ABSTRACT
The experience of powerlessness was quickly felt by black groups as the Education Reform Bill proceeded onto the statute books. Black communities and those committed to anti-racist education have long believed that improving the educational performance of black children depends upon the political and financial relationship between central and local government. Funding arrangements signify the government’s underlying intentions and can shape teachers’ work just as effectively as curriculum policy. The onset of the 1990s however, brought significant changes in the government’s criteria for allocating such funds to local authorities and saw a decided shift in priorities to the management and curriculum issues implicated in the 1988 Education Reform Act. The curriculum materials teachers have developed thus far need to be adapted to the new requirements of the National Curriculum and its attainment targets. The multicultural dimension of the National Curriculum is being asked to carry considerable responsibility for improving the education of black children and teaching about ‘race’.
