Black Boys in Higher Education: Are Universities Doing Enough to encourage and support the participa

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Black Boys in Higher Education Are
Universities Doing Enough to encourage and
support the participation of male Caribbean's at
university?

• Tony Acland, John Samuel

FACE Conference 2005 Cork
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STRUCTURE

• Introduction
• Changing and complex picture of achievement and
  failure
• Explanations for the underachievement of some
  black boys
• What more needs to be done to promote achievement?

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INTRODUCTION

• The Failure of Black Boys Reality or Media
  Distortion?

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CHANGING PATTERNS OF UNDERACHIEVEMENT AND SUCCESS

• Historical patterns of BME and Black Boys
  underachievement
• Importance of gender differences
• Recent evidence of changes in underachievement
  and success

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DfES (2005) Ethnicity and Education The Evidence
on Minority Ethnic Pupils

• Indian, Chinese, White/Asian mixed ethnicity and
  Irish (not travellers) pupils were most likely to
  gain 5 GCSEs compared with other ethnic groups.
• Gypsy/Roma and Travellers of Irish origin, Black
  Caribbean, White/Black Caribbean mixed ethnicity
  were the lowest achieving groups at GCSE.
• Black Caribbean and Black Other were twice as
  likely to be categorised as having behavioural,
  emotional or social difficulty
• Black Caribbean and Black African pupils were
  more likely than other groups to have seen a
  Learning Mentor.
• BME groups less likely to be chosen for the
  Gifted and Talented programme.
• BME parents more likely to feel that school had
  main for achievement

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Another DfES study (Connor 2004) found that

• historic under-representation of BME groups in HE
  was changing
• Only females of Bangladesh backgrounds had a
  lower participation rates than white groups
• Males of Caribbean backgrounds had a slightly
  higher participation rates than white males

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BUT

• BME representation still found in the prestigious
  pre-1992 universities
• Prestigious universities undervalued non-standard
  and vocational qualifications and experience
  most common amongst black applicants
• BME groups applied to nearby new universities or
  in BME communities
• BME groups had poorer retention and achievement
  rates at university partly due to lower or
  non-standard entry qualifications
• Black students tend to avoid humanities and
  teaching a real issue
• Initial graduate unemployment rates high for
  Black Caribbean and Chinese, but later they catch
  up getting good jobs

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EXPLAINING UNDERACHIEVEMENT OF BLACK BOYS

• Hostile and alienating experiences at school
• Lack of discipline, careers guidance and
  encouragement at school
• Twin drivers of low parental control and
  alienation compared with females
• Masculinity of black boys as an anti-school
  driver
• Effect of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act on
  racism in schools?

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CONCLUSION WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE?

• Widening participation projects should target
  black boys
• Prestigious universities should review admissions
  strategies
• Focus Aimhigher aspiration raising on parents as
  well as young people
• Better careers guidance
• Expand mentoring, student ambassador and Teach
  First schemes

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CONCLUSION WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE?

• Encourage more black teachers and teaching
  assistants
• Further enhance OFSTED inspection roles to
  monitor progress and racism
• Conduct more research on effects of finance and
  educational changes
• Key role and responsibility of professional
  bodies and trade unions