Early childhood and peace, the black middle class and black academics/researchers

From all accounts, the Black Voices Network seminar at the UNA Global Conference, stimulated, inspired and provoked the audience.  We will give a full account of it soon - looking for your views on some of the key questions. 

Following the disappointing news that there is currently no funding at NCB to support our Network, we are actively looking for international links to enable the Network to continue with its programme of research, information development, networking and debate.

Other events and opportunities of interest.

25 May 2011: Policy and Practice in Education - Implications for Black and Minority Ethnic Academics

Organised by the British Educational Research Association, the event gives space to black and other minority ethnic researchers to network and promote career development.  The keynote speech 'Race and racialisation in a cold climate' is being given by Professor Ann Phoenix, of the Thomas Coram Research Institute, Institute of Education, London.  Ann has written extensively on identity and prompted much discussion and reflection by last year's presentation on the Transforming Experiences project at our Network seminar.
 http://www.bera.ac.uk/files/2011/04/BERA-BME-conference-2011-flyer-1.pdf

The conference links handily with the recent research funded and disseminated through the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Ethnic diversity and inequality - ethical and scientific rigour in social research. The research picks up on an issue I found particularly difficult while compiling my Equality and Diversity Bulletins at NCB - most reports about children and families that are commissioned to influence policy and practice do not include useful data ethnicity.  If ethnicity is mentioned at all within the reports, the categories are so broad that information is useless.  (Professor Gary Graig raised this worrying issue in his evaluation of Sure Start and Black and Minority Ethnic Populations. )

The JRF report concludes that guidance documents on incorporating ethnicity into research are useful, but researchers need to be trained to improve their confidence to implement them.  Perhaps the same argument can be used for most equality policies.

National Black Supplementary Schools Week - Past, Present and Future

Taking place from 22 August 2011 to 28 August 2011, the National Association of Black Supplementary Schools (NABSS) will be highlighting the essential work of schools across the country in raising black children's educational achievement.  The positive contribution made by supplementary schools was highlighted in an extensive report commissioned by the DfES in 2009.  http://www.nabss.org.uk/

Coming soon - The Educational Strategies of the Black Middle Class

The report of a two-year research project at the Institute of Education will be unleashed next month.  Now, I have been witness to some quite fiery debates about whether a black middle class does exist in the UK or should exist in the UK.  If it does exist, is it self-centred and materialistic or giving back to 'the community'?  Now, combine that with the blood-pressure inflater on private v. state schools...  I can't wait!