ESTRUCTURAS

The use of African folklore in research is not novel. For example, Asimeng-Boahene, (2010), Asimeng-Boahene and Marinak, (2010) and Grant and Asimeng-Boahene, (2006) have drawn substantially from African proverbs, which is part of African folklore, in their social and educational studies. Like in CRT, at the heart of African folklore is (counter)storytelling and it is used for didactic as well as functional purposes of resolving dilemmas in traditional communities (Tala 2013, 1989). Featuring as such, counter storytelling is arguably the strongest intersection between CRT and African folklore. Especially given that participants in this thesis engage in counter storytelling of their educational experiences for similar didactic and functional reasons, it was very appropriate for this thesis to draw from this concept. Mindful of the other core tenets of CRT, the narratives of the participants’ experiences have been analysed as forms of counter story. In so doing, this thesis has been able to reach deeper and richer understandings of the experiences of students of BWA heritage in English secondary schools. More details on how African folklore has been interwoven in this thesis is presented in Chapters Four and Five.

1.7 ‘Black West Africa’, ‘race’ and ‘schooling experiences’.

This thesis is not a study of any experiences. It is about the schooling experiences of past students of BWA background for whom race is a significant identifier. As such it is important to clarify the terms black West Africa, race and schooling experiences as applicable in this thesis.

West Africa is the westernmost sub region of Africa. With a population of about 349,154,000 people, it consists of countries Like Congo (on the south coast) through to Senegal (on the north coast). In between are countries including Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria. The terminology ‘BWA’ as used in this thesis refers to indigenous non-white people of that sub region. As indicated in the research problem above, the schooling experiences of students of this specific background have received little attention within educational research.

The identification of ‘BWAs’ as an ethnic entity within this thesis is largely an original enterprise in the sense that while this group exists within the community, it has neither in policy, educational research nor educational practice been so specifically classified. It is important to highlight how BWAs may differ from the rest of Black Africans and how the under-reported schooling experiences of students from this background are potentially different.

Africa is not a homogeneous continent. There are some factors that make for potential differences between West Africa and other main regions of Africa. One of such factors is the dynamics of historical settlement of inhabitants. For example, unlike West Africa, Southern Africa and East Africa have a history of significant non- indigenous African people settling in these regions. In Southern Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa have significant settlement of whites. East Africa (Kenya,

Uganda, Tanzania) have significant settlement of people indigenous to the Indian Sub-continent. These population dynamics in their various areas have partly accounted for a history of racial conflicts, apartheid, and expulsion of “foreigners”. Considering that history impacts on the present and that “we are products of past events and experiences” (Choi and Suh, 2018: 138), we can expect potential differences between BWAs and these other Black Africans. While it is the parents, rather than my research participants themselves, who might be more predisposed to these different experiences, research has indicated that parental behaviour has important consequences for children's development and identity including how they respond to and interpret life experiences (Laosa, 1982). This would mean that descendants of parents from these different regions might have certain differences which, even if not overt, might inform the way they approach, react to, and perceive everyday life experiences.

Having considered how the identities and experiences of BWA communities might differ from other black African communities, it is important to share some reasons why I focused on this group. In addition to other reasons like the shortage of literature in this area, I have focused on this area for reason linked to my own ethnic background. I was born and raised in West Africa and since living in England for over twenty years, I have mostly associated with children and families of black West Africa origin as opposed to people from other regions in Africa. I have relatively stronger affiliation and knowledge of practices of people from this background. It is not uncommon for factors like these to inform the focus of researchers. For example, success was recorded in researching non-traditional and unconventional forms of marriage when Machoko (2017:85) ‘focused on Zimbabwe because he was born, raised, educated and worked in Zimbabwe which made it easier for him to do research in a country

which he knows the culture and customs of the people’. Further discussion of my influences, role, and implications of being an insider-researcher are presented in my brief autobiography below and in the methodology chapter ahead.

For a thesis that focuses on the experiences of people of a specific racial background, and as a thesis whose theoretical framework is CRT, the concept of race is very important. Whether race is a biological fact or a social construct, ‘race is certainly used as descriptor of peoples and as such has enormous impact on the lives of peoples’. (Dalal, 2002:9). The different peoples that are generally classed as different races are indigenous Africans, Caucasians, and Asians. Race is therefore a very important concept in this thesis as it is worth exploring whether the schooling experiences of learners of BWA background were raced. As racism is predicated on the concept of race itself, it follows that racism refers to the discriminatory practices and ideologies directed at peoples from these different backgrounds based on them so belonging.

Schooling experiences, as used in this thesis, refers to the daily interactions, events, episodes, physical and psychological spaces, overt and hidden curricula, people, policies and procedures that students are exposed to and access as part of their education in school. It is worth reminding that one of the questions this thesis addresses is about participants’ perceptions around the role of race in their schooling experiences.

My interest in the schooling experiences of students of BWA origin, and the focus of this thesis, originate in my own BWA background, my personal history and professional background. As such, it is necessary to present a brief autobiographical account within the context of this thesis.