They are fighting against them, it's a battle: A critical study examining the schooling experience of Black Caribbean boys in English state schools, from the perspectives of their mothers

An interpretive study which provides a critical account and analysis of the experiences of Black Caribbean boys in English state schools, from the perspectives of their mothers. It employs a Critical Race Theory (CRT) to provide a counter-narrative to dominant stories which portray pathological and deficit discourses. The educational disadvantage of Black Caribbean pupils in English schools has been a persistent concern for Black Caribbean parents, community and policy makers from the 1950's onwards. There have been moments of optimism in relation to the attention afforded to equality, much of which is due to the concerted efforts of Black Caribbean parents, community activists and race conscious educationalists. However, the lack of political will to create educational equity is evident in the de-prioritising of race in education, as a consequence of the deracialisation of education policy and a colour-blind narrative and approach in schools, which has led to entrenched institutional racism in the 21st century. Despite substantial evidence identifying that the low attainment and underperformance of Black Caribbean pupils, especially boys, is located in institutional and structural racism, ascribing Black Caribbean boys’ underachievement to a deficit model prevails. The deficit model considers family structures, especially lone mothers, and an alleged parental lack of interest and involvement in their child/ren's education, as causative to Black Caribbean pupils’ underachievement. Schools tend to view parental involvement based on particular types of leadership roles, such as involvement in PTA meetings and representation on governing bodies or activities. These are school-centric and, Lawson (2003) argues, designed to fulfil the perceived mission of the school, based on White middle class beliefs and values. Evidence shows, however, that when Black parents try to intervene on behalf of their children they are often marginalised and dismissed by schools (Crozier 1996; Gillborn & Youdell 2000; Rollock et al. 2015; Wright et al. 2000). Through the mothers’ experiences of supporting their sons through school I illuminate significant factors relating to educational disadvantage. Informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) I recognise that racism is endemic in society and focus on the centrality of race in education. Guided by CRT, the research values the experiential knowledge and voice of five Black Caribbean mothers, exploring their experiences of supporting their sons through the English schooling system. I conducted three focus group sessions with this group of mothers. In this thesis I argue that their contributions are crucial because their voices are often excluded from educational research (Rhamie 2012), but their interactions with their sons’ schools and teachers was a crucial factor in their sons’ educational achievement. Themes identified in the thesis include teachers' underestimation of Black Caribbean boys’ academic ability, thus resulting in placement in lower curriculum sets and exam papers. It reveals the complex intersections of race and SEN, and perceptions of Black boys as aggressive. These mirror the findings from literature surrounding the thesis. The findings illuminate the importance and necessity of the concerted efforts of Black Caribbean parents’ for involvement, to enable positive educational outcomes for their sons. This may in turn indicate the importance of developing and establishing formal parent networking groups at a local, regional, national and global level, as a means of supporting each other as they battle to support their child/ren through an education system that is flawed with inequalities.