Ethnic minority teaching
Black boys may have to be separated from classmates to help improve school performance, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality has suggested.
Trevor Phillips also suggested black fathers not living with their sons should be denied access if they refused to attend parents' evenings.
But teachers have warned the ideas could fall foul of anti-racism laws.
Last year 36 per cent of Black Caribbean pupils in
Party Response: Conservative
Tim Collins, shadow education secretary, said: "By giving head teachers far more control over standards of behaviour in their schools, the next Conservative government will ensure that children of all ages, ability and ethnicity are able to learn and play together in a safe and scholarly environment."
Stakeholder response: Institute of Education
David Gillborn, Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, said: "In suggesting the separation of 'some' black boys for 'some' lessons, Trevor Phillips is challenging schools to break the silence on race inequality.
"Teachers and policymakers often argue that they are ‘colour blind’, that they ‘treat everyone as an individual’. The overwhelming weight of research evidence, both here and in the US, shows that many white teachers tend to disadvantage black pupils whether they are aware of it or not.
"Black children are already separated from their peers in many parts of school life. They are much more likely to be excluded from school, placed in the lowest teaching groups and left out of ‘Gifted and Talented’ programmes.
"Black pupils are often disciplined for actions that go unremarked in white classmates. They find themselves in low ranked teaching groups, sometimes despite good test scores, because a teacher judges them to have a ‘bad attitude’.
"The Stephen Lawrence inquiry noted that institutional racism involves the sometimes unwitting consequences of well-intentioned actions. For more than 50 years the British education system has sought to explain the attainment of black children by blaming the children, their parents and/or their community.
"The value in Trevor Phillips' suggestion may simply lie in raising the expectations of the teachers. Success in school is more likely to reflect what is taught and how, rather than the ethnicity of the pupil sitting next to you."
Stakeholder Response: NASUWT
Chris Keates, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, said:
"But I think things like this need to be left to the professional judgement of schools."
Stakeholder Response: National Union of Teachers
A spokesman for the NUT said: "Much work has been done by schools in addressing under-achievement among ethnic minority children and this has seen significant improvements in the performance of, for example, children from Pakistani back grounds.
"A more intractable problem has been the under-achievement of black Afro-Caribbean and white working class boys. The NUT has long argued that in-depth research is required to identify the causes and recommend ways of overcoming these problems.
"Such research might show that separating children might be the answer but it would be wrong to assume that what appears to have worked in one part of
Stakeholder Response: Secondary Heads Association
Martin Ward, SHA deputy general secretary, said: "We know from research that this is a problem and clearly there should be support and resources to help all children who are struggling. But I would be wary of any programme that singles children out because of their race. It could be counter-productive and even illegal.
"Schools have shown that there are ways to raise black boys’ attainment which address self-esteem and culture, such as mentoring and having more black male staff as role models. There are not enough black male teachers."
Stakeholder Response: Operation Black Vote
Simon Woolley, co-ordinator of Operation Black Vote, said : "The issue is complex - due to social factors such as poor housing and fractured family life.
"I would prefer to focus on these things first before we start blaming the victims - and demonise them for their failure.
"However, it is true that the bling-bling and gangster rap culture does not help."
Stakeholder Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Dr Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "It is hard to see how segregation could help improve the academic performance of black boys.
"While the ATL welcome concern about the dramatically poor performance of Afro-Caribbean boys, I doubt there is a simple or single answer.
"Collectively the nation's teachers have as good an understanding of the complex issues as researchers. Policymakers must deal with the impact on self-esteem of endemic racism as well as in-school needs such as a more appropriate curriculum."
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