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New book shows how black pupils can be better supported

Many teachers have little knowledge of black heritage and culture, making it difficult for them to effectively support black children and their parents.

This is one of the findings from a new book launched last week to a gathering of more than 100 educators from across the UK.

Simply titled Supporting Black Pupils and Parents, it highlights a range of initiatives, strategies and practices teachers can adopt to either help or hinder a child’s educational success.

But it also identifies black parents as a key yet largely unused resource whose skills and knowledge can help to improve the educational success of black children in schools. 

Author Dr Lorna Cork, an academic and consultant to a large inner city LEA for the past 20 years, said it is time for positive action against underachievement, exclusions and other key issues besetting black children’s education.

She is using the book to call for new ways to bring parents onboard because they can help schools understand and integrate culturally specific resources and practices into the curriculum.

‘Often teachers have a have lack of information about the lives of black families,’ she told Parental Eye. ‘One teacher asked me what language they speak in Jamaica.’

She continued: ‘There has been an assumption that these parents were less interested in their children’s education. But it wasn’t that they were not interested, but that the jobs they were in meant they could not just take time off, or they were studying during the evenings. Teachers were unaware of what parents were doing and interpreted this as being not interested.’

As a teacher with experience across the spectrum of education, including supplementary provision, Dr Cork has written an accessible book aimed at both teachers and parents. It features case studies showing how some schools have successfully tackled problems and insights into parents’ experience of schools.

Once case study features a primary school headteacher who began asking parents to get involved in black history month. From that parents at the school have formed a group that helps the school produce classroom resources from African and Caribbean perspectives for maths, science and literacy. These are helping to engage pupils – especially black boys – during lessons.

‘It includes examples where good practice is making a difference but also shows what can happen when teachers focus more on learning than behaviour – often behaviour improves when children are challenged intellectually,’ said Cork.

‘What came across was that individual teachers are able to make a difference – that they can either alienate or make a real difference to the achievement of those young people and to involving the parents more as allies.

‘The ultimate intention is for them to see parents as a resource that can help them support the work they do with pupils. For teachers it also shows that with the right kind of leadership and open attitude to involving black parents, you can dispel some of these stereotypes about them not being interested.’