A study of the educational experiences and achievements of Ghanaians in UK

1. A study of the educational experiences and achievements of Ghanaians in UK Linda Akomaning 1st Year PhD Student FHSCE

2. Outline of presentation Introduction Gap in knowledge Purpose of study Research questions Ghanaians in UK Educational inequality Achievement of Black Ethnic Minorities – The facts Policies Methodology Ethical considerations

3. Introduction In recent years considerable attention has been devoted to the issue of Black and Caribbean underachievement in British schools. However, despite much academic debate and policy makers’ concern about underachievement in schools, the needs of Black Caribbean and African pupils have not been addressed in the education system and have largely been neglected. The biggest obstacles to raising Caribbean and African achievement are the colour blind approach, which has put the group at a disadvantage, and the failure of the National Curriculum to adequately reflect the needs of a diverse, multi ethnic society. (Macpherson, 1999; Gillborn, 2002 cited in Demie 2005).

4. Gap in knowledge A number of researchers have investigated into access to education and achievement of Ethnic Minority children in England. For instance Gillborn and Mirza in 2000 reported on Educational Inequality; Mapping race, class and gender. Sally Tomlinson (1997) focused on Diversity, Choice and Ethnicity: The effects of educational markets on ethnic minorities. Whereas Demie, F. Lewis, K. and McLean, C. (2008) looked into Raising the Achievement of Somali PupilsGood Practice in LondonSchools.

5. Gap in Knowledge However, there is little work that has specifically investigated the achievement of children from Ghanaian Ethnic Minority backgrounds.

6. Purpose and Focus of the study • Thus the aims of this study are to examine how children of Ghanaian origin are accessing the educational system in England; • What factors affect their levels of attainments in schools and how these are interpreted and explained by different theories; • How this is impacting on their levels of attainments in schools and what changes might be necessary in order to improve the attainment and inclusion in schools of Ghanaian heritage school children in UK.

7. Research questions The study is therefore guided by the following research questions: • Why are most Ghanaians under-achieving in Schools? • What support systems are given to underachieving Ghanaians and their families? • What are teachers’, pupils’andparents’views regarding how the English curriculum promotes ethnic equality in schools? • What are pupils’ views regarding on how they and schools can improve their attainment levels? • What are policy makers’ views regarding this?

10. Ghanaians in uk • Ghanaian migration to the UK started in the late 1950s and 1960s. • The Ghana high commission in London states that there are about 1.5 million registered Ghanaians living in the UK with about 850,000 living in London (International Organisation for Migration 2009). • 2011 census ranked Ghanaians fifth in the largest Black African groups born outside Britain and living in London (Office of national statistics 2013).

11. Educational inequality One of the most common phrases in today’s education literature is the achievement gap. The term produces more than 11 million citations on google. Achievement gap, much like certain popular music stars, has become a crossover hit. It has made its way through common parlance and everyday usage. The term is invoked by people on both ends of the political spectrum, and few argue over its meaning or its import’ (Ladson- Billings cited in Gillborn 2008 p: 44). Children enter the school system from different backgrounds, have different experiences of education, and leave with very different results. Children from the poorest and most disadvantaged homes are most likely to attend the lowest performing schools and to achieve the poorest academic outcomes (BERA 2010).

12. Educational inequality The problem of race and equality is not only prevalent in primary and secondary schools but it is also evident at the higher levels of education. A report by the National Union of Students on the experiences of Black students in further and higher education showed that Black students were less likely to be satisfied with their educational experiences and were less likely to get first-class compared to their white peers (NUS 2009). The report further stated that being from a minority ethnic group was still found to have a statistically significant and negative effect on degree attainment.’ (Equality Challenge Unit: cited in NUS 2009).

13. Achievements of Ethnic Black Minorities- The facts Due to limited data there is little research that has specifically looked into the achievement of Ghanaian pupils. However, existing data shows at GCSE level Black children’s exam performance has improved over the last 10 years. Within that broad category there are subgroups that are not doing so well and there are still barriers to Black children’s success. For instance, Black Caribbean and mixed white and Black Caribbean boys are 2.8 times more likely to be permanently excluded than their white peers.

14. White British children on the other hand are outperformed at school by a wide range of Ethnic Minority groups, including Chinese, Sri Lankan and Nigerian youngsters, according to a report by think- tank which forms part of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) integration research programme. It has been argued that because teachers perceive Black under- achievement to be a national problem beyond their control, they might lower their expectations of certain pupils, creating a negative stereotype that effectively closes down opportunities (Amin et-al 2007).

15. Education Policies 1944 Education Act Benefitted middle class children, with some 80% of mainly working class children attending secondary modern schools, the middle classes dominating grammar schools with some concessions to the ‘bright’ working class child, and the rich and influential sending their children into private education (Lawton 2005, Tomlinson 2002 cited: Tomlinson 2008 p: 26).

16. Education Policies cont Assimilationpolicies outlines the overall education policies and the main policies approved in respect of immigrant children, especially those relating to English language acquisition, funding, statistical collection, curriculum issues, teachers and teacher training, achievement, special educational needs and ESN placement. Assimilationist and integrationist education policies directed the problems away from the education system and toward the black child which meant greater alienation in the classroom and in society in general.

17. Education Policies cont Assimilation expects migrants to adjust entirely to the values and the rights system of the host society (IOM cited: Appleton n.d.). Boswick and Heckman stated that assimilation made people to ignore the values and practices of their countries of origin and as such it is a one-sided process (Appleton n.d). Basically assimilation suggests that ‘when you go to Rome, do what the Romans do’.

18. Education Policy in the 1970s – 1980s The educational performance and achievement of minority children and young people assumed crucial importance during the 1970s. It was evidenced that ethnic minorities, especially the West Indian children achieved very low in school which made their parents anxious and angry that the education system could not provide their children with qualifications and a non-racist curriculum (Tomlinson 2008).

19. Education Policy in the 1970s – 1980scont A first literacy survey reported that Inner London children had a reading age six months below their chronological age and immigrant children, one year below (Little 1975 cited in Tomlinson 2008 p. 56). The final literacy survey reported West Indian reading scores as very low and explained this by ‘adverse environmental circumstances, language problems, poor self -image and low teacher expectations’.

20. Race Education and New Labour New Labour inherited an increasingly unequal society from the Conservatives, with the highest proportion of children living in poverty than any country in Western Europe, especially minority children. As explained by Hill(2001) ‘New Labour’s policy and plans for more competitiveness and selection are a continuation, indeed, an extension of most of the structural aspects of the 1988 Conservative Education Reforms Act in terms of the macro-structure and the organisation of schools; the neo-liberal principle of competition between schools, results in an increasing inequality between schools’ (Hill 2001 p:96). New Labour Macpherson’s report into Stephen Lawrence’s death in 1999 shows the government also had the intension of combating institutional racism ( Shain 2009 and see for example: Phillip 2005, Tomlinson 2001 and Hill 2001). The question that needs to be asked is how far has these legislations have gone to promote equality, diversity and equal opportunities for ethnic minority children?

21. Methodology This study will employ a mixed method design using both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis procedures in order to find answers to the research questions asked. The three reasons for combining quantitative and qualitative research are that first, combinations are used to enable confirmation of each other through triangulation. Second, combinations are used to develop analysis in order to provide richer data. Third, combinations are used to initiate new modes of thinking by attending to paradoxes that emerge from the two data sources (Rossman and Wilson 1985 cited in the journal of mixed methods).

22. Methodology Methods: Questionnaires, observations, focus group discussions and interviews. Population: Ghanaian School pupils living in London and Southend and their teachers, parents, churches and leaders (30 in total). Sample: Pupils from 11 years to 16 years. Analysis: The individual data sets will be analysed separately after which the results will be corroborating to provide a holistic picture of the situation. SPSS

23. Significance of the study The present study is significant in the following ways: • Firstly, a study with this focus will provide useful additional information and data for educational authorities and policy makers on how to raise the achievement of Black Ethnic Minorities in England. • Secondly, the important issues and questions presented in this study have not yet been discussed in the literature. They have, in relation to Black African and African-Caribbean children/ students, but not specifically, those of Ghanaian heritage pupils

24. Significance of the study In addition to this, the results and findings from this study will make a significant contribution to the existing state of knowledge by showing the extent to which young children of Black Ethnic Minority backgrounds are accessing and benefitting from the English educational system.

25. Ethical issues • Approval from University and LEA • Consent from parents, pupils and teachers • Confidentiality • Anonymity Anticipated problems • Difficulty in getting access to schools • Ethical approval – children participants • Access to available data.

26. Bibliography Amin et al (1997) Black and Ethnic Minority Young People and Educational Disadvantage. London: Runnymede Trust. Brunswick Society (2009) Inclusive Education [Online] available at http://www.gnb.ca/0000/publications/Definition%20of%20inclusion.pdf [Accessed 1st July 2013]. Hill, D. (1997) Equality in British Schooling: The Policy Context of the Reforms. In M. Cole, D. Hill and S. Shan (eds), Promoting Equality in Primary Schools. pp 15-47 London: Cassell Institute of Educational Policy [Online] available at http://www.ieps.org.uk/PDFs/Dave%20Hill%201997%20Conservative%20Education%20Policy%201979--97%20Equality%20in%20primary%20schooling.doc [Accessed 5th July 2013]. Demie, F. Mclean, C. and Lewis, K. (2006) Achievement of African Heritage Pupils: Good Practices in Lambeth Schools. London: Research and Statistics Unit, Lambeth Education. Demie, F. (2005) Achievement of Black Caribbean pupils: Good Practice in Lambeth Schools. Research and Statistics Unit, Lambeth Education, London: Cited: British Educational Research Journal Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 481-508 London: Routledge. Gillborn, D. (2008) Racism and Education coincidence or conspiracy? Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Gillborn, D. & Youdell, D. (2000) Rationing education: policy, practice, reform, and equity. Buckingham: Open University Press

27. Gillborn, D. (1990) Race Ethnicity and Education Teaching and Learning in Multi-Ethnic Schools. London: Unwin Hyman. International Organisation for Migration (2009) Ghana Mapping Exercise: London Liasidou, A. (2012) Inclusive education and critical pedagogy at the intersections of disability, race, gender and class. Roehampton University, London, England Journal for Critical Education Policy StudiesVolume 10, Number. Mail Online (2012) UK Border Agency sending home illegal immigrants on virtually empty chartered jets [Online] available at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180658/UKBA-UK-Border-Agency-sending-home-illegal-immigrants-virtually-chartered-jets.html#ixzz2XrZqgBvk [Accessed 1st July 2013]. National Union of Students (2009) Race For Equality: A report on the experiences of Black students in further and higher education [Online] available at http://www.nus.org.uk/PageFiles/12350/NUS_Race_for_Equality_web.pdf [Accessed 5th July 2013] Office For National Statistics (2013) Census Data [Online] available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/census-data/index.html [Accessed 20th August 2013]. OFSTED (2008) Reducing Exclusions of Black Pupils from Secondary Schools: examples of good practice. [Online]available at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/reducing-exclusions-of-black-pupils-secondary-schools-examples-of-good-practice [Accessed 15th July 2013].

28. Thank you