Odhiambo, Sulumenty Onyango;
(2021)
The role of the Pupil Premium grant in promoting educational achievements of disadvantaged Black girls of African and Caribbean descents in secondary schools in London. A critical analysis using the Capability Approach.
Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The analysis of the Pupil Premium (PP) grant using the Capability Approach (CA) focuses on the UK government initiative of the PP funding. The PP grant is an additional fund given to schools since 2011 to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. The study considers: first, how the Pupil Premium grant impacts the educational achievements of the disadvantaged Black girls of African and Caribbean descent in the context of three secondary schools in south London. Second, the PP Black girls' experiences and perceptions of the educational interventions provided due to the PP funding. The study uses intersectionality prism to highlight how gender, race and poverty affect the educational experiences of the disadvantaged Black girls of African and Caribbean descent. It analyses the provisions, impacts, perceptions and experiences of PP Black girls using the Capability Approach theoretical framework. The research utilised a qualitative methodology. It collected data through interviews with twenty participants: fourteen PP Black girl students of African and Caribbean descent, three senior teachers responsible for implementations and evaluations of the PP funding, three classroom teachers from three different schools other than the main sites. The interviews were supplemented with the schools' public policy documents available on their websites: Pupil Premium Reports and Strategies, and Equalities, Diversity Policy. Five themes emerged from the interviews: PP students' knowledge and understanding of the PP grant; educational activities offered to PP students; experiences and perceptions of educational provisions - of support provided, racial prejudice and stereotypes; motivation; home situation-deprivation and low income. All the findings were analysed using the CA framework, highlighting the inadequacy of the current evaluation of the PP grant's impact based solely on educational attainment and progress. Since the current evaluations focus mainly on examination outcomes, they fail to incorporate the intersections of challenges facing PP Black girls of African and Caribbean descent. For instance, racism resulting from teachers' conscious and unconscious bias and racial illiteracy; gender – girls' 'managed moved' and not recorded in the exclusion data; poverty – the PP funding is inadequate to cater for PP Black girl's needs beyond the school gates. Even when they are in school, the funds allocated for school meals are insufficient to purchase the adequate quantity and quality needed for a growing teenage girl. Additionally, the PP Black girls experience prejudice, stereotypes and the stigma attached to being classified as a disadvantaged student. The study suggests that government policies aimed to improve Black students' educational achievement should consider the intersectionality prism of gender, race, and poverty. They should also use the Capability Approach to evaluate educational provisions to maximise the positive impact of interventions on disadvantaged students' educational achievement and attainment.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ed.D |
| Title: | The role of the Pupil Premium grant in promoting educational achievements of disadvantaged Black girls of African and Caribbean descents in secondary schools in London. A critical analysis using the Capability Approach. |
| Event: | University College London |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Education, Practice and Society |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10137483 |
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