She has a PhD in women’s studies, is a Professor in social justice and has been accused of having a fascination with identity politics.
Left-wing academic Professor Becky Francis has made no secret that the pursuit of social justice would be central to her strategy to improve standards.
But critics say this pursuit has led to a ‘dumbing down’ of the national curriculum for all in plans unveiled today.
Professor Francis grew up in a village outside Bath, the daughter of a recycling entrepreneur and an Oxford-educated mother.
After obtaining her arts degree at the University of Wales in 1992 and her PhD at the University of North London, she taught and researched at several universities in London before joining University College London (UCL) as an academic.
According to a profile on the UCL website, Professor Francis is best known for her work on ‘social identities (gender, ‘race’ and social class) in educational contexts… and gender theory’.
She was previously head of the Institute of Education at UCL, considered the university’s most liberal faculty, where she founded the Centre for Sociology of Education and Equity, a research centre dedicated to advancing ‘equity and social justice’ in schools.
Her academic papers have included pieces entitled ‘Power plays: primary school children’s constructions of gender, power and adult work’, ‘Understanding minority ethnic achievement: race, gender, class and ‘success”, and ‘Re/theorising gender: Female masculinity and male femininity in the classroom?’.
In a recent interview with The Times, Professor Francis – a long-standing member of the Labour Party – rejected the idea that children who fail maths and English exams should be made to resit them, saying: ‘I don’t think that is productive for anyone.’
Asked if it was possible to improve standards for everyone without ‘dumbing down’ lessons, she said: ‘There are delicate balances but we can improve the present offer without dropping standards for high achievers or those presently succeeding.’
She was elected a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences in 2021, and was handed a CBE for her services in eduction in the 2023 New Year Honours List.
She was invited to help Sir Keir Starmer’s government shake up the national curriculum in July last year.
One of her main mantras throughout her curriculum review has been ‘social justice’ – a term often used to mean prioritising certain individuals rather than ensuring genuine equality.
Professor Francis has also spent nearly three decades arguing that the achievement gap between boys and girls – with girls consistently doing significantly better – is over-stated.
In a 2015 interview with the Guardian, she dismissed the issue as ‘relatively small’ and a ‘moral panic’, adding: ‘The clearly glaring gap in the English system is that of social class.’
As well as her focus on gender and equity, Professor Francis has also spoken about introducing artificial intelligence into classrooms.
‘I very much feel that we’re at the cusp of a world where it really can help with assessments and supporting the teacher,’ she said, adding the infrastructure isn’t quite ready yet.
Her appointment caused controversy among commentators, who claimed her focus on ‘social justice’ risked letting down those who need help at the expense of fashionable groups.
However, Labour has insisted Professor Francis’s review was about ‘modernising’ the curriculum for a fast-changing world.
