Black Governors in the Mainstream: Managing Inclusive Schools

Summary

Embedding equality and diversity in schools starts with the management system and the qualities that governors bring to the governing body. Developments in school governorship provide enormous scope for members of local communities to influence the education policy process. The legislation allows and encourages representatives from all sections of the community to become school governors and participate in the decision making process in local schools. This is not a recent development. School governing boards have long been a feature of the British education system. They became prominent with the passing of the 1944 Education Act, which legislated that all primary and secondary schools in England and Wales were to have managing or governing bodies. Simultaneously, wide-ranging duties were laid on the LEA meaning that governing bodies operated on the periphery of the education system (Morley-James 1989). One factor thought to increase the effective functioning of governing bodies since the 1944 Education Act was the provision for a group of schools to be represented by a single governing body. The 1980 Education Act stipulated that each school should have its own individual governing body. Local participation was somewhat limited as pre-1980 legislation placed the emphasis on governors accounting for the spending of public funds, and the role attracted the middle classes and professionals. A governing body covering a group of schools was considered to lack a depth of knowledge of the individual school's particular needs, because of its remote links with the local community served by the school. The ERA reversed this situation by introducing a system of locally managed schools; each having its own governing body taking over most of the responsibilities previously delegated to the LEA, and therefore having its own unique identity within the school system. The control of the school remains largely with the headteacher, teachers and governors who have the freedom to hire and fire teachers, take control over the use of school buildings, decide which pupils should be admitted to the school and also the power to suspend and exclude pupils. Disproportionate school exclusion rates make the latter a particular area of concern for black people in their roles as parents and governors.

The Government encourages representatives from all sections of the community to become governors and participate in the decision-making process within schools. In addition, school governors’ legislation (The 1980 Education Act; 1986 Education No. 2 Act; Education Reform Act 1988 (ERA)) changed the composition and roles of governing bodies, and promoted the idea of equal partnership between parents, the LEA, and the local community; a framework within which no single interest would dominate. The legislation embodied the assumption that a governing body covering a single school would have a good understanding of the needs of the school and community. In effect, the governing body manages the school with guidance from the LEA. This places much emphasis on the role of governors with knowledge and experience of the dynamics within the local community. Moreover, the Local Management of Schools (LMS) mechanism of the ERA delegated to school governing bodies most of the responsibilities previously delegated to the LEA (DES 1988).

Black people serving on school governing bodies are playing an increasingly important role in ensuring that in their duty to meet the needs of all pupils, schools are not overlooking the specific educational needs of black pupils. Black governors draw on their specific cultural and educational experiences, and knowledge of issues affecting the black community to contribute to the work of school governing bodies. Most of the black governors covered in my research see this involvement in education policy and planning as a major step towards improving the educational experience of all pupils, and black pupils in particular. They also identify the danger of being perceived as the specialist on ‘race’ issues within the governing body and confined to a narrow range of governor activities. The results emphasise the various perspectives that black governors can provide to help create a culture of understanding and respect - for governors as well as pupils - in an environment where learning can flourish for all pupils.

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