Black Boys Can Make It: How They Overcome the Obstacles to University in the UK and USA »

Cheron Byfield is co-founder, Chair and Chief Executive of the National Black Boys Can Association, UK.

This book dispels the myth that Black boys are synonymous with underachievement.

It demonstrates how many progress into higher education, albeit against the odds, and offers solutions for policy and practice. There is a plethora of research focusing on the underachievement of Black boys. But little attention has been given to their positive achievement until this author’s research on both sides of the Atlantic. .

The book follows black male students in the USA and UK who have successfully accessed higher education— at both elite universities (Harvard and Oxford) and less selective institutions. It sets out to establish the extent to which they have been exposed to the factors known to correlate with the underachievement of Black male youths, and to identify the factors that have led to their educational success and influenced their access to, and choice of universities.

Part One sets the educational scene in each country. Part Two looks at the obstacles the students encountered, covering social class; parental social capital; racism and racial identity; and addressing the boys’ own negative attitudes and behavior. Part Three unravels the factors leading to success, devoting attention to parental roles; positive encounters with schools, teachers and community; the influence of church; and the students’ personal qualities and navigational smarts. Part Four reviews the boys’ processes of choice and application to university and concludes with implications for educational policy and practice.

Here is a book that can be used both as guide to policy development, and as a practical tool for use by parents, teachers and Black boys themselves to help gain access to higher education.

Acknowledgements viii

Foreword Lord Herman Ouseley ix

Preface xiii

Part 1 Setting the Scene

Chapter 1 Introduction 3

Part 2 Obstacles Overcome

Chapter 2 The lens of social class 21

Chapter 3 The parents' involvement 29

Chapter 4 Racism and racial identity 35

Chapter 5 Boys with attitude 47

Part 3 Unravelling the Factors That Generate Success

Chapter 6 How parents steer their sons towards educational success 59

Chapter 7 Teachers in schools and community projects 73

Chapter 8 Religion and its effect 91

Chapter 9 Personal qualities and navigational smarts 101

Part 4 Progressing Into Higher Education

Chapter 10 Going to university 115

Part 5 Conclusion

Chapter 11 Implications for policy and practice 133

Appendix Interview Schedule 147

Bibliography 149

Index 161