social priorities and under-achievement in the city; the role of education

Social Priorities and Under-achievement in the City; the role of Education

Karamat Iqbal www.forwardpartnership.org.uk

http://www.forwardpartnership.org.uk/

Karamat Iqbal

1. Born in Pakistan; early sense of fairness and justice 2. Came to Birmingham aged 12- land of opportunity3. Left school at 16; ‘education (post-16) can transform!4. Worked in industry, Youth Work, Adult Education,

Secondary school, Community Relations5. 13 years in FE (Deputy Director Equality Management

and Head of Department, Supported Learning)6. Since 2000, portfolio working:

1. Diversity Consultant (across sectors and diversity strands) – White underachievement since 2004

2. Birmingham LA Adviser (Workforce, IIP)

Changing diversity of Birmingham (‘Britain's increasing plurality’)

%(1991) %(2026) White 77 48 Pakistani 7 21 Other 3 12 Caribbean 5 4 African 0.5 4 Indian 6 6 B/deshi 1 4

Ethnic minorities in Birmingham - from less than 10% to more than 60% - 2001 census

Parallel lives? Education segregation in schools and neighbourhoods

For Asian children, segregation high where they are numerous; higher in schools than outside

Intermediate segregation: Birmingham; some highly segregated wards and schools

Distribution of students in Birmingham: White: 14 wards Pakistani: 5 wards African Caribbean: 6 wards Indian: 3 wards Bangladeshi: 4 wards

FSM Students not achieving 5A*-C (inc E&M) 2007 (national figures) White 83% Black Caribbean 77% African 72% Pakistani 71% Bangladeshi 64% Indian 58% Chinese 41%Fig 2.6 Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society, Feb 2009

Fig 8b. 2008 GCSE and Equivalent 5+ A*-C inc GCSE English and Maths by Ethnic Group, Gender and Free School Meals

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27%29% 31% 33%

38% 39% 39%45% 46% 47% 48% 48% 50% 51%

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Birmingham students not achieving 5 A*-C (including Eng. and Maths) 2008 Of the 6900 students not achieving 5A*-C including English and maths last year, 3100 were White British, 1300 were Pakistani (2500 were all other ethnic groups) While progress has been made, the percentage of White disadvantaged pupils achieving 5A*-C including English and maths remains significantly below average, particularly for boys who are the lowest performing group.Scrutiny Report 22 April 2009

Key messages on White underachievement1. Largest underachieving group in Birmingham and UK2. Suffer from poor ‘social capital’ and low resilience 3. Have the lowest educational aspirations 4. Birmingham White pupils least likely to:

enjoy going to school think it important to go to university or get a college qualification attend school (86% in 2006-7)

5. More likely to be NEETs than other ethnic groups 6. Excluded from race equality and diversity7. There is no national strategy or funding stream to

address White underachievement

Small print! DCSF

1. It is important not to forget that while White British FSM boys are the worst performing ethnic group (out of boys); White British girls are the worst performing ethnic group (out of girls)

2. Eligibility for free school meals is more closely associated with lower attainment for White British boys and girls than for children from minority ethnic groups at GCSE

Community cohesion background 1. 2001 disturbances in Bradford, Oldham,

Burnley2. Investigation showed little interaction

between communities- ‘parallel lives’3. ‘Our shared future’ report 20074. Education and Inspection Act 2006: duty

to promote community cohesion 5. FE included 2008?

Duty to promote community cohesion 8“By community cohesion, we mean:1. working towards a society in which there is a

common vision and sense of belonging by all; 2. a society in which the diversity of people’s

backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and valued;

3. a society in which similar life opportunities are available to all;

4. and a society in which strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in schools and in the wider community

Who is my neighbour!

1. School community- students, parents/carers, staff, governors, other users of the school

2. Community within which the school is located

3. UK community4. Global community

Cost of No Education, Employment, Training 1. 9% of 16-18 year olds annually (2010 target 8% )2. Total of 970,000 young people3. UK 5th from bottom of 28 western countries 4. Lifetime cost of each NEET: £970005. £15 billion: eventual opportunity cost of one cohort:

1. Unemployment or low paid work, 2. Social and health disadvantages (themselves and

their children) 3. Life of crime and antisocial behaviour

Benefits of education

‘Paying Dividends’- Warwickshire College Learners can expect to earn more during their

working life – additional £559 for each full time year in college

People with formal qualifications healthier, less likely to claim benefit or engage in criminal activity

Adult learning reduces racism and cynicism, makes people more open-minded and increases their willingness to work

The difference education can make1. Earnings increase1-4 GCSEs : 17%; 5+ GCSEs: 41%; 2+ A levels: 67%; Degree: 111%)

2. Adult education contributes to positive changes especially for disadvantaged adults through:

1. Increased civic participation2. More healthy living3. Greater optimism, reduced dissatisfaction in midlife4. Greater resilience

3. Learning can develop tolerance, understanding and respect4. Adam Smith founder of modern economics (Wealth of Nations

1776): saw division of labour as source of society’s wealth and cohesion; people realised they were economically dependent on each other. They had to exchange, interact and co-operate in order to further their own interests

Small morals

Decency of behaviour Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

Manners are of more importance than laws. Upon them, in a great measure, the laws depend. The law touches us but here and there, and now and then. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in. They give their whole form and colour to our lives. They aid morals, they supply them, or they totally destroy them

Edmund Burke (1729-97)

Diversity and identity

“Cultural diversity is here to stay; managing it is one of the central challenges of our time”

Multiple identities : Individuals can choose what priority to give to one

membership over another in different contexts Cultural liberty is about allowing people the

freedom to choose their identities so they can live and be what they wish

“A school’s task is to allow children to develop their own identities”

White identity?

‘Birmingham, most prepared city in the UK 2006’- Readers Digest 1. Emergency readiness2. Crisis communication3. Medical response4. What role will our communities

play5. What role will your students

play in this process?

What is needed 1. Need for greater understanding of White disadvantage

and education2. Role of education post 193. Education Outliers- those who succeed against the odds4. Supplementary ‘education’ opportunities targeted at

White underachieving pupils5. A joined-up area plan on raising achievement,

community cohesion and building social capital which involves all parties in the community

Ethnic Ambiguity- we all have dual heritage somewhere!

Social capitalthose tangible substances (that) count for most in daily lives of people: Namely goodwill, fellowship, sympathy, and social intercourse among the Individuals and families who make up a social unit…

The individual is helpless socially, if left to himself…If he comes into contact with his neighbour, and they with other neighbours, there will be an accumulation of social capital, which may immediately satisfy his social needs and which may bear a social potentiality sufficient to the substantial improvement of living conditions in the whole community.

The community as a whole will benefit by the co-operation of all its parts, while the individual will find in his associations the advantages of the help, the sympathy and the fellowship of his Neighbours

Robert D. Putnam ‘Bowling alone’ 2000

Social capital and education Many of the pupils from disadvantaged

backgrounds come from neighbourhoods where there are poor levels of social capital, a necessary backdrop for education

Teachers respond differently to working class pupils

‘Education-day’ is shorter for poor children- what they get up to instead!

What is Resilience? Resilience refers to the capacity of an entity or system to maintain and renew itself particularly in the presence of

stressors, that is, when the existence or viability of the entity or system is challenged or threatened. Resilience can be observed as a dynamic phenomena in a variety of systems.

Whilst some individuals may seem to prove themselves to be more resilient than others, it should be recognized that resilience is a dynamic quality, not a permanent capacity. In other words, resilient individuals demonstrate dynamic self-renewal, whereas less resilient individuals find themselves worn down and negatively impacted by life stressors.

What are the Characteristics of Resilient People?• Ability to "bounce back" and "recover from almost anything“ • Have a "where there's a will, there's a way" attitude • Tendency to see problems as opportunities• Ability to "hang tough" which things are difficult • Capacity for seeing small windows of opportunity and making the most of them • Have deep-rooted faith in a system of meaning • Have a healthy social support network • Has the wherewithal to competently handle most different kinds of situations • Has a wide comfort zone • Able to recover from experiences in the panic zone or of a traumatic nature

% of those who enjoy going to school most of the time (12-18)

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% of those who think it is important to get a qualification from college (12-18)

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White identity and diversityDiversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review Group1. Teachers focussed almost exclusively on minority ethnic

group cultures. White ethnicity was ignored 2. Pupils’ responses tended to give examples of the

non-white when asked about diversity and identity3. Most schools did not specifically explore white British

diversity or white British identities4. Some indigenous pupils’ view their identity in a

deficit way 5. White British pupils in multiethnic schools less confident

to talk about their white British heritage in lessons

Integration and diversityBarrow Cadbury report White concerns about being excluded Whites feel they are expected to fit into

minority cultural norms- “no Christmas, no nursery rhymes...”

“Working class whites in Northfield fear losing their identity and becoming increasingly beleagured”

Fig 6a. 2010 GCSE and Equivalent 5+ A*-C by Ethnic Group, Gender and Free School Meals

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Fig 6b. 2010 GCSE and Equivalent 5+ A*-C including GCSE English and Maths by Ethnic Group, Gender and Free School Meals

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Extracts from the Scrutiny Report January 2011 Ethnic make-up of the city’s schools:

38% White 24% Pakistani

"at the end of KS4 (white disadvantaged pupils) constitute the lowest performing group in the city”

Pupils not achieving 5 A*-C (with E &M) White 2480, Pakistani, 1194, Black Cbbn 364,

Bang’deshi 222, India 205 "percentage of children with EAL attending Birmingham

schools has increased from 33% to 39%"

Fig.6c Percentage of boys eligible for free school meals achieving GCSE and equivalent 5A*-C by ethnic group and gender (2003-2010)

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All Boys not on FSMBangladeshi Boys on FSMPakistani Boys on FSMAll Boys on FSMBlack Caribbean Boys on FSMWhite Boys on FSM

Fig.6d Percentage of girls eligible for free school meals achieving GCSE and equivalent 5A*-C by ethnic group and gender (2003-2010)

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All Girls not on FSMBangladeshi Girls on FSMPakistani Girls on FSMBlack Caribbean Girls on FSMAll Girls on FSMWhite Girls on FSM

Challenges in the classroom -TES

“Of 24 pupils, there is a mix of Irish, Polish, Greek, Chinese, American, Scottish, Jamaican, Arab and Serbian - oh, and English….

From standard English to west London slang, from Polish to Urdu and Jamaican English

What is a "British worker“? Will it be Aleeza with a Chinese grandfather, a mother who is half Indian-half English and a father who is half Polish-half Swiss? Will it be Oliver with his English father and half Lebanese-half Scottish mother? Or Manjot with her parental mix of Irish, Pakistani and Jamaican?

My last school was a mix of 54 nationalities”

White working class young people... largest underachieving ethnic group across the

country and in Birmingham fall behind from the early years suffer from some of the worst levels of

attendance and exclusion more likely to be NEET than other ethnic groups major disparities between middle and working

class young people re: homework and other OoS

White working class young people... do not have equal opportunity to participate in

extra-curricular activities and lose out on its educational and general benefits

disadvantage is compounded by poor or lack of internet access

disadvantaged by ‘neighbourhood effects’ Teacher attitudes and low expectations can

further disadvantage pupils

White working class young people... Parental involvement in children’s education can

be a significant influence on young people home and school can be worlds apart leading to

a clash of cultures lack the character capabilities necessary for

success in the modern world least resilient of all groups have low levels of self efficacy and lack an

internal locus of control

White working class young people... have the lowest aspirations Social capital can be a significant factor in their

educational disadvantage Teacher pupil relationships are especially critical

in the learning process It’s not easy working in disadvantaged contexts;

the situation of the teachers schools can, and do, compensate for family

background

White working class young people... In spite of globalisation, tend to lead parochial

lives not included in discussions on diversity and

identity Schools serving working class communities

have additional cost pressures lack respectable representation

Fig 6a. 2010 GCSE and Equivalent 5+ A*-C by Ethnic Group, Gender and Free School Meals

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