‘The bar is slightly higher’: the perception of racism in teacher education

The education and training of teachers is an issue of national concern. In this paper we analyse the findings of an in‐depth investigation, undertaken by means of semi structured interviews, of a group of minority ethnic teacher trainees who withdrew from Initial Teacher Training courses in England, and a smaller group of those who completed these courses. We focus, in particular, on trainees' perception of the manifestation of racism during their training. Though none of the minority ethnic withdrawers perceive racism as the determining factor for their withdrawal, some mention instances of covert and even overt racism, while others note subtle forms of discriminatory obstacles to successful completion of the course, which they are reluctant to label as racism. The paper concludes by pointing to the complexity of categorizing phenomena as racism. It also draws attention, on the one hand, to the vulnerability of those who view themselves as being racially abused, and, on the other, to those who are disinclined to dwell on barriers to success as forms of racism and are more predisposed to regarding them as failures of the system.     

Minority Students’ Responses to Racism: The Case of Cyprus

While research has focused on the role of racism in (re)producing ethnic/racial inequalities in education, there is very little research that investigates how variability in minority students’ responses to racism can be explained. By using an ecological approach to integrate existing research on actors’ responses to racism, this study finds that researchers have generally neglected factors and processes situated at the micro- and meso-levels of analysis. Qualitative interview data with Turkish–Cypriot children enrolled in schools in the predominantly Greek-speaking part of the Republic of Cyprus are used to investigate their strategies in response to racism and the factors that explain the observed variability in their responses. The findings suggest the importance of and interactions between factors situated at different levels of analysis, including the level of organizations and social groups and face-to-face interactions in explaining variability in young people’s responses to racism.     

Explaining sustained inequalities in ethnic minority school exclusions in England—passive racism in a neoliberal grip

The enquiries into police action in the Stephen Lawrence murder, the Macpherson report and the subsequent race relations legislation have altered the political, professional and wider social climate of debate on equality issues, including inequalities in minority ethnic exclusions. The paper analyses the meanings given to racism and institutional racism, and the contested political territory which shapes and limits the possibilities of responses working towards equity. It considers the evidence on the extent to which the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RRAA) has been implemented, reporting particularly on sustained disproportionality in exclusions experienced by some minority ethnic groups. Disproportionalities, in terms of exclusion and attainment, are deemed ‘institutionally racist’ outcomes produced annually as a consequence of organisational practices, limited will and low levels of investment at national, local and school levels. Critical Race Theory and writings about ‘white supremacy’ attempt to explain the normal and enduring character of racism, but the outcomes of ‘passive racism’ are best comprehended as a product of neoliberal policy‐making which limits interventions in aggregate performance for a group, giving primacy to individual effort and talent as explanatory concepts. The RRAA, in force since 2002, can, with hindsight, be seen as a legalistic, rhetorical step too far, unable to marshal governmental or institutional will and financial commitment to implement its requirements.     

Imagining a Monocultural Community: Racialization of Cultural Practice in Educational Discourse

In recent times reports into incidents of racist violence in Britain identified a prevailing institutionalized racism and social segregation (Cantle, 2002; MacPherson, 1999). In this article I present an analysis of authoritative educational discourse in the form of school inspection reports, focusing on a single issue: the cultural practice of minority ethnic families visiting their heritage country. Using critical discourse analysis, I suggest that the discourse of the inspection reports racializes the cultural practices of the Asian minority, defining them as the alien and foreign. In this discourse an uncontested, common-sense discourse emerges, which blames minority families for the presupposed harm done to their children's education by visits to the heritage country. I conclude that such cultural practices become an emblem of difference, whereas the dominant ideology in official discourse is one of homogenization. This discourse implies that for minority ethnic families to be part of the imagined community of successful learners in Britain, this cultural practice will have to stop.     

Reproducing monocultural education: ethnic majority staff’s discursive constructions of monocultural school practices

This paper investigates the role of ethnic majority staff in the perpetuation of monocultural education that excludes non-western, ethnic minority cultures and reproduces institutional racism in schools. Based on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews in four ethnically diverse schools in the Flemish educational system, we specifically investigate the role of ethnic majority staff in the reproduction of monocultural school practices through a discursive theoretical lens. The study advances the current literature on institutional racism by showing how situated meanings of monocultural school practices at the micro level of individuals are discursively inter-linked with the macro-level monocultural model of education.     

Did they jump or were they pushed? Reasons why minority ethnic trainees withdraw from initial teacher training courses

This article reports the findings of a research project which examines the reasons why minority ethnic trainees withdraw from teacher training courses. It highlights a number of issues, the most significant of which is that withdrawal is a process not an event. The most common causes of withdrawal were ‘personal’ and ‘family’ reasons. However, the combination of these two factors with various issues to do with the initial teacher training (ITT) institution and the placement school made it impossible for most trainees to stay on the course. With the exception of perceptions of racism by some minority ethnic trainees, the reasons for withdrawal given by majority ethnic and minority ethnic trainees were by and large the same. The article concludes by suggesting a number of strategies for ITT institutions and placement schools to improve the retention of trainees. It emphasises the need for better support from ITT institutions, more structured mentoring during school placements, continuous and effective communication between the ITT institutions and placement schools, flexibility in course structure, improved funding, availability of affordable childcare, and the tackling of discrimination. It also stresses that withdrawal is not necessarily final, and these trainees should be encouraged to return to teaching as many enjoyed the course and would make good teachers.     

The ethnic minority achievement grant: a critical analysis

This article critically analyses the extent to which the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) has been successful in meeting its core objective of raising the achievement of minority ethnic groups who are at risk of underachieving. The article provides an historical analysis of the Grant, sets the Grant within the context of the Labour government’s policies relating to minority ethnic groups and social inclusion and reports on the authors’ research into the use made by Local Education Authorities (LEAs) of EMAG based on an analysis of LEA EMAG action plans. It suggests that although there have been some improvements in closing the gaps between minority ethnic achievement and national averages since the introduction of the Grant, these have been largely limited to groups receiving English as an Additional Language (EAL) support, although these groups continue to underachieve. Further the relative achievement of some groups, notably Black Caribbean pupils, has not improved at all since the introduction of the Grant. The article proposes that if the government wishes to more effectively tackle minority ethnic underachievement then it needs to increase the overall amount spent on the Grant, which has been frozen in recent years, and demonstrate more commitment to tackling institutionalized racism within the education system and the national curriculum. Although the government is issuing guidance to schools to address historic weaknesses in the way that the Grant has been deployed, the guidance itself does not go far enough in acknowledging the role of schools and particularly LEAs in tackling underachievement. Nor does the proposed new guidance recognize the importance of including the perspectives of local Black and Asian communities in decisions on how the Grant is deployed.     

Bullying and racism among Asian schoolchildren in Britain

Previous research on school bullying has largely neglected the issue of racism, and where it has been studied, the methods used have been unconvincing. The result is that little is known about bullying among ethnic minority children in British schools.This paper describes a questionnaire survey of 243 Hindu, Indian Muslim and Pakistani children attending temples and mosques in the Preston and Bolton area of Lancashire, asking about their experiences of school bullying, who bullied them and in what way. Results show that bullying was widespread (57 per cent of boys and 43 per cent of girls had been bullied that school term), and that all three ethnic groups suffered equally. However, bullying was at least as likely to be by other Asian children of a different ethnic group as it was by white children, and it was likely to relate to some religious or cultural difference such as the animal forms of some Hindu Gods, the clothingworn by Indian Muslims or the language spoken by Pakistanis. Bullying between members of the same ethnic group was comparatively rare, although a number of Hindu children reported insults relating to the caste system. It is concluded that, although it is difficult to generalize from such an unrepresentative sample, bullying among ethnic minority children is clearly a rich and complex problem that merits further study.     

Inter-Ethnic Relations among Children at School: the perspectives of young people in Scotland

In the UK, policies and academic writings about inter-ethnic relations have witnessed many changes in recent decades, with a growing focus on the effects of different forms of racism and anti-racism. Opinions have been diverse on the extent to which both the majority and minority populations should respect and adapt to each other's traditions. Relatively little research has been undertaken on the experiences and perceptions of children. This article reports on findings from three linked studies which highlight the viewpoints of white and minority ethnic children as they made the transition to secondary schools. With a few exceptions, the children felt that their schools respected their religious practices and other customs. Most children of minority backgrounds had mixed friendship groups and the range of achievements, experiences and attitudes in relation to school were largely unrelated to ethnic background. Hardly any young people saw teachers as overtly racist, though small numbers believed teachers discriminated in favour of other groups. Peer racism was endemic and reported to be more frequent in secondary school than primary school. Teacher responses were often seen as inadequate.     

Teaching the Teachers: Dismantling Racism and Teaching for Social Change

As a response to the attacks on ethnic studies in Arizona and the move to ban certain books, this essay presents theoretical and pedagogical reflections from two professors and addresses the ways teacher preparation programs can offer a resistance. Based on the authors’ experience in teacher preparation programs, one in the humanities and the other in mathematics, they discuss fundamental concepts that undergird social change methodology from Gloria Anzaldúa (la facultad and conocimiento) and from Isabel Gunning’s work (World Traveling). Ultimately, our premise is that teachers of teachers can impact the curricula in significant ways that result in dismantling racism and in teaching that is focused on positive social change. We posit that the university classroom where future teachers are trained must address (1) Equity issues, (2) Cultural identity or cultural framing, and (3) Culturally relevant strategies and teaching, modeled by the university professor.     

Exploring pupils' perceptions of teacher racism in their context: A case study of Turkish and Belgian vocational education pupils in a Belgian school

This article employs ethnographic data gathered from one Belgian (Flemish) secondary school to explore the meaning Belgian and Turkish‐speaking minority pupils enrolled in technical and vocational education attach to teacher racism and racial discrimination, and to explore variations between pupils in making claims of teacher racism. A symbolic interactionist framework is employed to explore how pupils define teacher racism and how a particular context and interactions between pupils and teachers informs pupils' perceptions of racism. This article builds on a strong research tradition in British sociology of education on racism and discrimination by focusing the analysis on pupils' perceptions of such incidents and by investigating how racism is experienced by a generally neglected group of Turkish minority pupils in a particular Belgian education context.     

Internalized Racism,Perceived Racism,and Ethnic Identity: Exploring Their Relationship in Latina/o Undergraduates

For Latina/o undergraduates, ethnic identity is an important construct linked to self‐esteem and educational attainment. Internalized and perceived racism have been hypothesized to hinder ethnic identity development in Latina/o undergraduates. To assess if internalized and perceived racism were inversely related to ethnic identity, the author conducted a hierarchical linear regression with 373 Latina/o undergraduates. There was a significant relationship between internalized racism and ethnic identity. Findings indicate a need to challenge internalized racism in Latina/o undergraduates.     

少数民族师范生整合技术的学科教学知识(TPACK)调查研究

多民族是我国基本国情,利用信息技术发展民族教育是实现教育公平的重要措施,更是国家教育信息化战略的重要部署。民族教育现代化的发展关键在于提升少数民族教师队伍,特别是少数民族师范生整合技术的学科教学知识(TPACK)水平。研究以1050名南方少数民族师范生为研究对象,采用问卷调查法,辅之以访谈法,展开了针对少数民族师范生TPACK水平的调查与研究。通过描述统计分析,阐明了少数民族师范生TPACK水平的差异;通过多元回归分析,探讨了TPACK水平发展的影响因素以及相互关系。结果表明:(1)少数民族师范生TPACK知识总体水平偏低,专业学科知识有待加强;(2)少数民族师范生倾向于重视学科知识,对教学法的重要性认识不足,对信息素养缺乏信心;(3)少数民族师范生TPACK水平受到民族地区教育境脉、生源基础、课程体系等因素的影响。最后,从构建合理的少数民族师范生TPACK课程体系、改革少数民族师范生TPACK教学模式以及完善少数民族师范生TPACK发展辅助支撑系统等方面,发掘提升少数民族师范生TPACK水平的途径与策略。     

Critical Race Theory Meets the NYPD: An Assessment of Anti-Racist Pedagogy for Police in New York City

This research describes and assesses Critical Race Theory (CRT) pedagogy in a higher education ethnic studies course for police officers. CRT pedagogy aims to help students overcome “color-blind” thinking, which minimizes awareness of racism, by raising their critical understanding of racism and framing it as a pervasive and institutionalized reality that everyone has a responsibility to change. Using the Color Blind Racial Awareness (COBRA) Scale, critical awareness in three cluster areas, white privilege, institutional discrimination, and blatant racism, is measured among those completing the ethnic studies course and a comparison group of officers completing a different college course for police. Conclusions reflect on the impact of the course on students’ awareness of racism, the correlation of identity and awareness of racism, the hypothetical impact of such awareness in policing and possibilities for future research.     

Coping With Racism: Moderators of the Discrimination–Adjustment Link Among Mexican‐Origin Adolescents

What strategies help ethnic minority adolescents to cope with racism? The present study addressed this question by testing the role of ethnic identity, social support, and anger expression and suppression as moderators of the discrimination–adjustment link among 269 Mexican‐origin adolescents (M_age = 14.1 years), 12–17 years old from the Midwestern U.S. Results from multilevel moderation analyses indicated that ethnic identity, social support, and anger suppression, respectively, significantly attenuated the relations between discrimination and adjustment problems, whereas outward anger expression exacerbated these relations. Moderation effects differed according to the level of analysis. By identifying effective coping strategies in the discrimination–adjustment link at specific levels of analysis, the present findings can guide future intervention efforts for Latino youth.     

一个可资借鉴的模板——中央民族大学音乐学院少数民族音乐教育述评

高校开展少数民族音乐教育是透过对少数民族音乐的学习,让学生提高综合素质,开拓音乐视野,深入了解民族音乐文化,从而实现音乐文化价值,其目的是弘扬民族精神、传承民族文化。本文通过对中央民族大学音乐学院少数民族音乐教育现状的评述,论述了中央民族大学音乐学院少数民族音乐教育的学科特色、模式特色、生源选拔特色和教学特色,说明少数民族音乐教育在中央民族大学发展的同时,其音乐价值观也随之植入学生的内心并得以确立。此案例可为高校少数民族音乐教育的发展提供一份借鉴与参考。     

一种基于区域—图非对称匹配的少数民族服饰检索方法

针对少数民族服饰具有的典型纹样图案和款式特征,提出一种基于区域—图非对称匹配的少数民族服饰图像检索方法,首先利用 gPb-OWT-UCM 算法对检索图像进行区域分割,然后将分割后图像中的每个区域特征与未分割的待检索图像进行基于动态规划的非对称匹配,并通过评估匹配组的布局一致性计算少数民族服饰图像之间的相似度,最后通过排序实现图像检索任务。实验结果表明,与传统基于外观特征的方法相比,该方法不仅可以获得较好的图像检索效果,还可以通过相似区域匹配结果呈现不同少数民族服饰独有的风格特征,为少数民族服饰文化的数字化保护与传承提供有效途径。     

Audience Matters: Teaching issues of race and racism for a predominantly minority student body

Some of the literature about teaching issues of race and racism in classrooms has addressed matters of audience. Zeus Leonardo, for example, has argued that teachers should use the language of white domination, rather than white privilege, when teaching about race and racism because the former language presupposes a minority audience, while the latter addresses an imaginary or presupposed white one. However, there seems to be little discussion in the literature about teaching these issues to an audience that is in fact predominantly minority. Leonardo assumes that minority students need little convincing about the reality of white domination, but students of color are not a monolithic group. The paper addresses some specific challenges the author has faced teaching theories of white domination to a predominantly minority student audience in New York City. Leonardo is right that audience matters, but audience turns out to matter in ways that defy common assumptions.     

Access Courses and Students from Minority Ethnic Backgrounds

Abstract

This article describes a study of the uptake of places on ‘access’ to higher education courses in Scottish further education (FE) colleges by students from minority ethnic backgrounds. Colleges surveyed recruited access students from minority ethnic backgrounds in close approximation to the proportions attracted to FE in general, despite the commitment to prioritise under‐represented groups, including students from minority ethnic communities. The study found a general acceptance of the principle of positive action by colleges, but little evidence of strategies likely to prove effective. It is suggested that the government's agenda for widening participation in education can only be accomplished when the FE sector recognises ethnicity as an important issue.     

Recent racial incidents in higher education: A preliminary perspective

The goal of this paper is to provide a contemporary perspective on the recent resurgence of racially motivated harassment and violence directed against minority students at predominantly white institutions of higher education. In achieving this goal, first an overview of minority student experiences on white campuses is given. Second, their experiences are linked to general perceptions of racism in contemporary society. Third, a delineation of the scope of racial-ethnic incidents on campuses of predominantly white institutions is made through a content analysis of a national and selected local and black-oriented newspapers. Finally, an assessment is made of the prospects for change. We argue that the recent upsurge in racism against minority students on white college and university campuses was implicitly encouraged by the previous national administration and by majority individuals in leadership roles. Finally, we argue that to combat these problems, university officials must begin to indicate in a direct way that racist actions will not be tolerated and that infractions will be dealt with severely.