Waveney Bushell
Guyanese teacher, activist and educational psychologist (born 1928)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Waveney Bushell (born 1928) is a Guyanese-born teacher, activist and "arguably the first Black educational psychologist in the UK".[1] She is most notable for her role in exposing racism and inequality in the British educational system.
Waveney Bushell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1928 (age 97–98) |
| Alma mater | Bedford College, London |
| Occupations | Teacher, activist and educational psychologist |
Early life
Waveney Bushell was born in 1928 in Buxton, Demerara, British Guiana. Her mother died when she was six and she was brought up by her aunt.[2]
Bushell trained as a teacher after leaving school.[2] In the 1950s, she travelled to Britain to teach, after applying for teaching work through the London County Council.[2]
Training and early career
While working as a teacher in London, Bushell trained and then qualified as an educational psychologist,[3] earning a psychology degree from Bedford College, London, before earning a postgraduate qualification in educational psychology from the Child Guidance Training Centre (the sister school to the Tavistock Clinic).[4] Bushell was "the first black female psychologist to be admitted to the Child Guidance Training Centre" and graduated in 1965.[4] From 1965 to 1967, she worked as an educational psychologist for Surrey local education authority.[4] In 1967, she began work for the School Psychological Services in Croydon, where she stayed for the next twenty two years.[1]
Criticism of intelligence tests
As a psychologist in Croydon, Bushell found it odd that large numbers of Black children were being classified as "educationally subnormal" and then sent to Educationally Subnormal (ESN) schools.[5] Bushell argued that the IQ tests given – such as the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale tests – were not fair assessments as they were built upon European cultural specificities.[6] As such, the tests "were stacked against Black Caribbean children".[7]
Caribbean Education and Community Workers Association
Along with fellow campaigners such as Jessica Huntley and John La Rose, Bushell was a founding member of the Caribbean Education and Community Workers Association (CECWA).[3] Bushell was also the first Chair of CECWA.[8]
CECWA became "the initiating and co-ordinating body of black education issues".[9] In 1971, New Beacon Books, on behalf of CECWA, published How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School System by Bernard Coard, which drew national attention to the issue of ESN schools.[10] In the book, Coard acknowledges Buhsell's support in his research and writing.[4] Bushell was interviewed in the 2021 BBC One documentary film Subnormal: A British Scandal, which describes the events surrounding the racism of a leaked school report that led to the publication of Coard's book.[6]
CECWA was also key to the development of independent black supplementary schools.[9]
Later career and retirement
In 1975, Bushell completed a master's degree at the Institute of Education in Child Development. However, despite working for Croydon School Psychological Services for more than two decades, she was never promoted to a senior role, which she believes was directly related to her view on intelligence testing and race.[4]
On her retirement in 1989, Bushell began a consultancy service, which continued her work on the educational and emotional needs of black children in care.[4]