EXPLORING CARIBBEAN BOYS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY EDUCATION

About the Book

This book explores underachievement of boys and girls in secondary education. The author focuses her empirical study on the alarming underachievement of African Caribbean boys in British schools in comparison to other groups. She also adopts a historical perspective to compare West Indian children who arrived in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s (many labeled as ESN) (Coard 1971) to problems faced by black boys in today’s classrooms. Janet Graham also explores the impact of globalization, population movement, government policies, and diversity on black boys’ education provision in inner-city schools in Britain. She investigates masculinity, subcultures, peer-group pressures, and exclusion from school and their impact on black boys’ education. The institutional focus study sets the context for the empirical study and provides a perspective from voices of black boys in one inner-London school to find out what they think about school, learning, subcultures, peer-group pressures, and teachers. As a contrast, teachers’ views of the boys are also provided. This book will be of interest to educationalists, teachers, parents, school management, and government bodies interested in race, diversity, achievement, who want to bring about change to improve life chances.

About the Author

Dr. Janet Graham is a teacher in London and an education researcher with a keen interest in the achievement of children, particularly African-Caribbean students. She has contributed to the debate about African-Caribbean boys and girls continued underachievement and has developed a mentoring programme to help students to focus, learn and achieve.