Volunteering magazine article, issue 96, March 2004
Personal perceptions are a major barrier to recruiting volunteers if someone doesn't like the sound of volunteering, or doesn't think they can cope with its demands, they are unlikely to go any further. In a recent study, Angela Ellis of the Institute for Volunteering Research collected some vivid comments from school governors on how people's perceptions of volunteering affect recruitment to governing bodies; here is a selection.
What kind of people become school governors?
Interviewees felt that the public has a stereotypical view of school governors as white, male, middle-class and middle-aged. They thought that many members of the local community might have some difficulty in identifying with this image:
I still get the feeling that governors are perceived to be upstanding members of the community; somewhere I can't go. This is the feeling I get from others and what I probably had too it is us and them. It is changing, but they were all middle aged, white, male.
Being a school governor didn't seem to appeal to business high-fliers either:
I've got friends who would make good governors, but we are not getting a certain type: the young business management type. I think it is because it isn't publicised to them, and the image of governors is wrong it is rather a dowdy one. Simple misinformation also plays its part: apparently, many people still think you cannot become a governor unless you have a child or children at the school in question which is not true.
Many interviewees clearly felt that governing bodies are dominated by a narrow, self-selecting group of the population (sadly, a view to some extent confirmed by the statistical evidence):
Governing bodies are not open institutions; they are closed, selective and they are all appointed, which then doesn't actually advocate for people to get involved and therefore they are not going to be attractive.
What do school governors do?
According to the interviewees, the fact that governing bodies have acquired many more responsibilities over the past twenty years has helped to create a widespread perception that all school governors do is attend long meetings and deal with lots of paperwork:
Most people who don't know a lot about school governing just know that it is increasingly onerous and there are increasing responsibilities, so they are put off. We need to make more of the positives of it and more of the contributions that people can make.
In addition, there seems to be a common misconception that, in order to become a governor, you must have considerable prior knowledge of the education system.
Am I up to being a school governor?
Because of the rather forbidding and exclusive image that school governance seems to have acquired, interviewees felt that some sections of the population might be anxious not only about their ability to meet the demands of the role but also about the welcome they would receive from the existing governors:
I think that there are social barriers. People from disadvantaged areas of society would not think that they have the skills or that what they have to say would be of benefit.
When I was coming up to leaving [school] I talked with the head in a jokey way. I really didn't think they would want me: the average age was like 99 or something, so I thought they would not be interested . . .
It is all perceptions as an unemployed person or single parent, people think that it is not acceptable for them to be a governor. An awful lot won't go through the door and make enquiries.
What will the other governors think of me?
Some interviewees felt that other members of their governing body were prejudiced towards certain groups in particular, young people, lone parents, people on low incomes and members of BME communities:
It was a bit scary to be the youngest person on the governing body, and one who hasn't got any children. It was more my perception than reality, but I felt that people were thinking, Why is she here? I felt that I had to prove myself more.
There are also comments made at meetings, people put you into types when talking about issues. It is disrespectful; we are there because we care and it makes you wonder what that person thinks of you. When I first went, I did feel that other governors were there to make me look small.
I am a single parent, disabled, living on an inner city estate and so people say that I can't be a governor they see what governors are supposed to be, i.e. middle class and white, this is who they are supposed to be . . . I have never had an image of governors, as I had not even heard of them, so I had no concept of what a governing body was . . . The other governors were lovely; they explained everything. But the head was off-putting. There was one instance when he asked me to leave the meeting as he said I was a parent governor and so I could not be present for a discussion that they were going to have on teachers' pay. I was upset, so I went back home and read up on it and on my rights and roles. I went back to the meeting and fought against it.
There were two places up for grabs and four of us were interested, and I came third. They had a spare co-opted place and asked me if I was interested. I think they asked me partly because I am black and they wanted a black person . . .
I don't want to be singled out and I don't want to be pigeonholed. . . Sometimes I do wonder if I am glorified by people saying we have one ethnic person. I am not there as an ethnic face.
Some governors felt strongly that the pupils of a school should be represented on its governing body:
Young people have something to offer to the school they need to recognise this . . . Sometimes students and ex-students should be there, as they have the skills base and the knowledge and they need respecting just because they have been students at the school and they have been recipients. That experience would bring a wealth of knowledge to the board and it would be a great benefit to the school.
Some interviewees complained about being pigeonholed:
I am an ex-financial banker, so people assume I can do finance and so my role is automatically assumed to be Miss Finance, Miss Numbers, Miss Businesswoman.
Conversely, other governors felt that their skills were not being fully utilised.
Challenging perceptions
In general, interviewees felt that governing bodies need to embrace diversity and to recognise the valuable contribution that every individual can make. Three ways of achieving this were suggested:
- Launching publicity campaigns which explicitly state (and show, in the images they use) that people from all sections of the population can be governors.
- Increasing the confidence of potential governors from under-represented groups by means of capacity building.
- Challenging prejudice within governing bodies by giving their members training in cultural awareness.
Barriers to participation for under-represented groups in school governance
Angela Ellis, Institute for Volunteering Research
Current recruitment methods are failing to create school governing bodies that are representative of the general population, and the Department for Education and Skills commissioned the Institute for Volunteering Research to find out why. The IVR study focused on six groups particularly under-represented as governors: young people, members of BME communities, disabled people, lone parents, people on low incomes and members of the business community. Via a literature review plus interviews with governors from the under-represented groups and organisations representing those groups, the study identified six barriers: (i) perceptions of involvement in school governance, (ii) capacity for involvement in school governance, (iii) awareness of opportunities for involvement, (iv) the cost of involvement, (v) the time for involvement and (vi) accessibility.
The full report is available, price 4.95, from DfES Publications, PO Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham NG15 0DJ.
A summary is available on www.dfes.gov.uk/research
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