Black Caribbean male students’ experiences studying and responding to literature texts at Key Stage 4

Abstract
This study contributes to the body of literature that focuses on the underachievement of Black Caribbean male students in England. Previous studies have identified social and cultural factors, economic deprivation and racism as reasons for the group’s underachievement (Demie, McLean, Lambeth 2017). This research, however, addresses a gap by exploring Black Caribbean male students’ experiences whilst studying literature texts at Key Stage 4 which is the last two years of secondary school. As the study of literature fulfils many purposes, including influencing literacy practices, it is the medium through which Black Caribbean male students’ learning experiences are explored.

From the 1940s until the 1970s, a deficit narrative of being educationally subnormal defined Black Caribbean male students (Wallace, Joseph-Salisbury 2022). During that period, the narratives told in social, professional and political spheres established that Black Caribbean boys were not “clever” and aspirations to progress to higher education were “unrealistic” and “overambitious” (Griffin 2000: 174).  Today, the underachievement of Black Caribbean male students is still a matter of educational and political concern, with only 16% of all Black Caribbean men having progressed to higher education (Demie, McLean, Lambeth 2017).

Engaging with Critical Race Theory (CRT) and a participatory narrative methodological approach allowed the collection of Black Caribbean male students’ narratives during one-to-one interviews. CRT underpins the project’s methodology and methods as it is the lens through which the participants’ experiences are analysed. Due to the methodological approach, thematic analysis aids the identification of themes and patterns (Dapkus 1995) whilst narrative analysis contributes to the identification and analysis of plot elements, participants’ motives, narrative significance as well as their placement in education discourse (Parcell, Baker 2018).  

This paper therefore positions the narratives of Black Caribbean male students in current discourse as their voices have often been excluded due to the traditional valuing and privileging of adults’ viewpoints, mainly those of teachers and parents (Basset et al. 2008). It is vital that their perspectives are trusted because they are competent interpreters of the social constructions of their worlds (Scott 2008).

References
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Dapkus, M. (1985), ‘A thematic analysis of the experience of time.’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 49 (2): 408–419.

Demie, F., McLean, C. and Lambeth (London, England). (2017), “Black Caribbean underachievement in schools in England”. Schools Research and Statistics Unit. London: Schools Research and Statistics Unit, Lambeth Education and Learning.

Griffin, C. (2000), ‘Discourses of Crisis and Loss: Analysing the ‘Boys' Underachievement’ Debate, Journal of Youth Studies 3 (2): 167–188.

Parcell, E. S., and Baker, B. M. A. (2018), ‘Narrative Analysis’. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods. SAGE Publications, Inc.

Scott, J. (2008), ‘Children as Respondents: The Challenge for Quantitative Methods’. In: Christensen, P. and James, A., Eds., Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices, Falmer Press, London.

Wallace, D. and Joseph-Salisbury, R. (2022), ‘How, Still, Is the Black Caribbean Child Made Educationally Subnormal in the English School System?’ Ethnic and Racial Studies, 45(8): 1426–1452.