Are black male students performing badly on purpose? Why is there still only one minority VC in the UK? Is St Paul’s School right to pull down its chapel? And a lot more in the weekly E&D news.
While the Guardian has been discussing student engagement in higher education, the head of the Jamaican Teachers’ Association has said that African-Caribbean male students in the UK may be performing poorly deliberately. Adolph Cameron said that in Jamaica, where homophobia was a big issue, school success was often seen as feminine or ‘gay’. He thought similar issues could be affecting black male students in the UK. Mr Cameron made the comments in a lecture at an event in Bristol aimed at promoting the educational achievement of black boys and sponsored by the National Union of Teachers.
On that note, LSE’s Black Achievement Conference is drawing close. ‘Black to the Future’, scheduled for the 29th of October, aims to encourage young African-Caribbean students to continue to aim high, celebrate past achievements and involve parents in the decision making process. The conference also explores different aspects of Black British history and helps students and their families plan for the future by providing a taste of higher education and beyond.
From students to staff, Harinder Bahra, Emeritus Professor of Management and Diversity at Leeds Metropolitan University, asks ‘Why is there still only one minority vice-chancellor?‘ Commenting on a recent report published by the Equality Challenge Unit, Professor Bahra writes that BME staff still face barriers and are underrepresented in UK universities. “Within professorial grades, only 0.4% of black academics, 1.6% of Asian academics and 1.1% of Chinese academics are professors, compared to 11% of white academics. There are 50 black professors – that’s not even one per institution. We have one BME vice-chancellor, and he was not home-grown, but imported from South Africa.”
Meanwhile, St Paul’s School in South West London has become the first of Britain’s top public schools to pull down its chapel and do without a place of worship. The decision has upset the Church of England and brought complaints that the institution is turning its back on its Christian heritage in favour of a more secular approach to education.
Last, a nine year old dyslexic boy has won the right to challenge his lack of direct access to a specialist literacy teacher. The legal challenge is seeking to judicially review the decision not to allocate direct teaching support on the basis of the boy’s needs. It claims the board failed to consider its statutory duty and to provide early intervention support. Mr Justice Treacy said: “The issue is of some importance and also there is a degree of urgency. If the applicant is right it could have very serious consequences for the applicant and indeed for other children who may be in the same position.” The case will proceed to a full hearing next month.
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