your students in the books you give them to read and in the way
your classes are decorated. It is a mistake to segregate your black
students because that only reinforces their status as 'other'. Kids
are kids, man, whether they are black or white. Maybe you could
also get mentors for your black students from your local businesses
and universities so that they can have a role model to help them
with their school work. Our year 13 students have university mentors
who help them to meet their assessment deadlines and help them to
achieve their university dreams. Many of our students are in local
gangs and they are distrustful of school and teachers but our teachers
still give everything a go and as a result, we have really strong
relationships with our teachers.
— Heni |
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The
experience has to change before they reach school — and that's
the rub! They receive so much bad, erroneous instruction away from
school that they arrive daily as a sponge rife with the cultural
nonsense of the moment. Learning is not in the top five and perhaps
out of the top 10. Let's count the issues: Fashion show, hustle
for cash, claiming 5-point or 6-point red or blue, the girls, the
sports, the running hot water, the free and reduced lunch, the heat
in the winter, the escape from the life in a crack house —
and on and on. The music culture is of little help and much harm
as well; young men quote Jeezy all the time and Jesus rarely —
yet they wear crosses... it boggles the mind. Yet I teach because
I believe with God's help I can make a difference — not to
all or half, but to enough of them. Still, by the time I get them,
they have to unlearn the garbage they learned and relearn the cherished
basics. — Gino |
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I
know Im a girl but me personally I just don't see many things going
on for teens. Projects like these and more would inspire many black
boys, especially in summer. This would help black boys to become
involved. —
lisa |
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Tell
It Like It Is: How Our Schools Fail Black Children
34 years
ago Grenadian scholar Bernard Coard caused a social and political
storm by telling it how it was in his seminal study How the West
Indian Child is Made Educationally Sub-Normal in the British School
System. The title alone speaks volumes, but Coard's booklet did
so much more. Not only did it expose the plight of black children
in the education system, it also kick-started the Supplementary
Schools System and many of the anti-racist and multicultural policies
of the 1970s and 80s. Three decades on, our schools are still failing
black children. "Telling it Like it is" reprints Coard's
classic text alongside a series of essays, articles and reflections
from other scholars and activists that bring the debate about race
and education firmly into the twenty-first century.
Available
to buy from amazon.co.uk |
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Generating
Genius: Black boys in search of love, ritual and schooling —
Tony Sewell
This radical book shows how black masculinity is accepted
in certain ways but rejected in others, so challenging much mainstream
thinking on the achievement of black boys at school. It argues that
these boys are in search of a road map to navigate not only the
schooling process, but also the complexities of black adolescence.
Tony Sewell brings a creative approach to developing a road map
for black boys. Drawing on new research from Britain and America,
he sets out strategies for schools that support teachers but also
teach black boys how to succeed in a system that seems to work against
them. He doesn’t quite let teachers off the hook, nor does
he deny the reality of racism and its impact on boys’ lives.
What makes this book indispensable in schools are the key strategies
he outlines for schools and teachers to cultivate the genius within
their students — and this, he argues, can only be done if
black boys are helped to grow a skin not of resistance but of resilience.
Available to buy from
amazon.co.uk |
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Supporting
Black Pupils and Parents: Lorna Cork
Britain’s
black parents must have a greater role in their children’s
education if the achievement of black kids in schools is to rise,
says the author of a ground-breaking new book on the subject. In
Supporting black Pupils and Parents schools adviser and former teacher
Dr Lorna Cork adds fuel to the raging debate about the education
of black children in Britain. Cork acknowledges that some black
parents choose to send their children ‘back-home’ or
to black-run schools, but believes that most want their children
to succeed within the existing system. Her book identifies parents
as the crucial resource whose skills and knowledge could help to
improve the education performance of black children. And it calls
for schools to find new ways to bring those parents on board. Cork
suggests that parents can help teachers to engage black children
in the classroom by bringing elements of black history and culture
into the mainstream curriculum.
Available to buy from
amazon.co.uk
and amazon.com |
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Why
Pick on Me?: School Exclusion and Black Youth — Maud Blair
This book throws new light on the issue of exclusions relating
to race. It examines real problems and the attempts made in schools
to deal with them. A framework is created for understanding the
complexity of individual identities within schools and showing the
processes of exclusion to be both contextual and historically specific.
Maud Blair draws on her experience and her own research to reveal
the racialised punishment industry that operates in many schools.
The author shows how leadership and the perspectives of teachers
profoundly affect the life chances of pupils. She also reveals the
perspectives of the pupils themselves, and of their parents and
draws from her findings implications for policy and practice that
will result in schools where teachers, parents and pupils together
create an ethos in which respect, high expectations and good relations
are the norm.
Available to buy from
amazon.co.uk |
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How
to Reach 'Hard to Reach' Children: Improving Access, Participation
and Outcomes
This
book addresses core underlying difficulties affecting young people
in the community and in schools, relating to underachievement, disengagement
and school avoidance. It explores the consequences of school exclusion
and the practices that can enhance the inclusion of pupils with
social, emotional and behavioural needs. It offers new and creative
approaches to promoting multi-agency teamwork in relation to looked
after children, refugees and asylum seekers and those with challenging
behaviour and autism, and their families. Written by experts who
have worked for many years with children and young people in an
educational context, the book highlights the views of children,
young people and their families. It gives a powerful insight as
to how Every Child Matters outcomes can be realised by children
who are hard to see, hard to find, hard to engage, hard to manage,
hard to change or retain within systems set up to help and educate
them.
Available to buy from
amazon.co.uk
and amazon.com |
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Violent crime
including gang welfare and the use of firearms affects many urban
communities, with a growing number of alarming incidents reported
in the media. Churches often struggle to find appropriate ways to
respond to these crises and the pastoral needs that arise from them.
God
and the Gangs |
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da Vision
exists to impact the community by refocusing the aspirations, re-channelling
the energies and redirecting the activities of young people in a
positive way. It aims to equip and empower individuals and groups
wanting to see a positive change in young people’s lives.
 To
See Lives Changed |
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da Vision's
Inclusion Project aims to work with young people who are at risk
of, or have been excluded from, mainstream education and wider society.
It will also work with their parents/carers, schools and other organisations
involved in their upbringing.
The
Inclusion Project |
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