Archive

In almost every profession you can think of, at least one African or African Caribbean person has climbed to the top. Yet despite these signs of black success, black children and especially African Caribbean boys are still seriously underperforming at school.

African and African Caribbean children start school at the same level as children from other ethnic groups, but by the age of seven many are already falling behind. Their underperformance widens with each stage, falling dramatically between key stage 3 and GCSE. Last year just 32.9 per cent of black Caribbean pupils achieved five grades A to C at GCSE compared with 51.3 per cent of white pupils.

In London where more than four in 10 pupils are from ethnic minorities, the problem is most acute. In 2002 only 21.6 per cent of black Caribbean boys achieved five good GCSEs.

Race, rather than class is the decisive factor with, for example, poorer Asian boys outperforming middle class African Caribbean boys. These glaring inequalities have led London mayor Ken Livingstone and Labour MP Diane Abbott to bring black parents and teachers together for a conference addressing the issues. Now the government has jumped on board, with schools minister Stephen Twigg on the bill at the third annual "London schools and the black child" conference.

So why are so many black children failing? Abbott believes that there is no single explanation and that low teacher aspirations, unfair behaviour management in schools, negative peer pressure and negative images in the media all contribute to underachievement.

Like Abbott, who attracted controversy after deciding to send her son to a prestigious London private school, many black parents who can afford to do so are turning their back on a school system that often fails their children and opting to educate them privately. Christine Morris, a teacher, school governor and mother of four, says: "My son started in reception as the only child who could read. The teacher concentrated on the less able and by year three I’d got a problem child on my hands. So I decided to take him out."

Morris believes that racism is endemic in the education system. "Sometimes black children start out ahead and get used to not being stretched. Sometimes parents aren’t involved enough. But what it comes down to is that most white people don’t understand where black people are coming from."

Other black parents see supplementary schooling as a way of helping their children overcome the disadvantage they may experience at school. Sylvia Jeffers works full-time as a child care co-ordinator as well as teaching at the Queen Mother Moore Saturday School in Lambeth, which her daughter also attends. "The school is open to everybody but it’s known in the community that it caters for African and African Caribbean children," she says. "We have families that are quite needy and at risk coming. Some are children with special needs who have fallen through the net. We also have high fliers."

Jeffers believes that the role models offered by black teachers are important, as is the often greater willingness of black teachers to insist on high standards and good behaviour. "It’s beneficial for my daughter being in a predominantly black environment and taught by black qualified teachers," she says.

Ritzy Richards hopes that switching from full-time to part-time work will make a difference to the educational chances of her son, despite the financial hardship for herself as a single mother. She finds that working full-time often leaves her too tired to be as involved with his education as she would like. "I grew up with a generation of failed black boys and I don’t believe I should wait until problems arise. I can’t complain about what happens at school if I’m not willing to assist my child. I see working part time as the solution and I can’t afford not to do it."

As a parent governor, Richards is keen to improve communication between parents and school. "I’ve been trying to set up a parents’ forum but it’s been hard to take forward because the school isn’t receptive," she says. "They think it’s going to be a complaining shop. We’re about trying to educate the school."

But there is only so much that parents can achieve. A co-ordinated response is needed to turn the tide. Belatedly, the Department for Education and Skills is seeking to improve the recruitment of black teachers and develop specific programmes to tackle ethnic minority underachievement. American experience, and anecdotal evidence from successful British schools, indicates that increasing the numbers of black classroom and head teachers can be highly effective.

Northumberland Park Community School in Tottenham is one of 30 participating in Aiming High, a DfES-funded initiative. Deputy head Oveta McInnis explains that the programme includes specific training for teachers and extra support including mentoring for African Caribbean pupils. "We aim to create a culture of success and to target extra support directly at individual groups. We’ve had whole school action plans before but they were making very little difference."

Recognising the crucial role of parents, the school has also put on several evening events and created a parents’ focus group. "The aim is to get more parents actively involved, engaging them in an equal relationship on what we’re teaching. We rang every single parent to ask them to come."

Any school hoping they might get a slice of the £1.7m allocated for the programme is likely to be disappointed. A spokesperson for the DfES said that once the projects have been evaluated the lessons learned would be disseminated more widely. "There isn’t scope for more schools to join while the pilots are running, and it wouldn’t necessarily be the case that extra funding would be made available." For the millions of parents dismayed by their children’s underachievement, it feels like too little too late.

The need for more black teachers

The paucity of black teachers in London schools was an issue highlighted at a conference last month organised by the London Development Agency. Almost 20 per cent of London school children are African or African Caribbean, compared with just 2.9 per cent of teachers.

Trevor Phillips, chief executive of the Commission for Racial Equality, called for emergency measures to increase the representation of black teachers in schools. Citing the example of one African Caribbean head who raised performance at GCSE from 16 per cent getting five A to C grades to 52 per cent in a single year, he said: "It matters who’s in charge. We need more black teachers willing to challenge children’s attitudes. Recognising diversity is not a substitute for a decent education or for equality… For every African Caribbean boy on a university campus, there are two in jail. That is the measure of the crisis."

New research published to coincide with the conference explodes the myth that Caribbean boys are not interested in education.¹ A study of pupils in years eight to 10 found that African Caribbean boys were more likely than their white or Asian peers to believe it is "very important" to receive a good education.

Another striking finding is that almost half of African Caribbean boys believe they have different school experiences to white pupils, compared with 27 per cent of African boys and 29 per cent of Asian boys. Their answers to other questions suggest that the difference may be more one of perception than of reality, with pupils of different races giving similar responses to statements such as "most teachers expect me to do well at school/really care about progress and achievement/listen to what I have to say." There was also no difference in responses between the white and African Caribbean boys to the statement "I am often in conflict with particular teachers."

¹ The Educational Experiences and Achievements of Black Boys in London Schools 2000-2003, the Education Commission, London Development Agency, 2004