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The betrayal of white working class and black Caribbean boys

On 27 November 2009, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) published a study which suggests that failures in England's education system are fuelling crime and letting down the country's poorest boys.

According to the study, boys are being betrayed by schools that fail to: teach them to read, write and add up; instill discipline; and to recognise those falling behind.

Almost two thirds (63%) of 14-year-old white working class boys and more than half (54%) of 14-year-old black Caribbean boys have a reading age of seven, the study claims. It suggests that a shift in teaching styles over the last 30 years, with the focus now on "child centred" rather than rote learning, is partly to blame. This does not benefit boys, who need discipline and help from their teachers.

To address these failings, the report cites evidence from case studies which point to:

• the success of Charter Schools in the US, where children from poor backgrounds are flourishing in response to strong discipline and traditional teaching methods;
• the success of synthetic phonics in teaching reading, particularly for those who find reading most difficult - and how government efforts to impose synthetic phonics have been subverted;
• how some voluntary organisations are able to provide the structure and discipline which are so often absent from schools.

Wasted: the betrayal of white working class and black Caribbean boys (PDF)