Raising the Achievement of Black and Minority Ethnic Learners: The View From Research

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Raising the Achievement of Black and Minority
Ethnic Learners The View From Research

• Professor Leon Tikly

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Research

• Projects and collaborators
• EMAG evaluation (with Audrey Osler, John Hill)
• Mixed heritage (with Chamion Caballero, Jo
  Haynes, John Hill)
• Aiming High Evaluation (ongoing) (with Dave
  Gilborn, Jo Haynes, Chamion Caballero, John Hill)

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Aims

• What is the relative achievement of Black pupils
  compared to other groups?
• What evidence is there relating to the barriers
  to achievement?
• What can schools do to overcome these barriers
  towards the culturally learning school

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Bristol Fixed Term Exclusions by Ethnicity 2003/4


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What research shows us about achievement..

• There is no inherent reason why any particular
  group should be underachieving- underachievement
  cannot be blamed on the child or the
  parent/carer.
• For each of the principal minority ethnic
  groups there is at
• least one authority where they attain higher
  than the other
• groups. (Gillborn and Mirza 2000)
• In 1 in 10 LEAs, Black pupils are more likely
  to attain the
• benchmark than white pupils at GCSE however,
  but in 4 times
• as many LEAs the picture is reversed.
  (Gillborn and
• Mirza,2000)
• There are a number of other factors that
  influence
• achievement social class, poverty, gender,
  time in the UK,
• mothers education level-however these do
  not explain the
• persistent underachievement of certain BME
  groups.

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Barriers to Achievement for Black Caribbean pupils

• The key barriers to achievement facing Black
  pupils are
• they are more likely to come from socially
  disadvantaged backgrounds than white pupils
• are more likely to experience forms of
  institutionalised racism in the form of low
  teacher expectations
• and, are more likely to be excluded from school.

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Specific Barriers to Achievement for White/Black
Caribbean Pupils

• White/Black Caribbean pupils also face specific
  barriers to achievement
• Low expectations of pupils by teachers based on a
  stereotypical view of the fragmented home
  backgrounds and confused identities
• Experience racism from teachers and from their
  White and Black peers targeted at their mixed
  heritage
• This can lead to the adoption of what are
  perceived to be rebellious and challenging forms
  of behaviour.
• Mixed heritage identities (including those of
  White/Black Caribbean, White/Black African and
  White/Asian pupils) are not recognised in the
  curriculum or in policies of schools and of LEAs.
  
• Their invisibility from policy makes it difficult
  for their underachievement to be challenged

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Evidence Relating to Somali Refugees

• An interrupted or non-existent educational
  experience in Somalia
• Exposure to organised violence leading to
  psychological problems
• Arrival with little or no English, both among
  adults and children
• High level of parental illiteracy
• High housing mobility resulting in children
  attending many schools in their first years in
  the UK

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Evidence Relating to Somali Refugees

• A disproportionate number of female heads of
  household in UK and absence of male role models
• Poor health in the UK often a result of poverty
  and poor housing
• Over-representation of Somali children in
  underachieving inner city school
• Experiences of racial harassment by peers,
  leading to a fear of attending some schools
• Teacher racism and stereotyping.

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Institutionalised racism

• Weak leadership
• Low teacher expectations
• Low sets
• Lower examination tiers
• Failure to recognise the problem of
  underachievement
• Failure to monitor data
• Failure to deal with racist bullying
• Inconsistent behaviour management
• Failure to address exclusions
• Failure to engage with parents

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The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

• General duty
• Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
• Promote racial equality
• Promote good race relations between people of
  different racial groups
• Specific duty
• Race Equality Policy, Action Plan and review
  process in place

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The implications for schools

• To be proactive in promoting race equality
• and cultural diversity in
• Identifying underachievement
• Raising standards and promoting equality of
  opportunity for pupils who are underachieving
• Curriculum content and delivery
• Pupil admissions, assessments and discipline
  (including exclusions)
• All assessment, monitoring, reviewing and
  evaluation systems

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National Policy

• Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant
• Raise achievement of groups at risk of
  underachieving
• Support EAL learners
• Aiming High
• African Caribbean Achievement (to be rolled out
  as Black pupils achievement project)
• Gypsy Traveller
• EAL

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Elements of a Culturally Learning School
LEA Support and Challenge
National Policy and funding
Race Relations Legal Framework
Community Support
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Towards a Culturally Learning School

• A culturally learning school is aware of the
  changing racial and cultural composition of the
  school community and is prepared to respond
  positively to these
• A headteacher and senior management team who are
  alert to changes of policy either at government
  or LEA level and are proactive in anticipating
  the implications of new policy for their schools
• keen to pilot new initiatives where these are
  seen to have positive outcomes for minority
  ethnic groups

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Towards a Culturally Learning School

• Open and responsive to the views of teachers,
  parents and pupils and encourage leadership and
  responsibility throughout the school community
• The leadership both support and challenge
  teachers to realise high expectations for all
  learners
• Ongoing reaffirmation and discussion of equal
  opportunities and race equality policies and to
  challenge institutionalised racism
• Carefully monitor quantitative and qualitative
  performance data relating to ethnicity as well as
  data relating to attendance, exclusion and the
  inclusion of mixed heritage and other minority
  ethnic pupils in top sets and higher examination
  tiers
• Continuous staff development as a means to
  understand and develop effective strategies to
  raise the achievement of mixed and mono
  heritage groups.

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Strategies that work

• Careful monitoring of achievement and target
  underachievement
• Support for bilingual learners
• Collating and disseminating good practice
• Setting effective targets for minority ethnic
  learners.
• Strategies to train senior managers and governors
  in the use of EMAG
• Co-ordinating the work of mainstream and
  specialist EMAG staff

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Strategies that work

• Providing SENCO training on the needs of SEN
  minority ethnic learners.
• Supporting supplementary schools/ classes
• Supporting mentoring schemes
• Consultation with minority ethnic groups over the
  use of EMAG
• Facilitating home/school visits
• The establishment of support groups for specific
  groups of minority ethnic learners and parents.