The resources presented offer different standpoints and methodologies through which to view the presence of racism in education. The first addresses educational policy in the UK and reimagines it through a Critical Race Theory Framework. I found it eye-opening that policy emphasising the support of learners with English as an additional language (EAL) can reinforce disadvantage by labelling those students and thereby emphasising pre-existing stereotypes and biases (Bradbury, 2020). However I struggle to know how this can be avoided, it is obviously a generalisation but if trends indicate that these pupils do need more support then shouldn’t policy be in place to enable that? Perhaps it is an indication of the deeper issues within data-gathering as ethnic generalisations within data sets don’t accommodate the individuality of pupil’s backgrounds or abilities.
It was interesting to see how a privilege walk was used to show primary school pupils of the systemic racism they have each benefitted/suffered from (Heartbreaking Moment When Kids Learn About White Privilege | The School That Tried to End Racism, 2020). It really displayed that this is effective in visualising these issues but it was very clear that it was upsetting for those students being ‘left behind’ and verified criticisms that privilege walks reinforce perceptions of privilege and disadvantage.
The other academic text presented reveals how racist policy affecting school pupils has a knock-on effect in higher education, where there are shocking disparities between the number of people of colour and white people in professorship positions (Garrett, 2024). This is only compounded by intersectional disadvantage which establishes even less opportunity. By having very few people of colour in secure teaching positions students have less ability to visualise themselves in aspirational positions, something which is also discussed by Asif Sadiq. I was saddened to read accounts of black PhD candidates undertaking the qualification to prove their excellence to society as a whole, that they were having to make such an effort to overcome racial stereotypes and set an example for others (Garrett, 2024).
I am intrigued by Sadiq’s suggestion that diversity training should not strive for universal agreement but aim for a more localised and specific form of training that is relevant to it’s environment (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right | Asif Sadiq | TEDxCroydon, 2023). This goes against much current policy on the matter and would arguably strengthen arguments against ‘woke’ culture from those who don’t want to have to deal in specifics of identity and culture. However I can see the benefit of creating safe spaces for discussion that enable genuine conversation without fear of offence, something I can identify with as a white male.
I was fascinated and horrified by the Telegraph’s video about racism in the University of Cambridge. I perhaps shouldn’t have expected anything less from a news organisation widely accepted to be both significantly right-wing and anti-woke. There were innumerable tactics used to give the opinions presented veracity:
- Using the University of Cambridge as an example – being one of the world’s oldest and most respected educational institutions.
- Presented by one of it’s professors.
- Interviews with other professors and students who are themselves people of colour – thereby “representing” their respective identities.
- Terminology around things like white fragility as an “ideology” and policies relating to diversity as “bureacracies”. (Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke, 2022)
The video only served to reinforce the evidence of racism rooted within the university and it is incredibly troubling to see it presented so boldly by its staff members.
References
Alice Bradbury Profile | University College London (no date). Available at: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/48643-alice-bradbury (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Bradbury, A. (2020) ‘A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: the case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England’, Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp. 241–260. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1599338.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right | Asif Sadiq | TEDxCroydon (2023). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Garrett, R. (2024) ‘Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education’, Globalisation Societies and Education [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2024.2307886.
Heartbreaking Moment When Kids Learn About White Privilege | The School That Tried to End Racism (2020). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke (2022). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
I found your writing really digestible and many of your points are similar to what I wrote in my blog. One sentence that I had to read several times over and really think about was:
“This goes against much current policy on the matter and would arguably strengthen arguments against ‘woke’ culture from those who don’t want to have to deal in specifics of identity and culture.” I hadn’t thought about it from that perspective.
Also interesting to see how you tied this back to your own positionality as a white male and the challenges this can bring with identity politics.
I enjoyed reading your breakdown of tactics used in the Telegraph video, it helped me to cement why I felt such unease and vexation upon watching it. Before this unit, I often couldn’t pinpoint why something felt prejudiced or exclusionary, so reading resources that break down the roots of systemic racism and the tactics used to preserve dominant ideologies and power dynamics has been hugely helpful.