Key pedagogic thinkers: Paulo Freire

This paper emerged out of a Key Thinkers series that the Institute for Research in Education at the University of Bedfordshire introduced during the academic year 2011-12. Paulo Freire was one of the key thinkers discussed. This paper provides an opportunity to develop wider insight into Freire's key educational ideas, and seeks to examine his influence on educational theory and practice

The experiences of African, Caribbean and South Asian women in initial teacher education

This thesis is based on research into the subjective views and experiences of a group of black women student teachers. It is through the women's own voices that an insight is given into the experience of teacher training for black women. The women's motivations to enter initial teacher education (ITE), their perceptions of ITE, their experiences in ITE and their experiences as practising teachers are examined through the life history method. This thesis provides a detailed account of the interpretation and meanings black women students apply to their ITE experiences and how those experiences contribute to their learning in ITE. It also illuminates black women's views of primary teaching and their role as primary teachers. In addition, the inadequacy of multicultural and equal opportunities policies in teacher education are explored in this study. This is followed by an in-depth examination of the role of 'race' during teaching practice placements for black women students, and the influence of 'race' and gender in the experiences of practising black teachers. Chapter four exposes some of the gaps in teacher education in relation to 'race' and education. The case study in chapter five clearly illustrates the role of 'gender' in shaping women's experiences in primary teaching. Having explored the above, I provide examples and make recommendations of possible directions higher education institutions could take to address issues of inequality in teacher education

Black male pre-service teachers: tomorrow’s teachers

England’s school population is ethnically diverse yet the teacher workforce is predominantly White and female. While Black teachers are in short supply in England, Black male teachers are even fewer in number. This article seeks to understand the shortage of Black male teachers through the qualitative experiences of a small group of Black male pre-service teachers. Utilising critical race theory the article seeks to understand the preparation that a group of Black male pre-service teachers during their teacher training course and its impact on their willingness to commit to entering the teaching profession. The article questions whether Black pre-service teachers experience of a lack of acceptance in schools during their pre-service training contributes to the under-representation of Black male teachers in English schools

Raising of the participation age in the UK: The dichotomy between full participation and institutional accountability.

This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article published in International Journal of Management in Education, 9(3), 359-377. DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2015.070127. http://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=70127At a time of mass youth unemployment in the UK, the introduction of the Raising of the Participation Age (RPA) policy advocates the benefits of a prolonged period of education for all young people. As part of the policy, accountability was placed on schools for its implementation, with government imposed destination measures being used as an indicator of the policy's success. This paper argues that RPA will have little impact on young people who are Not in Education, Employment and/or Training (NEET) and that the accountability for the policy's implementation is at best problematic and at worse fundamentally flawed

Black teachers in London

This report, commissioned by the Mayor of London, follows on from a major piece of research also commissioned by the Mayor through the London Development Agency to examine the educational experiences of black boys in London, 2000-03 (2004). That report considered in great detail the reasons for the continuing underachievement of black boys in schools when compared to their peers. This report seeks to build on that research by seeking the views of black teachers about their contribution in raising achievement for black children, and also to consider what steps are necessary to address the problems of recruiting and retaining a representative teaching workforce for London. This study was commissioned with three main aims. These were to examine: • the factors with the greatest impact on the recruitment, development, progression and retention of black teachers in London • the views of black teachers and parents as to the factors affecting the educational achievement of black pupils • the views of black teachers and parents as to the effect that the presence of black teachers in the classroom has on raising black pupil performance. The intention was also to consider more broadly: • whether black teachers consider themselves as role models, and if so, for whom • if there is anything distinctive about being a black teacher and what this means in practice • black teachers’ relationships with parents • the educational needs of black children and the concerns/priorities of black parents with regard to the education of their children • black parental involvement in the education of their children. In addition to the above, the report provides an update on the numbers and distribution of black teachers in London, with comparative data on the distribution of pupils and the general population. The report also includes a review of relevant literature and policy issues involved in the recruitment, retention and promotion of (black) teachers

Closing the gap: understanding the impact of institutional financial support on student success

This report discusses the development of a statistical model for the evaluation of the effectiveness of institution's financial support packages (bursaries, scholarships and discounts). The model can: track recipients from enrolment to graduate outcomes through student records data compare outcomes of bursary recipients with those slightly and significantly better off (by household income) evaluate the performance of recipients over time and in relation to changes in bursary support levels/conditions be used collaboratively for institutional comparative purposes link (via student records data) with the survey instrument developed as part of this projec